The Kinks were an English rock band. They first became popular in the 1960s. The band had a lot of hits during the 1960s and 70s.The band was formed in 1964 by the brothers Ray and Dave Davies.

The Kinks are one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a wide range of genres, including rhythm and blues, British music hall, folk and country. Between the mid-1960s and early 1970s, the group released a lot of commercially and critically successful singles and LPs. The group reached a reputation for songs and concept albums which show English culture and lifestyle. Albums such as Face to Face, Something Else, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, Arthur, Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround and Muswell Hillbillies, are considered among the most influential recordings of the period. The Kinks had five Top 10 singles on the US Billboard chart. Nine of their albums charted in the Top 40. In the UK, the group had seventeen Top 20 singles and five Top 10 albums.

In 1990 the original four members of the Kinks were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and in the UK Music Hall of Fame in November 2005.

Bandmembers
Ray Davies
Active: Feb 1964–1996Instruments: lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica, keyboards
Release contributions: all Kinks releases
Ray Davies was a member of the original band formed in 1964.

Dave Davies
Active: Feb 1964–1996
Instruments: lead guitar, vocals
Release contributions: all Kinks releases
Dave Davies was a member of the original band formed in 1964.

Mick Avory
Active: Feb 1964–1984
Instruments: drums and percussion
Release contributions: all Kinks releases from Kinks (1964) to Word of Mouth (1984)
Mick Avory was a member of the original band formed in 1964.

 Pete Quaife
Active: Feb 1964–June 1966, Nov 1966–Mar 1969
Instruments: bass guitar, backup vocals
Release contributions: from Kinks (1964) to The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society (1968)
Pete Quaife was a member of the original band formed in 1964.

John Dalton
Active: June–Nov 1966, Apr 1969–1976, 1978
Instruments: bass guitar, vocals
Release contributions: all releases from Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) to Misfits
Dalton briefly covered for Quaife in 1966 only to replace him full-time in 1969 after the latter quit.

John Gosling
Active: 1970–1978
Instruments: keyboards, vocals
Release contributions: all releases from Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970) to Misfits (1978)
The band expanded into a five piece in 1970.

Andy Pyle
Active: 1976–1978
Instruments: bass guitar, vocals
Release contributions: Sleepwalker (1977) and Misfits (1978)
Andy Pyle replaced John Dalton after the latter quit the band in 1976, only in turn to be replaced by Dalton.

Gordon John Edwards
Active: 1978
Instruments: keyboards, vocals
Release contributions: none
Gordon John Edwards briefly toured with the band during 1978.

Jim Rodford
Active: 1978–1996
Instruments: bass guitar, backup vocals
Release contributions: all releases from Low Budget (1979) to To the Bone (1996)
Jim Rodford stepped in when Dalton finally left the band in 1978

Ian Gibbons
Active: 1979–1989, 1993–1996
Instruments: keyboards, backup vocals
Release contributions: all releases from Give the People What They Want (1981) to To the Bone (1996), apart from Phobia (1993)
Ian Gibbons joined the band after the band recorded Low Budget.

Bob Henrit
Active: 1984–1996
Instruments: drums and percussion
Release contributions: all releases from Think Visual (1986) to To the Bone (1996)
Bob Henrit replaced Mick Avory in 1984 after Avory and Davies quarreled in the studio.

Mark Haley
Active: 1989–1993
Instruments: keyboards, backup vocals
Release contributions: none
After Gibbons left the band Mark Haley toured with them.

Positions in UK charts
 You Really Got Me - No. 1 (1964)
 All Day and All of the Night - No. 2 (1964)
 Tired of Waiting for You - No. 1 (1965)
 Dedicated Follower of Fashion - No. 4 (1966)
 Sunny Afternoon - No. 1 (1966)
 Dead End Street - No. 5 (1966)
 Waterloo Sunset - No. 2 (1967)
 Autumn Almanac - No. 3 (1967)
 Lola - No. 2 (1970)
 Apeman - No. 5 (1970)

Discography

Studio albums

Live and other albums
 1968 – Live at Kelvin Hall (Released in the US as The Live Kinks in 1967) #162 US
 1980 – One for the Road #14 US
 1988 – Live: The Road
 1994 – To the Bone

Compilation albums
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year !! Album Title !! Highest UK Chart Position !! Highest US Chart Position
|-
|1966 || Greatest Hits! (US-only album) || align="center" | - || align="center" | #9
|-
|1966 || Well Respected Kinks || align="center" | #5 || align="center" | -
|-
|1967 || Sunny Afternoon(UK-only album) || align="center" | #9 || align="center" | -
|-
|1970 || The Hit Collection || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|-
|1971 || Golden Hour of the Kinks(UK-only album) || align="center" | #21 || align="center" | -
|-
|1972 || The Kink Kronikles(US-only album) || align="center" | - || align="center" | #94
|-
|1973 || The Great Lost Kinks Album || align="center" | - || align="center" | #145
|-
|1974 || Golden Hour of the Kinks Vol. 2(UK-only album) || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|-
|1974 || Lola, Percy and the Apeman Come Face to Facewith the Village Green Preservation Society || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|-
|1976 || The Kinks' Greatest: Celluloid Heroes || align="center" | - || align="center" | #105
|-
|1978 || 20 Golden Greats || align="center" | #19 || align="center" | -
|-
|1980 || Second Time Around || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|-
|1981 || The Kinks Collection || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|-
|1983 || Candy from Mr. Dandy(US-only album) || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|-
|1983 || Dead End Street: Kinks Greatest Hits || align="center" | #96 || align="center" | -
|-
|1984 || Kinks Kollectables || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|-
|1984 || The Kinks: A Compleat Collection20th Anniversary Edition || align="center" | - || align="center" | #209
|-
|1985 || The Kinks: Backtrackin' (The Definitive Double Album Collection) || align="center" | - || align="center" |
|-
|1986 || Come Dancing with the Kinks: The Best of 1977-1986 || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|-
|1988 || The Kinks Are Well Respected Men || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|-
|1989 || 25 Years: The Ultimate Collection || align="center" | #35 || align="center" | -
|-
|1992 || The Kinks Story Vol. 1: 1964-1966 || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|-
|1992 || The Kinks Story Vol. 2: 1967-1971 || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|-
|1993 || The Definitive Collection: The Kinks Greatest Hits || align="center" | #18 || align="center" | -
|-
|1994 || You Really Got Me: The Very Best of The Kinks || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|-
|1997 || The Singles Collection || align="center" | #42 || align="center" | -
|-
|1998 || God Save The Kinks, Vol. 1 || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|-
|1998 || God Save The Kinks, Vol. 2 || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|-
|1998 || God Save The Kinks, Vol. 3 || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|-
|1999 || You Really Got Me: The Best of The Kinks || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|-
|2001 || BBC Sessions: 1964-1977 || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|-
|2002 || The Ultimate Collection || align="center" | #32 || align="center" | -
|-
|2007 || The Ultimate Collection(re-released as a 2-CD set) || align="center" | #1(Indie Chart) || align="center" | -
|-
|2008 || Picture Book (6-CD box set) || align="center" | - || align="center" | -
|}

EPs
 1964 – Kinksize Session 1965 – Kinksize Hits 1965 – Kwyet Kinks 1966 – Dedicated Kinks 1968 – The Kinks 1991 – Did Ya''

Singles

References

1964 establishments in the United Kingdom
1996 disestablishments in England
1960s British music groups
1970s British music groups
1980s British music groups
1990s British music groups
English rock bands
Musical groups disestablished in 1996
Musical groups established in 1964
Musical groups from London