Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
Sir Raymond Douglas Davies CBE, more commonly known as Ray Davies, turned 80 this month. Born June 21, 1944 in London, England he is best known as the lead singer, primary songwriter & rhythm guitarist for The Kinks. They were founded in 1963 by he and his brother, Dave. Their debut album was released 60 years ago in 1964 and gave them their first hit, “You Really Got Me”. Ray reinvented himself as an MTV star in the early 1980’s which extended the band’s popularity that lasted for over three decades before they broke up in 1997.
Davies, who was knighted in 2017, has received numerous awards and accolades as a performer and songwriter, including a 2014 play based on his life that was named after a Kinks song, “Sunny Afternoon”.
Ray Davies photographed in 2011 for The Guardian. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)
Original MTV VJ Nina Blackwood has said that John Waite wrote his biggest hit, “Missing You”, about her. I do not know if that is true, but we really should thank whomever he did write it about because that experience gave us one of the best broken heart songs out there. It was released 40 years ago on June 23, 1984. It went to #1 that September for 1 week and came with an equally impressive video. I have loved this song forever and featured it during my lockdown countdown on Day 84.
Bluegrass-country artist Alison Krauss covered the song with Waite in 2007. He recorded an acoustic version for his 2004 album, The Hard Way. A documentary by the same name was recorded during the pandemic and released in 2022.
John Waite circa 2010. (Image found on his website).
Prince’s sixth studio album, Purple Rain, was released forty years ago on June 25, 1984. It was the soundtrack to the movie of the same name that premiered a month later which served as the singer & multi-talented performer’s acting debut. The album spent 24 weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart and made hits out of the title track (peaked at #2 that year), “When Doves Cry” (#1 for five weeks that year), “Let’s Go Crazy” (#1 for two weeks that year) and “I Would Die 4 U” (peaked at #8 in 1985).
Prince was already a widely popular artist, but the album & the film took him to a level of stardom that was beyond massive. And he deserved every accolade he received. Both projects showed his range, talent, passion, discipline and soul. The title track became so incredibly popular we even heard Sophia singing along to it on “The Golden Girls” while playing air guitar in the season one episode, “That Was No Lady”. Leave it to a little old lady from Brooklyn by way of Sicily to give the legend from Minneapolis such a worthy tribute.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
The Kinks: “All Day And All Of The Night” (1964, written by Ray Davies).
John Waite: “Missing You” (1984, written by John Waite, Mark Leonard and Charles Sandford).
Prince & The Revolution: “Purple Rain” (1984, written by Prince).
Stay safe & well.
Lilacs & Rust 