Dave Davies' favorites were American bluesman Big Bill Broonzy,
jazz guitar innovator Tal Farlow, and British R&B leader Cyril
Davies (no relation). Under the category of "favorite composers,"
Dave further outlines his varied tastes by naming Johann Sebastian
Bach, Gershwin, Chuck Berry and older brother Ray Davies.
For an event
so crucial in the history of pop music, the "British Invasion"
produced little of enduring worth. Out of it, only the music of
the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who and the Kinks have lasted;
the Searchers, Herman's Hermits, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and all
the rest today seem quainter than doo-woop.
The Kinks'
inclusion into such a selected group is usually attributed to leader/composer/lead
singer Ray Davies, whose songwriting skill is often regarded as
second only to Lennon-McCartney. Some supporters, like Ken Emerson,
writing in the The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock&Roll,
are quick to point out that Ray's 1965 composition "Well Respected
Man" revealed a social satirist whose knack for details made
commentary such as the Beatles' in "Nowhere Man" seem
vapid.