Alex Lake/Stem Agency

Alex Lake/Stem AgencyHappy Birthday to Ray Davies, who turns 75 today.  As the frontman of The Kinks, Davies has amassed an impressive body of work that was critically acclaimed, commercially successful and hugely influential.

During the band’s 30-plus-year history, Ray was responsible for penning such classic songs as “You Really Got Me,” “All Day and All of the Night,” “Sunny Afternoon,” “Waterloo Sunset,” “Lola,” “Celluloid Heroes” and “Come Dancing.”

Beyond crafting pop gems, Davies also explored the concept album with such records as 1968’s The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, 1973’s Preservation Act 1, 1974’s Preservation Act 2 and his 1985 solo project Return to Waterloo, which was a companion piece to a TV movie he wrote and directed.

Following The Kinks’ breakup in 1996, Davies launched a solo career that has included a number of well-received albums.

In addition, he’s written a number of stage musicals, including 2008’s Come Dancing and 2014’s Sunny Afternoon, which tells the story of The Kinks’ early years. Ray also has penned a pair of memoirs: 1994’s X-Ray and 2013’s Americana.

In 2017, Davies released a companion album to his Americana book, which was followed by a 2018 sequel, Our Country: Americana Act II. According to Kinks guitarist Dave Davies, Ray’s brother, a new reunion project is now in the works.

Among the many major honors Ray has received are induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 with The Kinks, an Icon award from performing-rights organization BMI in 2006 and induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014. Davies also was knighted in his U.K. homeland in 2017.

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