‘You Really Got Me’ by The Kinks

This tune by The Kinks is remarkable for several reasons, one being that some credit it as the first ‘heavy metal’ song that led to all the hair bands of the 1970s and beyond. Be that as it may, when “You Really Got Me” boomed out of your car speakers in 1964, even the casual listener couldn’t ignore its raw visceral power compared to the generally sweeter rock songs of The Beatles and other ‘British Invasion’ groups, and even the early R&B-tinged forays of The Rolling Stones that dominated the radio playlists at the time. This was partly from guitarist Dave Davies’ chunky power chords, but mostly because Dave cut the speaker of his cheap amp with a razor blade and pierced it with a pin to achieve a distorted ‘fuzztone’ effect years before pedals were produced that provided such sounds; combined with the minimalist lyrics and pounding beat, it had a gutsy blues edge that grabbed you. Composer and lead singer Ray Davies said he was inspired by the full chordings of The Champs’ “Tequila” and the title refers to Ray’s love of the blues of Leadbelly and Big Bill Broozy, even though he adjusted the lyrics to seem like he’s singing to a girlfriend. “You Really Got Me” inspired The Stones’ “Satisfaction’ that came out a year later and The Who’s “I Can’t Explain”  as well as Eddie Van Halen and countless other guitarists and bands. Unique for its time, here’s a live performance of the tune from 1964: