Ray Davies

Thomas M. Kitts, Professor of English and Chair of the Division of English/Speech at St. John's University, NY, is the co-editor of Living on a Thin Line: Crossing Aesthetic Borders with The Kinks, the author of The Theatrical Life of George Henry Boker, articles on American literature and popular culture, reviews of books, CDs, and performances, and a play Gypsies. He is the book review editor of Popular Music and Society and the editor of The Mid-Atlantic Almanack.

In Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else, Tom Kitts presents a critical biography of Davies, his music and his times. Based on interviews with his closest associates as well as thorough study of the recordings themselves, Kitts creates the most thorough picture of Davies' work to date. He places the work in the context of the British Invasion and growth of the rock in the '60s and'70s, affirming Davies' role as a key innovator whose groundbreaking techniques often predated more famous examples by years. Throughout, Kitts balances a fan's appreciation with a critical eye to place Davies and his work in proper perspective.

Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter One ¿ Not Like Everybody Else: The Shaping of Ray Davies, Part I Chapter Two ¿ Something Better Beginning: The Shaping of Ray Davies, Part II Chapter Three ¿ You Really Got Me: Finding a Sound and a Theme Chapter Four ¿ A Well Respected Man: Satirist, Ironist, and Social Commentator Chapter Five ¿ Waterloo Sunset: The Romantic Imagination of Ray Davies Chapter Six ¿ The Village Green Preservation Society: Time, Place, Identity Chapter Seven ¿ Arthur: World Wars and Class Culture Chapter Eight ¿ A Long War from Home: Competing Identities Chapter Nine ¿ Here Comes Flash: The Rock Musicals Chapter Ten ¿ Juke Box Music: Alienation and Love Chapter Eleven ¿ Think Visual: TV, CD, and Stage Chapter Twelve ¿ 20th Century Man: The 1990s and Beyond Conclusion Appendix A ¿ My Top Ten Favorite Twenty Kinks/Davies Songs Appendix B ¿ My Top Ten Favorite Kinks Albums Notes Bibliography Index