Dave Davies – My Life In Music

LITTLE RICHARD
Here’s Little Richard
SPECIALITY, 1957
Little Richard took my breath away when I first heard him, and he was always in the forefront of all my music. He was raucous and loud and made you wake up and want to rock. I’ve been thankful to him for his influence and humour – his music is sensational and a one-off, never to be repeated. “Long Tall Sally” was inspiring, so we thought it would be a fun cover to do with The Kinks. Ours holds up as a fun and grittier version. I met Little Richard in an elevator once and I thought he was really funny, but he didn’t say anything about The Kinks’ version of his song. He was very into himself but I liked that about him. He was quite a character.

ANITA O’DAY
Anita O’Day Swings Cole Porter With Billy May
VERVE, 1959
I first saw Anita O’Day in the movie Jazz On A Summer’s Day [about the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival] which Ray and I went to see together as teenagers. I was gobsmacked by her performance. Cole Porter was a great songwriter, Billy May made great arrangements and Anita O’Day’s voice is really exciting, so together they were a fabulous combination. My favourite track is her version of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” – compared to Frank Sinatra’s version, she gives the song a woman’s touch. I grew up in a house full of older sisters who loved music, and I have fond memories of my mother and my sister singing. The female voice has had as much of an influence on my music as anything.

CHARLIE BYRD
Blues Sonata
RIVERSIDE, 1963
Charlie Byrd is one of the great classic guitar players. His wonderful music has always inspired me and I’ve always loved him. I think <Blues Sonata> is probably the best overall album of his. It was quieter and relaxed and more poignant than other jazz records I heard at the time. Many times I’ve listened to this album as a source of comfort, relaxation and reflection. It immediately puts me in a comfort zone where I’m happy. Charlie Byrd has influenced all of my guitar playing in one way or another – without his influence, I may not have tried different styles.

EDDIE COCHRAN
The Very Best Of Eddie Cochran
LIBERTY, 1970
I never get fed up with his music – it’s raunchy, it’s rugged, it’s really great. I like “Twenty Flight Rock” and “C’mon Everybody”… all of these tracks are classic rockers. When I first heard Eddie, I was mesmerised by his vocals and style. There were elements of his playing that inspired me to play differently, and he influenced my choice of guitar in the early days because he played a Gretsch. When I signed with RCA for my first solo album in 1980, it was partly because one of the executives, Ed DeJoy, had worked with Eddie Cochran. Whenever I’ve driven in the West Country, I’ve felt remorse and sadness knowing this was where he died, so young and so talented.

BOB DYLAN & THE BAND
The Basement Tapes
COLUMBIA, 1975
I was so flattered that “All Day And All Of The Night” was included in A Complete Unknown, so I decided to listen to Bob Dylan again. I particularly love “Maggie’s Farm” and I’ve always been a keen admirer of his work. I never met him and I wish I had, but I assume he liked us since we are mentioned in the film. The Basement Tapes is a really good album of offbeat recordings. The Band always sounded good, but with Bob Dylan it added a bit of spice. There were definitely parallels between what The Band and The Kinks were doing, in terms of looking back at history. Robbie Robertson dying was a great shock to me – my son Daniel is a good friend of his son Sebastian and they have recorded music together as well.

MOUNTAIN
Nantucket Sleighride
ISLAND, 1971
Mountain were a great influence. They made heavy tones heavier and their sound was innovative: great production and bass by Felix Pappalardi, Corky Laing on drums and Steve Knight on keyboards – all cool. Plus Leslie West was a great and underrated guitar player of the time and he really stands out on this album. The song “Nantucket Sleighride” in particular is a momentous piece of music, a powerful blend of hard rock and melody. I never saw Mountain play live, but I did play on a bill with Leslie West in 2001. I didn’t get to know him well and I feel sad about that, but he was very nice during our short meeting. I was sad to hear of his death in 2020. He was rock’n’roll to the roots.

DANIEL DAVIES
Ghost Of The Heart
SACRED BONES, 2024
I always encouraged my son Daniel to play music but never religiously. I’m so proud of his achievements: he made an album called Ghost Of The Heart and I really like the tracks “Into You” and “I Know Why” – really heavy riffs and hard-sounding rock music attitude. Daniel also does phenomenal soundtrack work with filmmaker John Carpenter and his son Cody Carpenter. He was in a band called Year Long Disaster, but he gravitated towards film music because John Carpenter was close to the family. I worked on the soundtrack Village Of The Damned with John in the ’80s, and Daniel began collaborating with Cody. John’s a really fun-loving guy. He always wanted to be a rockstar!

SEX PISTOLS
Never Mind The Bollocks
VIRGIN, 1977
This is a quite fabulous rouser. I was on Steve Jones’ radio show some years back and he said that The Kinks were a great influence on his guitar playing, and Johnny Rotten has always been funny and made me laugh. I didn’t mind the Sex Pistols when they came out. Even though it was a bit of a hype, I thought it was refreshing. There was so much crap going on at the time, it was a relief to hear something new and unabashed. Their sound was real, even though it was a put-up job. Another band I was torn about mentioning instead of the Sex Pistols is Devo. I like the fact that Devo were different and funny – it made rock stand up.