![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/The-Kinks-Stockholm-1965-Far-Out-Magazine-1140x855.jpg\")
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(Credits: Far Out \/ Public Domain)<\/p>\n
Sat 3 January 2026 9:56, UK <\/p>\n
Bob Dylan\u2019s fingertips are spread intricately over all of our record collections. Everyone from The Beatles through to Post Malone has kneeled at Dylan\u2019s holy altar. Likewise, Frank Sinatra has always been a key figure in the world of pop songwriting; his magnetic performances have a habit of creeping into the collective consciousness. The Kinks<\/a> have them both to thank for one of their most cherished songs.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a solid case to be made for Ray Davies being the British version of Dylan. His divine way with words shares parallels with his American contemporary, as does the impact they\u2019ve had in their native countries. Remarkably, Davies is often omitted from the conversation when people discuss the pantheon of songwriting credits, but his lyrical expertise puts him in the same bracket as the all-time greats.<\/p>\n Amongst a congested field of beat bands during 1964, The Kinks endured and proved they were mounted differently from the rest. They weren\u2019t trying to imitate The Beatles and Davies\u2019 witty lyrics that reflectively held a mirror up to society\u2019s airs and graces, as nobody had done before.<\/p>\n Trying to connect Davies with Sinatra is a little more difficult to pull off. \u2018Ol Blue Eyes\u2019 was a one of a kind performer who brought the old school into the 196s kicking and screaming. He was a figure of the booming 1950s and represented a cherished part of American pizazz, so aligining him with Davies is a difficult thing to do. But what Sinatra did give Davies was something to aim at in terms of ease and comfort. <\/p>\n Sinatra didn\u2019t write any songs, but what he did was inhabit the feeling of them. Simply and smartly pulled onto the stage, Sinatra could make the simplest words feel big and powerful. It was an inroad for Davies to pen some of his best lyrics. <\/p>\n The lyrics created by the Kinks singer were so unique compared to the releases of the time, and more often than not, Davies never had to look anywhere else apart from his mercurial head full of ideas for a shot of inspiration. However, musically it was a different story, and Dylan\u2019s Bringing It All Back Home album helped form the initial soundscape for The Kinks\u2019 \u2018Sunny Afternoon\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d bought a white upright piano. I hadn\u2019t written for a time,\u201d Davies once explained about his strange situation when he wrote the song and how his life had dramatically changed around that period. \u201cI\u2019d been ill. I was living in a very 1960s-decorated house. It had orange walls and green furniture. My one-year-old daughter was crawling on the floor, and I wrote the opening riff. I remember it vividly. I was wearing a polo-neck sweater,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n![\"Ray](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Ray-Davies-The-Kinks-Far-Out-Magazine-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/a>Ray Davies, suited and booted. (Credits: Far Out \/ Ray Davies)<\/p>\n