“You Really Got Me” was released in the U.S. on this date in 1964. The Kinks song changed writer, singer Ray Davies’ life. Not just because it made it to number 7 on the chart He says how it had a profound and lasting effect on him.
“They wouldn’t let me sing because I had a gap in my teeth, and they actually made me wear a cap on my teeth on my first TV show and Dave got all the close-ups. Then I sang “You Really Got Me” and it gave me the confidence. Then I didn’t like the record the way the producer made it and I did it myself the way I wanted it, using [producer] Shel Talmy, but making it the way I thought it should sound. It just made me grow up. That whole process was me, a really shy, interesting person turning into a confident bore.”
