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"Lola" is a song written by Ray Davies and performed by English rock band the Kinks on their album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One. The song details a romantic encounter between a young man and a possible transvestite, whom he meets in a club in Soho, London. In the song, the narrator describes his confusion towards a person named Lola who "walked like a woman and talked like a man". Although Ray Davies claims that the incident was inspired by a true encounter experienced by the band's manager, alternate explanations for the song have been given by drummer Mick Avory.
The song was released in the United Kingdom on 12 June 1970, while in the United States it was released on 28 June 1970. Commercially, the single reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. Due to its controversial subject matter and use of the brand name Coca-Cola, the single received backlash and even bans in Britain and Australia. The British version of the song uses the phrase "cherry cola" while the US version uses the name "Coca-Cola". The track has since become one of The Kinks' most iconic and popular songs, later being ranked number 422 on "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" as well as number 473 on the "NME's 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time" list.
Since its release, "Lola" has appeared on multiple compilation and live albums. In 1980, a live version of the song from the album One for the Road was released as a single in the US and some European countries, becoming a minor hit. Other versions include live renditions from 1972's Everybody's in Show-Biz and 1996's To the Bone. The "Lola" character also made an appearance in the lyrics of the band's 1981 song, "Destroyer".
Ray Davies has claimed that he was inspired to write "Lola" after Kinks manager Robert Wace spent a night in Paris dancing with a transgender woman. Davies said of the incident, "In his apartment, Robert had been dancing with this black woman, and he said, 'I'm really onto a thing here.' And it was okay until we left at six in the morning and then I said, 'Have you seen the stubble?' He said 'Yeah', but he was too pissed to care, I think."
Drummer Mick Avory has offered an alternate explanation for the song's lyrics, claiming that "Lola" was partially inspired by Avory's frequenting of transgender bars in west London. Avory said, "We used to know this character called Michael McGrath. He used to hound the group a bit, because being called The Kinks did attract these sorts of people. He used to come down to Top of the Pops, and he was publicist for John Stephen's shop in Carnaby Street. He used to have this place in Earl's Court, and he used to invite me to all these drag queen acts and transsexual pubs. They were like secret clubs. And that's where Ray got the idea for 'Lola'. When he was invited too, he wrote it while I was getting drunk."
Despite claims that the song was written about a supposed date between Ray Davies and trans woman actress Candy Darling, Davies has since claimed this rumour to be false, saying that the two only went out to dinner together and that he had known the whole time of Darling's gender identity.
In his autobiography, Dave Davies said that he came up with the music for what would become "Lola", noting that brother Ray added the lyrics after hearing it. In a 1990 interview, Dave Davies stated that "Lola" was written in a similar fashion to "You Really Got Me" in that the two worked on Ray's basic skeleton of the song, saying that the song was more of a collaborative effort than many believed.
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"Lola" is a song written by Ray Davies and performed by English rock band the Kinks on their album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One. The song details a romantic encounter between a young man and a possible transvestite, whom he meets in a club in Soho, London. In the song, the narrator describes his confusion towards a person named Lola who "walked like a woman and talked like a man". Although Ray Davies claims that the incident was inspired by a true encounter experienced by the band's manager, alternate explanations for the song have been given by drummer Mick Avory.
The song was released in the United Kingdom on 12 June 1970, while in the United States it was released on 28 June 1970. Commercially, the single reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. Due to its controversial subject matter and use of the brand name Coca-Cola, the single received backlash and even bans in Britain and Australia. The British version of the song uses the phrase "cherry cola" while the US version uses the name "Coca-Cola". The track has since become one of The Kinks' most iconic and popular songs, later being ranked number 422 on "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" as well as number 473 on the "NME's 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time" list.
Since its release, "Lola" has appeared on multiple compilation and live albums. In 1980, a live version of the song from the album One for the Road was released as a single in the US and some European countries, becoming a minor hit. Other versions include live renditions from 1972's Everybody's in Show-Biz and 1996's To the Bone. The "Lola" character also made an appearance in the lyrics of the band's 1981 song, "Destroyer".
Ray Davies has claimed that he was inspired to write "Lola" after Kinks manager Robert Wace spent a night in Paris dancing with a transgender woman. Davies said of the incident, "In his apartment, Robert had been dancing with this black woman, and he said, 'I'm really onto a thing here.' And it was okay until we left at six in the morning and then I said, 'Have you seen the stubble?' He said 'Yeah', but he was too pissed to care, I think."
Drummer Mick Avory has offered an alternate explanation for the song's lyrics, claiming that "Lola" was partially inspired by Avory's frequenting of transgender bars in west London. Avory said, "We used to know this character called Michael McGrath. He used to hound the group a bit, because being called The Kinks did attract these sorts of people. He used to come down to Top of the Pops, and he was publicist for John Stephen's shop in Carnaby Street. He used to have this place in Earl's Court, and he used to invite me to all these drag queen acts and transsexual pubs. They were like secret clubs. And that's where Ray got the idea for 'Lola'. When he was invited too, he wrote it while I was getting drunk."
Despite claims that the song was written about a supposed date between Ray Davies and trans woman actress Candy Darling, Davies has since claimed this rumour to be false, saying that the two only went out to dinner together and that he had known the whole time of Darling's gender identity.
In his autobiography, Dave Davies said that he came up with the music for what would become "Lola", noting that brother Ray added the lyrics after hearing it. In a 1990 interview, Dave Davies stated that "Lola" was written in a similar fashion to "You Really Got Me" in that the two worked on Ray's basic skeleton of the song, saying that the song was more of a collaborative effort than many believed.
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Rock/Pop
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