Americana: The Kinks, the road and the perfect riff - Hardcover

 Iconic rock singer-songwriter Ray Davies inspired generations of musicians—from the Who, the Clash, and the Ramones to Black Sabbath—as lead singer and songwriter of the Kinks. The band's string of international hits include “You Really Got Me,” “All Day and All of the Night,” “Till the End of the Day,” “Come Dancing,” and of course, “Lola.” In 1990, the Kinks were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Davies has also acted, directed, and produced shows for theater and television. Since the Kinks disbanded he has embarked on a solo career and continues to tour and record. Davies was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2004, and in 2012, his performance of the Kinks song “Waterloo Sunset” was a highlight of the closing ceremony of the London Olympics. On his most recent album, See My Friends (2011), he collaborated with such artists as Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, and Jon Bon Jovi. Davies was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June 2014, and his Kinks-themed stage musical, Sunny Afternoon, is now playing on the West End in London and crowned best new musical at the Olivier Awards in April 2015. It also won Oliviers for best actor and best supporting actor in the musical category, and Ray Davies received a special outstanding achievement award for the Sunny Afternoon score.

"The Kinks frontman published X-Ray, his 'unauthorized autobiography,' in 1994, long before his peers started telling their own tales of decadence and recovery. Americana is alternately a sequel and parallel companion piece to X-Ray, chronicling his later years and his lifelong relationship with the country and culture that inspired him. . . . Davies is candid and honest about his personal and creative struggles. . . . [He writes] 'the immovable "You" is always there, whether you like it or not.'” —The New York Times