"LOLA" ● The Kinks
THE KINKS / MCA Records Publicity Photo 1989 / IVOX MEDIA collection
"LOLA" ● The Kinks
The Song● Lola
Writer● Ray Davies
Producer● Ray Davies
Recorded● Spring 1970 at Morgan Studios in London England
Released● June 1970
Players●
:: Ray Davies -- vocals, guitar
:: Dave Davies -- guitar, vocals
:: Pete Quaife -- bass, vocals
:: John Gosling -- keyboards
:: Mick Avory -- drums
Album● Lola Vs. Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part One (Reprise, 1970)
Also On●
:: The Kink Kronikles (Reprise, 1972)
:: Everybody's In Show-Biz (RCA, 1972)
:: Second Time Around (RCA, 1980)
:: One For The Road (Arista, 1980)
:: Come Dancing With The Kinks: The Best Of The Kinks 1977-1986 (Arista, 1986)
Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One ● The Kinks
Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One, commonly abbreviated to Lola Versus Powerman, or simply Lola, is the eighth studio album by the Kinks, released on November 27, 1970.
The Song "Lola" helped the Kinks break a commercial slump. In the U.K., it hit Number One, replacing Free's "All Right Now." It peaked at Number Nine in the U.S., the group's first hit here since "Sunny Afternoon" in 1966.
"Lola" is one of the most controversial songs in the Kinks repertoire, detailing a meeting and implied romance with a transvestite. Leader Ray Davies explained, "The song is actually meant to show that things aren't always what they seem. In such realms, you could think one thing and something else would be hidden, lurking in the shadow. I like writing songs with stories about people. I live in a strange world to some, but I think the world is a lot stranger... if you read into the lyric, you'll see the song is only about friendship."
Of the song's main character, Davies said, "Lola is a real person and a very good friend of mine, a dancer, actually. I'm not going to tell you what sex the person is, though. It's a joke song but it's very real. I think that sex is very unimportant in friendships. That's why I wrote the song."
Davies altered the song after it was first recorded, introducing "an old trick -- find a hook in the song that isn't the melody, and repeat it. I used the three-chord guitar riff that was between the verses and stuck it on the front."
The subject matter helped earn the song a radio ban in Australia. The BBC, meanwhile, made the group record a version of the song with the words "cherry cola" rather than "Coca Cola."
The album Lola Vs. Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part One peaked at Number 35 on the Billboard 200.
KWXY regularly plays the music of The Kinks, and both the studio recording and live version of the song Lola. Listen to KWXY Music Radio ● 92.3FM 1340AM ● streaming at kwxy.com and ivoxradio.com