"Till the End of the Day"
West German picture sleeve
Single by the Kinks
from the album The Kink Kontroversy
B-side"Where Have All the Good Times Gone"
Released19 November 1965
Recorded3–4 November 1965[1]
StudioPye, London
Genre
Length2:20
Label
Songwriter(s)Ray Davies
Producer(s)Shel Talmy
The Kinks UK singles chronology
"See My Friends"
(1965) 		"Till the End of the Day"
(1965) 		"Dedicated Follower of Fashion"
(1966)
The Kinks US singles chronology
"A Well Respected Man"
(1965) 		"Till the End of the Day"
(1966) 		"Dedicated Follower of Fashion"
(1966)

"Till the End of the Day" is a song by the Kinks, written by Ray Davies and released as a single in 1965 and later on their album The Kink Kontroversy. It centres on a power chord, like many of the group's early hits, and was similarly successful, reaching number eight in the United Kingdom[5] and number 50 in the United States, spending eight weeks or more in each chart.[6]

Background

Davies recalled of the process of writing the song,

"I remember how 'Till the End of the Day' came about. I had a bit of writer’s block, and my managers were getting worried because I hadn't produced anything in almost a month. [Laughs] They sent Mort Shuman 'round to my house, one of my hit-writing heroes. He wrote 'Save the Last Dance For Me” with Doc Pomus. This mad, druggy New Yorker came 'round to my little semi-detached house in London. He said, 'I'm here to find out what you’re thinking about. I’m not interested in what you have written; I'm interested in what you're gonna write.' He was completely paid off by my managers to say it. I thought it was ridiculous that there was so much importance put on it. If I don’t want to write for a month, I won't. To say the least, I was pressured into doing it. Then I went off to stay with my sister and bought a new toy, a little upright piano, and wrote 'Till The End Of The Day.'"[7]

Of the song's meaning, Davies said, "That song was about freedom, in the sense that someone's been a slave or locked up in prison. It’s a song about escaping something. I didn't know it was about my state of mind."

Billboard described the song as a "rockin' dance beat wailer with up-beat lyric."[8] Cash Box described the single as a "rollicking, fast-moving, bluesy romancer about a fella who is especially hung-up on his gal."[9]

Cover versions

A cover version by Big Star appeared on the CD release of Third/Sister Lovers. Alex Chilton, the singer for Big Star, would eventually record the song with Davies 30 years later for Davies' album See My Friends.

The song was covered by Japanese band Shonen Knife and is one of four songs on the CD single "Brown Mushrooms And Other Delights" from their Rock Animals album released in 1993.

Ty Segall's band, Fuzz, covered the song on their 2013 debut album.

Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley recorded a cover of the song on his solo covers album: Origins, Vol. 1, released in April 2016.

Personnel

According to band researcher Doug Hinman:[10]

The Kinks

Additional musicians

Charts

Chart (1965–66) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[11] 63
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[12] 34
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[13] 37
France (IFOP)[14] 35
Germany (Official German Charts)[15] 19
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[16] 4
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 6
Norway (VG-lista)[18] 7
Sweden (Kvällstoppen)[19] 3
Sweden (Tio i Topp)[20] 1
UK Singles (OCC)[21] 8
US Billboard Hot 100[22] 50
US Cash Box Top 100[23] 43

References

  1. ^ Hinman 2004, pp. 68, 70.
  2. ^ The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, page 1977
  3. ^ Turner 2003, p. 560.
  4. ^ Borack 2007, p. 59.
  5. ^ The Kinks in the UK Charts, The Official Charts. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  6. ^ "Till the End of the Day" chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  7. ^ Miller, Eric T. (2 June 2008). "Ray Davies: Imaginary Man". Magnet Magazine. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. 19 March 1966. p. 16. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  9. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 19 March 1966. p. 14. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  10. ^ Hinman 2004, p. 70.
  11. ^ "Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1966". www.top100singles.net.
  12. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5733." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  13. ^ "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960: Artistit KET - KIR". Sisältää hitin. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  14. ^ "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque Artiste commençant par K" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "Kinks" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  15. ^ "The Kinks – Till the End of the Day" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  16. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Kinks" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  17. ^ "The Kinks – Till the End of the Day" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  18. ^ "The Kinks – Till the End of the Day". VG-lista.
  19. ^ "HITS ALLER TIJDEN". www.hitsallertijden.nl. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  20. ^ Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (1998). Eric Hallberg, Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna på försök: 1961 - 74. Premium Publishing. p. 447. ISBN 919727125X.
  21. ^ "Kinks: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  22. ^ "The Kinks Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  23. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 4/16/66". cashboxmagazine.com. Retrieved 18 January 2021.

Sources

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