What You Got (Grinspoon song)
"What You Got" is the second single by Australian rock band Grinspoon from their fifth studio album "Alibis & Other Lies". The song was co-written by Phil Jamieson and Matthew Strong (Custard), who is the bass player in Jamieson’s side project, Lost Gospel. The single was only released in a digital format on iTunes.
Reception.
Australian music website, The Dwarf, describes "What You Got" as being musically closer to "Hard Act to Follow" stating "It's short, sharp and 100% killer. Just how it should be."
Michael Olivotto of FasterLouder believes that the song "instantly wreaks of The Lost Gospel" and that whilst the song is good in its own right, it "stick(s) out from the rest of the album and would have been better left as B-side(s)s or for some other project."
SameSame's Nate C felt that ""What You Got" also sound(s) like the ‘debauched rock and roll’ of vintage Grinners and is sure to appeal to the band’s devoted and faithful.."
Video.
The video was filmed in the school gymnasium of Viewbank College. It features the band playing in a gymnasium while the screen flashes to people in still life. The video was produced by Lacey Fitzgerald and directed by James Teh (Peace Charger Productions).
References.
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Grinspoon
Australian rock band
Grinspoon are an Australian rock band from Lismore, New South Wales, which formed in 1995 by Pat Davern on guitar, Joe Hansen on bass guitar, Kristian Hopes on drums and frontman Phil Jamieson on vocals and guitar. Also in that year, Grinspoon won the national youth radio, Triple J–sponsored Unearthed competition for Lismore, with their post-grunge song "Sickfest". The band's name references Lester Grinspoon, an associate professor emeritus of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who supported marijuana for medical use.
All eight of Grinspoon's studio albums have reached the ARIA albums chart top 10. Their sound changed to mainstream rock with the release of their third studio album, "New Detention" (2002), which peaked at No. 2; likewise, their fifth studio album "Alibis & Other Lies" (2007) also reached No. 2. The 2004 fourth album, "Thrills, Kills & Sunday Pills", peaked at No. 4. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2005 it won the Best Rock Album Award.
The band were signed to Universal Records in the United States by late 1998, and were promoted with the songs "Champion", which featured in "Gran Turismo 3"; "Post Enebriated Anxiety", which was on the international version of "Guide to Better Living" (1999); "Chemical Heart", via the internet; and a cover of the Prong song "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck", from Grinspoon's "Pushing Buttons" (1998) EP, which was also included on "" (1998). On 4 December 2013, the band members announced an indefinite hiatus to pursue individual projects, although they made a return in earnest in 2017. Their eighth studio album, "Whatever, Whatever" (2024) reached No. 3.
History.
1995-2000: Early years.
In July 1995, Pat Davern (guitar), Joe Hansen (bass guitar), Kristian Hopes (drums) and Phil Jamieson (vocals, guitar) met at a Lismore hotel, The Gollan, for a jam night. They decided to form a band and three weeks later they recorded a two-track demo, which they entered for the national youth radio station Triple J's Unearthed competition. Their name was taken from Lester Grinspoon, an associate professor emeritus of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who supported marijuana for medical use. They won the competition with their post-grunge, alternative rock song "Sickfest" – their first track ever written together by Davern and Jamieson.
Grinspoon gained airplay on Triple J and independent radio stations. They developed a strong following among the Australian "alternative" and "mosh pit crowd." Their debut extended Play (EP) was the six-track, "Grinspoon" (a.k.a. "Green Album"), was released in 1995 through the independent Oracle Records. It contained the songs "Sickfest" and "More Than You Are" that became popular with fans and were rerecorded on later releases.
Grinspoon's second EP, "Licker Bottle Cozy", recorded in June 1996 and produced by Phil McKellar, was released by Grudge Records in December. It had a slightly heavier sound than their earlier EP with five tracks including the songs "Champion" and "Pig Pen". In September 1997 they released their first full-length album, "Guide to Better Living", co-produced by McKellar and well-known Swiss-American heavy metal producer Ulrich Wild. The album peaked at No. 11 on the ARIA Albums Charts and went platinum with sales of over 70,000 in Australia. It represents the Helmet-influenced alternative metal sound of their early career with heavier songs like "Pressure Tested 1984". The Australian version of the album features five live songs—illustrating the band's sense of humour and ability to play live—and a hidden track, the acoustic "Protest". US branch of Universal Records signed the band by late 1998 and released an altered version of "Guide to Better Living" in March 1999.
Whilst in US touring for ten months as support act for Creed, Lit, Godsmack and Anthrax, Grinspoon released a six track EP, "Pushing Buttons", for their Australian market in September 1998. It featured the popular heavy song "Black Friday" and the lighter songs "Busy" and "Explain". After the intense US touring, Grinspoon released their second album, "Easy" in September 1999, which peaked at No. 4 and went platinum in Australia. It contained the singles "Ready 1" and "Rock Show".
2001-2007: Changing direction.
After a break to reconsider their direction and sound Grinspoon started recording their next album, "New Detention", in Sydney's Festival Studios in September 2001 but prior to finishing the studios were shut down and so vocals and guitars were recorded in smaller studios. Further delays occurred after Hopes injured his hand on a studio window. "New Detention" was released in June 2002 and was more commercial—it peaked at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Charts and went platinum. The first single from the album, "Chemical Heart", released in February had created a stir with long term fans and the media because it was different from their previous grunge sound. The band insisted the change was a natural one and was an improvement. Nevertheless, the band still performs older tracks in their live shows. They released a four track EP in March 2003, "Panic Attack"—containing a cover of INXS's "Don't Change"—which reached No. 13 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
In August 2004, they released a new single, "Hard Act To Follow", which reached the Top 30. It was from the September album "Thrills, Kills & Sunday Pills", which peaked at No. 4 and went platinum. Grinspoon also performed at the 2004 NRL grand final before a second single, "Better Off Alone", issued in November, also reached the Top 30. The third single was "Hold on Me" released in February 2005. For "Thrills, Kills & Sunday Pills", the band agreed that they were deliberately seeking a new audience, claiming they wrote a number of songs for the release and rejected any that sounded like earlier work. It won the 2005 'Best Rock Album Award' at the ARIA Music Awards. They had previously been nominated 9 times.
Grinspoon had built a strong local following after their rise, they were regulars at Australian music festivals. On 26 March 2006, Grinspoon performed "Hard Act To Follow" and "Better Off Alone" at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony in Melbourne. They headlined the inaugural "Thank God It's Over" in Melbourne, at "BOBFest '06" in South Australia in October and at Odyssey 2006 at Dreamworld for New Year's Eve.
In February 2007, Jamieson admitted himself to rehab due to addiction to crystal methamphetamine. On Andrew Denton's "Enough Rope" in July, Jamieson discussed his drug addictions, an extramarital affair, stealing money from bandmates, detox and rehab experiences.
The band completed, "Alibis & Other Lies" in July 2007, as their final album for Universal. It was co-produced by the band and Ramesh Sathiah, who had worked with them on their earliest recordings. Earlier albums before this were pop-oriented rock, while "Easy" and "Alibis & Other Lies" were more heavy rock. The first single from the album, "Black Tattoo", was released as a digital download on 23 June and physically a week later. The album peaked at No. 2, their equal highest album chart position (with "New Detention" in 2002). Grinspoon released a 2-disc compilation entitled "Best in Show". The first disc featured their hits and several older songs, like "Champion", which landed the song on "Gran Turismo 3". The second disc includes a collection of covers recorded over the years. In the US, all Grinspoon albums had been released on iTunes and other online music stores. The first four were "Guide To Better Living", "Best In Show", "Thrills, Kills, and Sunday Pills", and "New Detention". "Easy" and "Alibis & Other Lies" followed on 31 October 2007.
2008-2009: Hiatus.
On 5 February 2008, Jamieson announced, via the band's official website, that Grinspoon were on hiatus following their appearance at Big Day Out in late January. Grinspoon headlined the Newton's Playground festival, held atop Bathurst's famous Mount Panorama in March, with their song "Lost Control" played in advertisements for the festival. On 1 May, Grinspoon announced they would complete more shows before writing a new album.
Grinspoon recorded The Easybeats' track "St. Louis" for a tribute album, "Easy Fever: A Tribute to The Easybeats and Stevie Wright"—released in October 2008—while Jamieson's duet with The Wrights on "Evie part 3: I'm Losing You" from 2005 was included. The band contributed the track "Blind Lead Blind", their B side of 2007's "Minute By Minute", to a compilation CD for The Buttery Drug and Alcohol Rehab Centre titled "Caution: Life Ahead", which included contributions from other Australian acts such as Powderfinger, Midnight Oil and The Living End, and was released in November.
Grinspoon performed on 26 July 2009 at the annual Splendour in the Grass Festival in Byron Bay. Jamieson then toured with a supergroup composed of The Living End's Chris Cheney, You Am I's Tim Rogers, and Josh Pyke with a 17-piece band in August 2009. The group performed a tribute to The Beatles' White Album for its 40th anniversary.
2010: "Six to Midnight".
Grinspoon's next album, titled "Six to Midnight", was released on 11 September 2009 on the band's imprint Chk Chk Boom Records, distributed by Universal Records, which peaked at No. 6. Two tracks, "Dogs" and the first single, "Comeback", were released to radio earlier. For promotion of the album, the band toured in a more intimate setting than most of their previous concerts. On 6 November, Grinspoon played live on Triple J radio and confirmed that "Summer" was the second single from the album. In 2010 Premonitions was released as the third single from the album. The band toured for the album including two acoustic shows in London in early 2012 featuring Phil and Pat.
2011–2019: "Black Rabbits" and hiatus.
In September 2011 Grinspoon announced on their website that they are writing and recording their seventh studio album.
In May 2012 the band announced that they were heading to the United States for a month to record the album. The band also hinted that the title of the album would be "Black Rabbits". The album was later slated to feature guest musicians including Chris Cheney of The Living End, Tim Rogers of You Am I and Scott Russo of Unwritten Law.
On 23 July 2012, Grinspoon released the artwork of the album on their official Facebook page, confirming the name of the release "Black Rabbits".
The album was released on 28 September, debuting at number 8 on the ARIA charts.
On 5 December 2013 a statement on the official Grinspoon website announced that the band would be going on hiatus. A section of the statement reads: "Thanks to all our families, friends, and especially our fans for the support over the last 18 years – it's been a wild ride to say the least. We are still a band of brothers but it's time for us to take a break and recharge the batteries. We're excited to see what our future holds…adios amigos, it's been a blast!"
In August 2015, it was announced that the band would be reforming exclusively to play a run of dates opening for Cold Chisel.
In 2017, the band announced they would be re-releasing a special 20th Anniversary edition of Guide To Better Living and announced an Australia wide tour. The tour was sold out.
In 2019, the group released the compilation, "Chemical Hearts".
2020–present: "Whatever, Whatever".
In May 2024, the group released the single "Unknown Pretenders", which was written in February 2020. At the same time, they announced the release of their eighth studio album "Whatever, Whatever".
Awards and nominations.
APRA Awards.
The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". They commenced in 1982.
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ARIA Awards.
The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987. Grinspoon has won 2 awards from 14 nominations.
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J Awards.
The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.
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Non zero one
Non zero one (formed 2009) are an artist collective formed of Sarah Butcher, Iván González, Cat Harrison, John Hunter, Fran Miller and Alex Turner. They also work with other artists in association. The collective formed in early 2009, after meeting one another via their undergraduate studies at Royal Holloway, University of London.
The collective make interactive theatre that sometimes uses game mechanics and digital technology (such as headphones) in order to put the audience at the centre of the work. They often explore the connections between people - whether it be what it is that makes people a 'team', in "The Time Out", to the instructions over headphones in "Would like to meet", which attempts to ask 'Can you miss someone you've never met?'" or the "Ghosts" of actors past and present in "this Is where we got to when you came in".
Shows.
"Would Like to Meet" - 2009–2010. Debuted as part of the company's undergraduate degree programme at Royal Holloway, University of London in 2009. The show was then supported by a Farnham Maltings 'No Strings Attached' grant, before being fully commissioned by the Barbican Centre where it ran in Spring of 2010 as part of their Bite10 festival. The piece is an intricately timed interactive headphone work designed for 6 people, each of whom are guided by a different recorded voice. Alex Turner is quoted as saying that the piece aims to pose "the question: 'Can you miss someone you've never met?'"
"They Vote with Their Feet" - 2009. A 'scratch' (early stages performance test) performance at Battersea Arts Centre in September 2009.
"Hold Hands/Lock Horns" - 2010. Developed after the company won a Farnham Maltings 'No Strings Attached' grant, following "they vote with their feet" at Battersea Arts Centre. Described as an 'interactive game', or 'interactive theatre performance', this piece is 15 minutes long, and is a one-on-one performance, made for one member of the company, and one audience member, and explores "how people can be held accountable for the choices they make".
"This is Where We Got to When You Came In" - 2011. Devised for the pub theatre venue that The Bush Theatre moved out of in 2011. A show that traces a tour of the backstage areas of The Bush's pub venue of 40 years.
"The Time Out" - 2011. Developed at the National Theatre Studio, and performed at Latitude Festival 2011, Forest Fringe 2011, before touring to Tate Britain in October 2011, The Junction in November 2011. In an interview with The Junction Theatre, the collective are quoted as saying that ""the time out" is about teamwork. When we first started work on the piece about a year ago, we were enthralled by questions like: what is it that makes a team? How long do you have to be with a group of people to feel they are your team? What is it you have to experience? How does a team survive?" The show is 1 hour long and is an interactive experience for up to 12 audience members.
References.
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You Really Got Me
1964 single by the Kinks
"You Really Got Me" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks, written by frontman Ray Davies and released as their third single in 1964. The song, originally performed in a more blues-oriented style, was inspired by artists such as Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy. Two versions were recorded, with the second performance used for the final single. Lead guitarist Dave Davies performs the song's famous guitar solo. Although it was long rumoured that future Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page had performed the song's guitar solo, this has been debunked by Page himself.
"You Really Got Me" is built around power chords (perfect fifths and octaves) and it heavily influenced later rock musicians, particularly in the heavy metal and punk rock genres. Built around a guitar riff played by Dave Davies, its lyrics were described by Dave as "a love song for street kids".
The song was released in the UK on 4 August 1964 by Pye Records as the group's third single, and reached number one on the "Record Retailer" chart the following month, remaining there for two weeks. It was released in the US on 2 September by Reprise Records. The song became the group's breakthrough hit. It established them as one of the top British Invasion acts in the United States, reaching number seven later in the year. "You Really Got Me" was later included on the Kinks' debut album, "Kinks". American rock band Van Halen covered the song in their 1978 eponymous debut album; it was released as their first single and peaked at No. 36 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The song was also covered by American rock band Oingo Boingo in their 1981 album "Only a Lad".
Background.
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[The original demo version of 'You Really Got Me'] had very way-out words and a funny sort of ending that didn't. We did it differently on the record because [this original version] was really rather uncommercial.
– Ray Davies
"You Really Got Me" was written by Ray Davies, the Kinks' vocalist and main songwriter, sometime between 9 and 12 March 1964. Created on the piano in the front room of the Davies' home, the song was stylistically very different from the finished product, being much lighter and somewhat jazz-oriented. Ray said of the song's writing, "When I came up with ['You Really Got Me'] I hadn't been writing songs very long at all. It was one of the first five I ever came up with."
Davies said that he had been inspired to write the song one night during his college days playing with the Dave Hunt Band, when he saw an attractive girl on the dance floor. He said: "When we finished, I went off to find her, but she was gone and never returned to the club. She really got me going."
During the spring of 1964, Ray Davies played an early version of "You Really Got Me" on the piano to rock photographer Allan Ballard during a photo shoot. Ballard later remembered, "It was quite a small, pokey, Victorian Terrace, a bit scruffy, and in the hallway they had an upright piano. Ray sat down and plonked out, 'Der-der, der, Der-der!' He said, 'What do you reckon to this?' It meant nothing to me at the time, but it ended up as 'You Really Got Me'."
Ray, initially planning for the song to be a "more laid-back number", later played the chords of the song to brother Dave Davies, the Kinks' lead guitarist. However, upon hearing the track, Dave decided that the riff would be much more powerful on a guitar. Ray said of the track's change to a guitar-centred track, "I wanted it to be a jazz-type tune, because that's what I liked at the time. It's written originally around a sax line ... Dave ended up playing the sax line in fuzz guitar and it took the song a step further." The band began performing the new track in some of their live shows, where it was well received.
In 1998, Ray said, "I'd written 'You Really Got Me' as tribute to all those great blues people I love: Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy." Dave cited Gerry Mulligan as an inspiration, saying, "Ray was a great fan of Gerry Mulligan, who was in [the "Jazz on a Summer's Day" movie], and as he sat at the piano at home, he sort of messed around in a vein similar to Mulligan and came up with this figure based on a 12-bar blues". Dave has also said that song had been inspired by Jimmy Giuffre's song "The Train and the River". According to the band's manager, Larry Page, the song's characteristic riff came about while working out the chords of the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie". Lyrically, the song was said to be influenced by an encounter with one of the band's "first serious female fans".
Recording.
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When I first heard ["You Really Got Me"], I said, "Shit, it doesn't matter what you do with this, it's a number one song". It could have been done in waltz time and it would have been a hit.
 – Shel Talmy, producer of "You Really Got Me"
The Kinks recorded "You Really Got Me" at least twice in mid-1964, likely around June 14 and July 12. The band's demo was in a "bluesy" style, while a full studio version recorded in June was slower and less emphatic than the final single. Shel Talmy had, according to Davies, covered the track in reverb, all but burying the lead guitar. The band wanted to rerecord the song, but their record company Pye refused to fund another session on the grounds that the band's first two singles had failed to chart. Ray Davies, however, threatened that he would refuse to perform or promote the single unless it was re-recorded. Manager Larry Page also refused to publish the original recording. When Pye stood its ground, the band's own management broke the stalemate by funding the session themselves. Ray Davies' adamant attitude on behalf of the career-making song effectively established him as the leader and chief songwriter of the Kinks. Davies later said, "I was floundering around trying to find an identity. It was in 1964 that I managed to do that, to be able to justify myself and say, 'I exist, I'm here.' I was literally born when that song hit."
The influential distortion sound of the guitar track was created after guitarist Dave Davies sliced the speaker cone of his guitar amplifier with a razor blade and poked it with a pin. The amplifier was affectionately called "little green", after the name of the amplifier made by the Elpico company, and purchased in Davies' neighbourhood music shop, linked to a Vox AC-30. In 2014, Dave Davies accused brother Ray of lying about participating in Dave's guitar distortion sound. Dave wrote on his Facebook page, "My brother is lying. I don't know why he does this but it was my Elpico amp that I bought and out of frustration I cut the speaker cone up with a razor blade and I was so shocked and surprised and excited that it worked that I demonstrated the sound to Ray and [Kinks bassist] Pete [Quaife]... Ray liked the sound and he had written a riff on the piano which formed the basis of the song 'You Really Got Me' and I played the riff on my guitar with my new sound. I alone created this sound."
According to recent Kinks' releases that give full official performance credits of the track, group members Ray Davies (vocals and rhythm guitar), Dave Davies (lead guitar), Pete Quaife (bass) are joined by session men Bobby Graham (drums), and Arthur Greenslade (piano). Regular Kinks drummer Mick Avory plays the tambourine.
Guitar solo.
The guitar solo on the recording has been the subject of the persistent myth that it was not played by the Kinks' lead guitarist Dave Davies, but by then-session player Jimmy Page, who later joined the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin. Among those claiming Page played lead guitar was Jon Lord of Deep Purple, who also claimed to play piano on the track. Page has always denied playing the song's guitar solo, going so far as to say in a 1970s interview cited in "Sound on Sound" magazine, "I didn't play on 'You Really Got Me' and that's what pisses him [Ray Davies] off." Rock historian and author Doug Hinman makes a case that the rumour was begun and fostered by the established British rhythm and blues community, many of whose members were resentful that an upstart band of teenagers such as the Kinks could produce such a powerful and influential blues-based recording seemingly out of nowhere.
Shel Talmy, the producer on the track, put the controversy to rest in an interview with "The Guardian", saying, "contrary to myth, Jimmy didn't play on 'You Really Got Me'." In a 7 November 2014 interview with SiriusXM's "Town Hall" series, Page confirmed again that he did not play on the song, saying "Oh, Crikey! I wasn't on 'You Really Got Me,' but I did play on the Kinks' records. That's all I'm going to say about it. But every time I do an interview, people ask me about 'You Really Got Me.' So maybe somebody can correct Wikipedia so people won't keep asking me." Drummer Mick Avory also confirmed that the guitar solo was played by Dave Davies and not Jimmy Page in an interview with AllMusic in 2023.
In his 1998 autobiographical release "The Storyteller", Ray Davies discusses the guitar solo. He confirms that his brother Dave played the solo and it was preceded by some bantering between the two:
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />Halfway through the song it was time for Dave's guitar solo. This moment had to be right. So I shouted across the studio to Dave, give him encouragement. But I seemed to spoil his concentration. He looked at me with a dazed expression. 'Fuck off.' If you doubt me, if you doubt what I'm saying, I challenge you to listen to the original Kinks recording of 'You Really Got Me'. Halfway through the song, after the second chorus, before the guitar solo, there's a drum break. Boo ka, boo boo ka, boo ka, boo boo. And in the background you can hear 'fuck off'. You can, you can. When I did the vocal I tried to cover it up by going 'Oh no', but in the background you still hear it 'fuck off'. And it's even clearer on CD, it's really embarrassing.
Music and lyrics.
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Every aspect of the song's construction is governed by the riff, a rapid alteration of bass notes a whole tone apart... this element probably accounts almost single-handedly for the song's popularity.
Matthew Gelbart, musicologist
Commentators have described "You Really Got Me" as garage rock, hard rock, rock and roll, and proto-punk. While Ray Davies had been instructed at the time to write "Beatle-type" material for commercial reasons, "You Really Got Me" was written as a more R&B-based composition. The song is centred on a guitar riff that has been called "instantly identifiable". American musicologist Robert Walser described "You Really Got Me" as "the first hit song built around power chords."
The song has been labeled an early influence of the heavy metal genre, with critic Denise Sullivan of AllMusic writing, "'You Really Got Me' remains a blueprint song in the hard rock and heavy metal arsenal." Dave Davies has rejected the idea that the song is heavy metal, saying: "I've never really like that term, heavy metal. I think, in all humility, it was the first heavy guitar riff rock record. Just because of the sound—if you played it on a ukulele, it might not have been so powerful."
The lyrics of the song are about lust and sex. Dave Davies said of the song's lyrics, "'You Really Got Me' [is] such a pure record, really. It's a love song for street kids. They're not going to wine and dine you, even if they knew how to chat you up. [They say] 'I want you—come here.'"
Release and reception.
"You Really Got Me" was released as the band's third single on 4 August 1964, backed with "It's All Right" (also spelled "It's Alright"). Within three days of the single's release, "You Really Got Me" began to appear on local charts. Eventually, the song climbed to the top of the British charts, the band's first single to do so. Ray Davies later claimed that, due to the single's high demand, Pye Records put all their other records on hold to solely produce copies of "You Really Got Me". Due to the high level of success the single achieved in the UK, a rush-release of "You Really Got Me" was put out in the US on 2 September 1964, despite being delayed from its initial release date of 26 August. Although it did not enter the charts until 26 September, the record rose to number seven on the "Billboard" Hot 100.
The song later appeared on the band's debut album, "Kinks", with the title of the American release of the album changed to "You Really Got Me". Plans for Ray to sing versions of the song in French, German, Spanish, and Japanese for their respective markets were proposed by Shel Talmy but never materialised. The single B-side, "It's All Right", was included on the UK EP "Kinksize Hits" (1964). It was first issued on an album in the US, where it was included on the Kinks' third album "Kinkdom" (1965). Music writers have called the song "shockingly different" from the Kinks' recorded work up to this point, and a "frenetic lost gem". The song is included on a 1998 CD reissue of the group's debut album.
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We were really surprised when 'You Really Got Me' was a hit. Why wasn't our last disc, 'You Still Want Me'? Because it wasn't any good. We didn't like it much ... We write for ourselves now.
– Ray Davies
Upon release, the single received a positive review from "Record Mirror", which said, "Highly promising group with strong guitar sound and a compact sort of vocal performance. Mid-tempo but bustling song should sell well." In "Melody Maker", singer Dave Berry was featured in a blindfold test of the song, with Berry at first guessing the song was by the Kingsmen. He said, "It's fabulous, this one. I like these records that sound as if they've gone into a recording studio and done what they wanted to on the spot. It's a good chance of being a big hit." The "Melody Maker" review had a lasting impact on Ray Davies, who said that Berry "had a few hits—so he mattered" and that Berry's belief that the band had "done what they wanted" had "said it all" for him. In the U.S., "Cash Box" called the single "a pulsating, blues-flavored rock-a-rhythmic...that builds along the way."
The Kinks' use of distorted guitar riffs continued with songs like "All Day and All of the Night", "Tired of Waiting for You", and "Set Me Free", among others. Pete Townshend of the Who, a band also produced by Talmy at that time, has stated that their first single, "I Can't Explain", was influenced by the Kinks' work at the time. Other artists influenced by "You Really Got Me" include Tom Petty, John Lydon, Joe Jackson, Chris Bell of Big Star, and Jimi Hendrix, who, according to Dave Davies, described the song as "a landmark record".
In 1999, "You Really Got Me" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. "Rolling Stone" magazine placed the song at number 82 on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time and at number four on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time. In early 2005, the song was voted the best British song of the 1955–1965 decade in a BBC radio poll. In March 2005, "Q" magazine placed it at number nine in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In 2009, it was named the 57th Greatest Hard Rock Song by VH1.
Live history.
Before its release, the Kinks performed "You Really Got Me" in some of their early concerts. It was a crowd favourite, with Ray Davies later claiming to feel a connection with the crowd as he performed the song. Ray later said, "Our success came from playing [the song] live. When we played 'You Really Got Me' people actually took