My Life In Music
Dave Davies
From blues to punk via Mahler, the Kinks guitarist reveals the records that really got him: “It was really scruffy and fabulous”
HANK WILLIAMS
“I’LL NEVER GET OUT OF THIS WORLD ALIVE” MGM, 1952
He was really one of the first rockers. His songs relate to working people, the humour and fun and fragility of working-class people - in this song he talks about shoes that are so worn out, if you trod on a dime you could tell if it was heads or tails. Ray and I grew up in a big working-class family in Muswell Hill, and listening to the words of Hank Williams was a major influence on our lives. That set the ball rolling for us for writing, that idea that things were not all glamorous. I should also mention Johnny Cash; his “Ballad Of A Teenage Queen” was the first record I bought myself. The B-side was even better, “Big River” - a really important record for me.