1965 Songs: A Well Respected Man

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As usual, when I cross the river and eat at the Chuy’s over here, they give me too much salad. No cooking tonight! But there will be music, and lots of it! Here’s the next song on the list of things that are now 60 years old. A Well Respected Man - Kinks When things began to change in the 60s, it wasn’t just the music that changed, it was the subject matter. Here you have Ray Davies, the brains behind most of the Kinks’ greatest material, taking a very pointed jab at the upper-class. It was inspired by a real event: apparently the band’s managers sent Davies on a holiday at a posh resort, and he felt very out of place, being a more working-class individual. This wasn’t the only song that showed disdain for the upper class: there was the Carole King/Gerry Goffin tune “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” a hit for the Monkees in 1967. (I’ll get to that song in two years. ) This marked a turning point for Davies’ songwriting and for the Kinks in general, turning them from the garage band of “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All of the Night” into a multifaceted act. A Well Respected Man Written by Ray Davies Recorded by the Kinks Released as a single, 1965 And his own sweat smells the best: