A 1964 hit by The Kinks has earned a place among the 25 best rock songs of all time, decades after the British band was shut out of touring in the United States during one of the most important periods of its career.
“All Day and All of the Night,” released by The Kinks in 1964, was ranked No. 25 on Entertainment Weekly’s list of the greatest rock songs ever. The ranking, published Friday, praised the song for its raw guitar sound and its lasting influence on rock music.
The song was released during the height of the British Invasion and became a major international hit. It reached No. 2 in the United Kingdom and No. 7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1965.
The song’s continued recognition also brings attention to a difficult period in The Kinks’ history. After their 1965 American tour, the band was banned from touring the United States for four years by the American Federation of Musicians (AFM).
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The ban did not target “All Day and All of the Night” itself. Instead, the AFM refused to issue permits that would allow The Kinks to perform concerts in the United States. The band and the union never publicly gave one clear official reason for the decision.
“All Day and All of the Night” followed the success of “You Really Got Me,” another major Kinks hit built around a powerful guitar riff.
The 1964 song used a similar power-chord approach, but its sound pushed the band further into loud and aggressive rock. Entertainment Weekly described the track as having a raw, modern sound that still feels striking today.
One important part of that sound came from guitarist Dave Davies. He created a rough guitar tone by cutting the speaker of his amplifier with a razor. The unusual method helped produce the dirty and distorted sound that became closely linked with The Kinks.
The song was written by Ray Davies, who handled lead vocals, while Dave Davies provided lead and rhythm guitar and backing vocals. Pete Quaife played bass, while Mick Avory was credited with tambourine. Additional musicians on the recording included Rasa Didzpetris, Perry Ford, Bobby Graham and Johnny B. Great.
The song appeared on the Kinksize Hits EP in the United Kingdom and on the American album Kinks-Size in 1965.
The success of “All Day and All of the Night” came just before The Kinks’ troubled relationship with the American live music industry.
The band was part of the British Invasion and had already scored several U.S. Top 10 hits. However, problems during their 1965 American tour eventually led the American Federation of Musicians to refuse permits for the group to perform in the country.
Accounts of the dispute point to several possible factors, including disagreements with promoters, the band’s behavior on tour and a backstage confrontation involving Ray Davies.
One account said a promoter complained after The Kinks played a deliberately short set in Reno and extended a single song through much of their Sacramento performance after promised payments were not made.
Another reported incident involved Ray Davies being confronted backstage by a union worker who allegedly used anti-British insults. Davies reportedly responded by punching the man.
The Kinks had also developed a reputation for on-stage disorder. In May 1965, Dave Davies and Mick Avory became involved in a violent on-stage incident in Cardiff, Wales. Davies kicked over Avory’s drum kit, and Avory struck Davies with a hi-hat stand, leaving Davies unconscious and requiring 16 stitches.
The exact reason for the American ban was never clearly explained by the union. What is known is that the restriction lasted from 1965 until 1969, keeping The Kinks away from American stages during a key period in rock history.
The ban also kept the band from appearing at the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival, an event associated with major performances by artists including Jimi Hendrix and The Who.
According to Ultimate Guitar, Ray Davies later described the situation by saying:
“The reason we got banned was a mixture of bad agency, bad management, bad luck, and bad behavior…. So we deserved everything we got. But it got lifted four years later. We literally signed a confession – it was a confessional. We didn’t even read it.”
The ban was lifted in April 1969 after Ray Davies negotiated with the AFM in Los Angeles. The Kinks returned to American stages later that year, opening for Spirit at New York’s Fillmore East in October.
Davies later said the ban had taken away the best years of the band’s career, noting that the Woodstock generation had arrived by the time they returned and that The Kinks were almost forgotten in America.
Despite that setback, the band’s music endured.
“All Day and All of the Night” remains one of the clearest examples of The Kinks’ early hard-rock sound. More than six decades after its release, its jagged guitar riff, aggressive performance and raw production continue to support its reputation as an important 1960s rock recording.
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