Dave Davies hits out over magazine’s Jimmy Page claim

One of rock music’s most iconic riffs, the opening bars of The Kinks’ You Really Got Me have been played by every aspiring student of the electric guitar.

But the distorted two-chord progression is now at the centre of a row after Dave Davies, the band’s lead guitarist, accused an American magazine of wrongly claiming Jimmy Page contributed to the 1964 hit.

On Wednesday, Guitar World published an interview with Eddie Kramer, the renowned record producer, which it claimed settled the question of whether the Led Zeppelin guitar hero, then a teenager and already a top London session player, contributed to the Kinks hit.

Under the heading “I recall seeing Jimmy coming in and doing an overdub on that song”, Kramer, who was working as a sound engineer on the session, was quoted straying into what he admitted was a “contentious issue”.

The magazine claimed Kramer, now 81, said: “I met Jimmy while he was working with The Kinks in the early 1960s when they were doing You Really Got Me. I know the Davies brothers will say otherwise, but I recall seeing Jimmy coming in and doing an overdub on that song. There’s some contention about that, but that’s how I remember it.”

Within hours of the article being published online, Davies, the younger brother of Ray Davies, the band’s singer and main songwriter, took to social media to vent his anger at the suggestion he was not solely responsible for riff.

The riff has always been viewed as pivotal in the evolution of the electric guitar and rock music as a whole, with some describing it as the first heavy metal riff. Davies, 77, has previously described how he slashed his amplifier with a razor blade to create the sound.

The day after Davies’s statement, Guitar World responded by posting a clip from the recorded interview with Kramer.

The magazine wrote: “Hi Dave, please find audio of our Eddie Kramer interview, where he recalls Jimmy Page recording overdubs for The Kinks. As per our story, we at no point suggest Page’s contributions appear on the final version of You Really Got Me we all know and love.”

In the recording, Kramer, who worked with Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and Eric Clapton, is heard describing Page’s manner in the studio as a “whole different ball game” compared to other guitarists.

“”I met him,” Mr Kramer continued. “We mentioned the Kinks in 63/64, and I think, on that song – You Really Got Me – or on one of the others, I remember seeing Jimmy Page come in and doing an an overdub.

“Now, there’s some contention about that. But, that’s how I remember it. I was still an assistant engineer in those days. But, he was the guy, you know, you would always bring this young, amazing guitar player as a sessioner, 17 or 18 years old - I don’t know. But damn, he was good.”

The magazine’s hopes that would be the end of the matter were short-lived. Davies posted a statement from Kramer which concluded with the words: “As for Jimmy playing on your session, that’s not clear in my memory.”

Davies also posted a statement from his brother Ray denying that Page was involved, and on Thursday tweeted to thank Guitar World for a follow-up story on his denial of the claims.

‘Riffs last forever’

Ten years ago, Dave Davies expressed his “shock and surprise” after accusing his older brother of “lying” about having a role in the creation of the distorted sound. “I alone created this sound,” he said.

Last year, Keith Richards, the Rolling Stones guitarist who wrote some of rock’s most memorable riffs, hinted at exactly why such musical motifs are worth fighting over.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: “Solos come and go, riffs last forever.”

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