Lola (song)
| "Lola" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
West German single sleeve | ||||
| Single by the Kinks | ||||
| from the album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 12 June 1970 | |||
| Recorded | April–May 1970 | |||
| Studio | Morgan, Willesden, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:03 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ray Davies | |||
| Producer(s) | Ray Davies | |||
| The Kinks singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
Scandinavian single sleeve | ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Lola" (official audio) on YouTube | ||||
"Lola" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks, written by frontman Ray Davies for their 1970 album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One. The song details a romantic encounter in a Soho bar between a young man and Lola, who is possibly a trans woman or cross-dresser.[4][5][6] In the song, the narrator describes his confusion towards Lola, who "walked like a woman but talked like a man", yet he remains infatuated with her.
The song was released as a single in the United Kingdom on 12 June 1970, while in the United States it was released on 28 June 1970. Commercially, "Lola" reached number two on the UK Singles Chart[7] and number nine on the Billboard Hot 100.[8] The track has since become one of the Kinks' most popular songs and appears on Rolling Stone and NME's lists of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
Since its release, "Lola" has appeared on multiple compilation and live albums. In 1980, a live version of the song from the album One for the Road was released as a single in the US and some European countries, becoming a minor hit. In the Netherlands, it reached number 1, just as it did in 1970 with the studio version. Other versions include an instrumental on the band's 1971 movie soundtrack album Percy and live renditions from 1972's Everybody's in Show-Biz and 1996's To the Bone. The Lola character also appears in the lyrics of the band's 1981 song "Destroyer".
- ^ a b "Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 11 December 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ Segretto, Mike (2022). "1966". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. pp. 93–95. ISBN 9781493064601.
- ^ Perone 2004, p. 155.
- ^ "Sir Ray Davies wants to turn The Kinks' trans hit Lola into a West End musical". inews.co.uk. 14 June 2020. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- ^ "By supporting a transgender woman, The Kinks were banned from the radio". 5 June 2021. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- ^ "'Lola,' who 'walked like a woman but talked like a man,' turns 50". NBC News. 12 June 2020. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- ^ "KINKS". Official Charts. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- ^ "The Kinks – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2015.