Here's a re-post of a previous post, which is also sort-of a follow up to my last post on the great musical year of 1983. One of the biggest happenings of 1983 was the "Second British Invasion" of bands, which I have written about frequently on this blog. This was the era of Culture Club, Duran Duran, Eurythmics, and so many others. One of the more interesting occurrences of the Second British Invasion was the re-emergence of the great '60s band, The Kinks, on American airwaves with their wonderful song "Come Dancing." This post was originally presented on November 9, 2011.
The Kinks first became well known during the first British Invasion of music groups during the 1964-1965 era, with hits such as "You Really Got Me," and "All Day and All of the Night," and "Tired of Waiting for You." In 1970, they again hit on both sides of the Atlantic, with "Lola." Although the Kinks continued to make music, and continued their popularity in the U.K., they largely disappeared from the U.S. charts during the '70s.
Then in 1983, after an absence of many years, the Kinks joined in the Second British Invasion of the U.S. music charts, and had a big hit with a wonderful song called "Come Dancing." "Come Dancing" was a sentimental gem of a song which tenderly recalled times past. According to Wikipedia:
The song is a nostalgic look back at childhood memories of its writer: the Kinks' frontman Ray Davies, remembering his older sister going on dates to the local Palais dance hall where big bands would play. The lyrics tell how the Palais has been demolished and his sister now has her own daughters who are going on dates.
"Come Dancing" is a tribute to Davies' sister Rene who bought him his first guitar, with the song's lyrics affording Davies' sister a happy life denied her in reality. Living in Canada with her (reportedly abusive) husband, the 31-year-old Rene was visiting her parental home in Fortis Green at the time of Ray Davies' thirteenth birthday — 21 June 1957 — on which she surprised him with a gift of the Spanish guitar he'd tried to persuade his parents to buy him. On the evening of the same day, Rene — who had a weak heart as a result of a childhood bout of rheumatic fever — suffered a fatal heart attack while dancing at the Lyceum ballroom.
Its a sweet song, and a great song for a comeback by the Kinks onto the American airwaves.