Lola (song)

Infobox Single
Name = Lola
Artist = The Kinks
from Album = Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One
B-side = "Berkeley Mews" (UK)
"Mindless Child of Motherhood" (USA)
Released = 12 June 1970 (UK)
28 June, 1970 (USA)
Format = 7" single
Recorded = Apr-May 1970 at Morgan Studios, Willesden, London
Genre = Rock and roll
Length = 4:03
Label = Pye 7N 17961
Reprise 0930
Writer = Ray Davies
Producer = Ray Davies
Chart position =UK: #2 , US: #9, I, NZ, NL: #1
Reviews =
Last single = Victoria
(1969)
This single = Lola
(1970)
Next single = Apeman
(1970)

"Lola" is a song written by Ray Davies and performed by The Kinks which details a romantic encounter between a young man (presumably in his late teen years) and a transvestite he meets in a Soho, London club.

One of The Kinks' best-known songs, the single was taken from the album "Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One", which was released in June, 1970, and reached #2 in the UK charts and #9 in the US. It was ranked 422nd on the List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It is famous for its C-D-E power riff.

Inspiration for the song

In the book "The Kinks: The Official Biography", Ray Davies says that he was inspired to write this song after the band manager Robert Wace had spent the night dancing with a transvestite. Davies said, cquote|I remembered an incident in a club... in his apartment Robert Wace had been dancing with this black woman, and he said, ‘I’m really on to a thing here.’ And it was okay until we left at six in the morning and then I said, ‘Have you seen the stubble?’ He said ‘Yeah,’ but he was too pissed [drunk] to care, I think. Accounts also indicate a similar incident occurred at about the same time during a Kinks European tour in the mid-1960s, cementing the song's scenario in Davies' mind for later use.Fact|date=June 2007

In late 1969, Davies' father encouraged him to focus his energy on writing another worldwide hit single after a long dry spell for the band, and "Lola" was the result. Davies and the Kinks spent extra time and effort recording and crafting the song at Morgan Studios in London during early 1970.

In his autobiography, Dave Davies mentions that he came up with the music for what would become Lola. After Dave had shown his brother the music, Ray came up with the lyrics. Dave goes on to claim his brother took all the credit for the song. The original lyrics had the word Coca-Cola but because of BBC Radio's policy against product placement, those words were changed to the generic "cherry cola." [ [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/radio-industry/news/article.cfm?c_id=295&objectid=10483279&ref=rss "Banning songs not a rare occurrence for the BBC", New Zealand Herald, 19 December 2007. Retrieved on 2008-09-17] ] Cherry Cola was introduced by Coca-Cola 12 years later.

The success of the single had important ramifications for the band's career at a critical time, allowing them to negotiate a new contract with RCA Records, construct their own London Studio, and assume more creative and managerial control. "Lola" also became their most popular sing-along anthem at concerts, as they struggled to regain a footing in the US concert market after a five year absence.

Covers and other versions

*"Lola" was covered by Don Fardon in 1974".
*"Lola" was covered by The Raincoats on their 1979 album, "The Raincoats".
*In 1981, "Weird Al" Yankovic recorded a parody of the song, which he called Yoda, replacing "Lola" with the character Yoda from Star Wars.
*Bad Manners covered the song on their 1993 album "Fat Sound".
*In the mid-1990s; Weetabix had a parody for one of their commercials replacing "Lola" with Akela.
*In 1999 danish popband Natural Born Hippies recorded a cover version with an additional chorus saying "If you ever fall in love I know".
*In 2005, transsexual musician Dana Baitz recorded a cover version of the song, telling the story from Lola's perspective.
*Madness covered the song on their 2005 album "The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1". In the sleevenotes, Lee Thompson mentions an unreleased answer song written by Thompson and Chris Foreman for their Crunch! project, titled "Mistress, Mistress".
*On Matt Groening's "Futurama", Zapp Brannigan sings the opening lyrics in a futile attempt to woo Leela. He replaces the lyrics "L-O-L-A, Lola," with "L-E-E-L-A, Leela!", in a style that pays tribute to William Shatner's recorded performances. The gag appears in the episode "Amazon Women in the Mood".
*In September 2007, Robbie Williams recorded a cover of Lola to celebrate the 40th birthday of BBC Radio 1. His version spent one week at number 91 in the Romanian Singles Chart. [ [http://www.rt100.ro/top-100-edition.html "Romanian Top 100"] Please see "Issue 43" of the year 2007]
*Variations on the song feature throughout the film "101 Reykjavik" (2000, dir. Baltasar Kormákur). The soundtrack to the film was arranged by Damon Albarn.
*McFly collaborated with Busted for a cover of the song (which was a B-side on the "5 Colours in Her Hair" single)
*Andy Taylor (of Duran Duran) had done a solo LP with a cover of Lola also.
*"Lola" was covered by Travis in 2008 as a b-side for the single Something Anything, released on September 15th, and is featured in their latest album Ode to J. Smith, released September 29th.
*Mookie Morris on Canadian Idol of 2008, sang this song.

Trivia

*The song was featured in the episode "Trojan Horst" of USA Network's In Plain Sight (first aired June 22, 2008). During the episode, federal marshals were tasked with protecting a witness to a covert assassin named "Lola."
*On the show Family Ties Malory's boyfriend Nick told their wedding planner he would like, "Lola by the Kinks" played at their wedding.

References

*The Kinks. "Lola vs Powerman and the Moneygoround: Part One". Reprise, 1970. First reissued CD in 1987.