Session Man by The Kinks

Album: Face to Face (1966)

License This Song

lyrics

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

Kinks lead singer Ray Davies wrote this as an homage to the oft-overlooked session musician who's "not paid to think, just play." It was partly inspired by English pianist Nicky Hopkins, who played alongside The Who, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. Hopkins played the harpsichord part at the beginning of this track.
While the Royal Albert Hall is indeed a noted venue in London, England, the line, "He will never forget at all the day he played at Albert Hall," was actually inspired by French horn player Albert Hall, who played on the original version of The Kinks' "Dead End Street."

Comments: 1

Cass from United StatesRay also wrote Session Man as a responses to Jimmy Page's claim to have written the guitar solo on "You Really Got Me" because Jimmy Page was just a session man at the time, hence the line, "He's not paid to think, just play!" As Ray Davies wrote in his book about it, Jimmy Page was just Jealous, because there was a younger and better guitar player on the scene in 1964, and his name was Dave Davies!

see more comments

More Songfacts:

You Don't Know How It FeelsTom Petty

MTV reversed the word "joint" in Tom Petty's "You Don't Known How It Feels" so it was unintelligible, but gave the video a VMA anyway.

What A Wonderful WorldLouis Armstrong

"What A Wonderful World," released in 1967 four years before Louis Armstrong died, didn't find an audience in America until 1988 when it was used in the movie Good Morning, Vietnam.

I Shot The SheriffEric Clapton

Eric Clapton's only Hot 100 #1, either solo or with one of his many bands, was his cover of Bob Marley's "I Shot The Sheriff."

The UnforgivenMetallica

On Metallica's "The Unforgiven," James Hetfield modeled his vocals on Chris Isaak.

I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" is a joyful-sounding song with lyrics that are surprisingly somber: "when the night falls, loneliness calls." It's co-writer explained: "Many of our friends were in this boat - 5 o'clock comes around, they start getting restless."

Kung Fu FightingCarl Douglas

Kung Fu was big in 1974, with movies by Bruce Lee and a TV series called Kung Fu. Carl Douglas brought it to the dance floor that year with "Kung Fu Fighting," a #1 hit.