Tired of Waiting for You

Album: Kinks-Size (1965)
Charted: 1 6
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Songfacts®:

  • Kinks lead singer Ray Davies wrote this song while he was a student at Hornsey School of Art in London. When the Kinks released their first album in 1964, they scored a huge hit with the Davies-penned "You Really Got Me," which was followed by the sound-alike "All Day And All Of The Night."

    When it came time to write songs for the next Kinks album, Ray was running out of ideas, so decided to record the song he had written in college. The group put down the backing track, but he couldn't remember the words, so he went home and wrote them the next day on the train ride into the studio. Released as the first single from the album, "Tired of Waiting for You" was a huge hit, going to #1 in the UK and charting at #6 in America, one position higher than "You Really Got Me."
  • This was a more gentle song until it was decided that it needed the trademark Dave Davies loud guitar riffing. Davies recalled in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, "The recording went well but there was something missing and it was my raunchy guitar sound. Ray and I were worried that putting that heavy-sounding guitar on top of a ponderous song might ruin it. Luckily it enhanced the recording, giving it a more cutting, emotional edge. In my opinion 'Tired Of Waiting' was the perfect pop record."
  • In this song, Ray Davies sings about a girl who has him under her spell. Problem is, she keeps stringing him along and it's wearing him out. The vocal is suitably weary, lacking that adrenaline rush of their previous hits. This discontent would play out for real throughout 1965 as The Kinks were dispatched to one show after another, doing promotional appearances along the way. It quickly became clear that there was a great deal of animosity in the band and that they couldn't keep up the pace for long.

Comments: 9

  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyPer: www.oldiesmusic.com/news.htm
    The Kinks' Ray Davies was knighted (officially Sir Raymond) by England's Prince Charles in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Thursday, March 16th, 2017...
    Exactly fifty-two weeks earlier on March 16th, 1965 the Kinks' "Tired of Waiting For You" was at #43 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; five weeks later on April 18th it peaked at #6 {for 2 weeks} and spent 11 weeks on the chart...
    It was the group's third straight Top 10 record, the first two were "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night", both peaked at #7.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn July 7th 1965, the Kinks performed "Tired of Waiting for You" on the ABC-TV program 'Shindig!'...
    Four months earlier on March 7th, 1965 it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #62; and on April 18th, 1965 it peaked at #6 (for 2 weeks) and spent 11 weeks on the Top 100...
    And on February 13th, 1965 it reached #1 (for 1 week) on the United Kingdom's Singles chart...
    It was their 3rd straight Top 10 record in the U.S.A.; "You Really Got Me" (peaked at #7) and "All Day and All of the Night" (also reached #7).
  • Tina from Kingston, NhEnglish rock, the very best!!!! And I am an American!!! Love this band, they rock!!!!!!
  • John from London, United KingdomHowever much people ridicule sixties pop music, no other decade produced such consistently good singles, and this one was the very best.
  • J.d. from Detroit, MiI think the problems between Ray and Dave, and their rebelliousness against the recording industry have made the Kinks into the best band in my lifetime. Unlike superstars, who record anything and everything, they only go into the studio when they really have something worth recording. Usually something they wrote AND played WITHOUT the studio magic. I expect every song I hear from them to be their last, and then they come up with something great.--J.D. Detroit
  • Paul from Sacramento, CaThis was the Kinks' third straight big hit (#1 in the UK, #6 in the US). It solidified their early stardom, and placed them second only to the Beatles in early 1965. But just afterwards, a series of misfortunes, the bands' rebelliousness against the music business, and their rejection of musical trends undercut this popularity and commercial success, and set a pattern for the rest of their career.
  • Joe from Lethbridge, CanadaA shamefully underrated band! Partially their own fault, what with the senseless sibling rivalry between Ray and Dave, a disastrous US tour in the early days that prevented return visits for many years, onstage brawling and Ray's nervous breakdown. Yet amidst all that chaos, they managed to produce some of the greatest rock classics of the sixties. I don't care what Rolling Stone says, You Really Got Me is the second greatest rock song of all time (the first being the Kingsmen's Louie Louie). Those two songs are so good that practically any band can play them AND THEY STILL SOUND GOOD!
  • Johnny from Los Angeles, CaI like the drumming on this song. The Kinks are a great band.
  • Mustafa from Cairo, EgyptOne of my favourite songs by this band, after "Come on now", "Low Budget", "Catch Me Now I'm Falling" and "Picture Book"
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