Getting the Kinks Out (Again)

The first big-name rock star I ever interviewed, in my early days at Crawdaddy in early 1971, was one of my musical heroes, Ray Davies of the Kinks.   They were in the midst of their "Lola" comeback period but Ray still told me,  "I think I am totally mad." He had recently stabbed his brother Dave with a fork when Dave reached for his chips.  Nice guy, though.  That night, at Philharmonic Hall in NYC,  Ray was so drunk he stumbled backyards toward an elevated amp.  Brother Dave casually stepped out of the way and let Ray fall into it--and it nearly toppled on top of him.  Ray, flat on his back, kept sing, "I'm an Ape man, I'm an Ape-Ape man."  Then he got up and balanced a beer can on his head.  Finally he insisted the audience sing along with what he called "the greatest fucking song ever written," namely, "You Are My Sunshine."