Raymond Douglas Davies was born on 21 June 1944, in Fortis Green, London, England, and is a musician, best known for being the vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter for The Kinks. He was part of the band along with his younger brother Dave, and all of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Ray Davies? As of early-2017, sources estimate a net worth that is at $2.6 million, mostly earned through a successful career in the music industry. He has also acted, produced, and directed shows for television as well as theatre. After the end of the Kinks in 1996, he went on to have a successful solo career. All of these ensured the position of his wealth.
Ray Davies Net Worth $2.6 million
While studying art at Hornsey College of Art, Davies became increasingly interested in music. He eventually started performing, and became the guitarist for the Dave Hunt Band for six weeks. In 1963, he would perform with the Hamilton King Band, and later formed the Ramrods which would eventually become the Kinks. They signed their first contract in 1964, with Ray subsequently becoming the chief songwriter of the band.
A few of their early recordings were mixes of R&B standard covers and melodic music. They also produced hard rock tracks including “You Really Got Me” which helped boost their popularity. However in 1965, they would start making softer sounds and experimented with various genres. They tried psychedelic rock and even integrated Indian raga sounds to their song “See My Friends”. In 1966, they released their first completely original material album entitled “Face to Face”, and started to focus their lyrics on the lives of the working-class.
Some of their singles include “A House in the Country” and “Most Exclusive Residence for Sale”. Later on they would explore the bleaker side of life including poverty, in songs such as “Situation Vacant” and “Dead End Street”, so during this time up to the 1970s, the Kinks would perform many songs aimed at the celebration of British culture. A lot of their songs explored sociological issues, and it continued to add to Davies’ song writing skill. One of their most popular albums during this era was “Arthur (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)”. Davis’ net worth was growing steadily.
In 1976, the Kinks switched to Arista records, and stopped making theatrical concept albums, producing more straightforward songs featuring newer production techniques. Some of the albums they released during this period include “Misfits” and “Sleepwalker”. In the 1980s, they started doing a more mainstream rock style, releasing their last four albums – “Low Budget”, “Give the People What They Want”, “State of Confusion” and “Word of Mouth”.
After the end of the Kinks’ run, Davies started to do solo work, and would eventually release five solo albums, including “Return to Waterloo” alongside a series he directed and would also release an EP entitled “The Tourist”. He also published an autobiography entitled “X-Ray” in 1994 and would follow this up with a collection of short stories in 1997 entitled “Waterloo Sunset”. He also continued with directorial work, and created the choral album “The Kinks Choral Collection”. One of his latest appearances was joining his brother Dave and performing “You Really Got Me” in 2015.
For his personal life, it is known that Ray has been married three times. His first marriage was to Rasa Dicpetris(1964-73) and they had two daughters. He then married Yvonne Gunner(1974-81), and later had a relationship with Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders; the two had a daughter. His third marriage would be to ballet dancer Patricia Crosbie, and they would also have a daughter before divorcing in 1993. It is known that Ray attempted suicide through an overdose in 1973 after the end of his first marriage. He was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He also suffered a gunshot wound in his leg in 2004, while chasing thieves who snatched the purse of his companion.
Leave a Comment