Till the End of the Day

"Till the End of the Day"
"Till the End of the Day"
Single by the Kinks
from the album The Kink Kontroversy
B-side	"Where Have All the Good Times Gone"
Released	19 November 1965 (UK); 2 March 1966 (US);
Recorded	23–30 October 1965
Studio	Pye Studios (No. 2), London
Genre	Hard rock
Length	2:20
Label	Pye 7N 15981 (UK); Reprise 0454 (US);
Songwriter(s)	Ray Davies
Producer(s)	Shel Talmy
The Kinks UK singles chronology
The Kinks US singles chronology

"Till the End of the Day" is a song by the Kinks, written by Ray Davies and released as a single in 1965 and later on their album The Kink Kontroversy. It centres on a power chord, like many of the group's early hits, and was similarly successful, reaching number eight in the United Kingdom^[2] and number 50 in the United States, spending eight weeks or more in each chart.^[3]

Background[]

Davies recalled of the process of writing the song,

"I remember how 'Till the End of the Day' came about. I had a bit of writer’s block, and my managers were getting worried because I hadn't produced anything in almost a month. [Laughs] They sent Mort Shuman 'round to my house, one of my hit-writing heroes. He wrote 'Save the Last Dance For Me” with Doc Pomus. This mad, druggy New Yorker came 'round to my little semi-detached house in London. He said, 'I'm here to find out what you’re thinking about. I’m not interested in what you have written; I'm interested in what you're gonna write.' He was completely paid off by my managers to say it. I thought it was ridiculous that there was so much importance put on it. If I don’t want to write for a month, I won't. To say the least, I was pressured into doing it. Then I went off to stay with my sister and bought a new toy, a little upright piano, and wrote 'Till The End Of The Day.'"^[4]

Of the song's meaning, Davies said, "That song was about freedom, in the sense that someone's been a slave or locked up in prison. It’s a song about escaping something. I didn't know it was about my state of mind."

Billboard described the song as a "rockin' dance beat wailer with up-beat lyric."^[5]

Cover versions[]

A cover version by Big Star appeared on the CD release of Third/Sister Lovers. Alex Chilton, the singer for Big Star, would eventually record the song with Davies 30 years later for Davies' album See My Friends.

The song was covered by Japanese band Shonen Knife and is one of four songs on the CD single "Brown Mushrooms And Other Delights" from their Rock Animals album released in 1993.

Ty Segall's band, Fuzz, covered the song on their 2013 debut album.

Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley recorded a cover of the song on his solo covers album: Origins, Vol. 1, released in April 2016.

Charts[]

Chart (1966)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[6]	63
Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[7]	34
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)^[8]	37
France (IFOP)^[9]	35
Germany (Official German Charts)^[10]	19
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[11]	4
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[12]	6
Norway (VG-lista)^[13]	7
Sweden (Kvällstoppen)^[14]	3
UK Singles (OCC)^[15]	8
US Billboard Hot 100^[16]	50
US Cash Box Top 100^[17]	43

References[]

^ The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, page 1977
^ The Kinks in the UK Charts, The Official Charts. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
^ "Till the End of the Day" chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
^ Miller, Eric T. (2 June 2008). "Ray Davies: Imaginary Man". Magnet Magazine. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. 19 March 1966. p. 16. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
^ "Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1966". www.top100singles.net.
^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5733." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
^ "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960: Artistit KET - KIR". Sisältää hitin. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
^ "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque Artiste commençant par K" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "Kinks" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Kinks – Till the End of the Day" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Kinks" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Kinks – Till the End of the Day" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
^ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Kinks – Till the End of the Day". VG-lista.
^ "HITS ALLER TIJDEN". www.hitsallertijden.nl. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
^ "Kinks: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
^ "The Kinks Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
^ "Cash Box Top 100 4/16/66". cashboxmagazine.com. Retrieved 18 January 2021.

External links[]

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

This 1960s single-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

[1] The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, page 1977

[2] The Kinks in the UK Charts, The Official Charts. Retrieved 3 August 2011.

[3] "Till the End of the Day" chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved 3 August 2011.

[ordinary-4] Miller, Eric T. (2 June 2008). "Ray Davies: Imaginary Man". Magnet Magazine. Retrieved 2 July 2020.

[bb-5] "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. 19 March 1966. p. 16. Retrieved 4 March 2021.

[6] "Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1966". www.top100singles.net.

[sc_Canadatopsingles_-7] "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5733." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.

[8] "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960: Artistit KET - KIR". Sisältää hitin. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2021.

[9] "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque Artiste commençant par K" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "Kinks" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved 18 January 2021.

[sc_Germany_The_Kinks-10] "Offiziellecharts.de – The Kinks – Till the End of the Day" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.

[sc_Dutch40_The_Kinks-11] "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Kinks" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.

[sc_Dutch100_The_Kinks-12] "Dutchcharts.nl – The Kinks – Till the End of the Day" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.

[sc_Norway_The_Kinks-13] "Norwegiancharts.com – The Kinks – Till the End of the Day". VG-lista.

[14] "HITS ALLER TIJDEN". www.hitsallertijden.nl. Retrieved 15 January 2021.

[sc_UKsinglesbyname_Kinks-15] "Kinks: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.

[sc_Billboardhot100_The_Kinks-16] "The Kinks Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.

[17] "Cash Box Top 100 4/16/66". cashboxmagazine.com. Retrieved 18 January 2021.

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show v t The Kinks singles discography
1960s singles (UK & US)	1964 "Long Tall Sally" "You Still Want Me" "You Really Got Me" "All Day and All of the Night" 1965 "Tired of Waiting for You" "Ev'rybody's Gonna Be Happy" "Set Me Free" "See My Friends" "Who'll Be the Next in Line" "A Well Respected Man" "Till the End of the Day" 1966 "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" "Sunny Afternoon" "Dead End Street" 1967 "Mister Pleasant" "Waterloo Sunset" "Death of a Clown" (Dave Davies solo) "Autumn Almanac" "Susannah's Still Alive" (Dave Davies solo) 1968 "Wonderboy" "Days" "Lincoln County" (Dave Davies solo) 1969 "Starstruck" "Hold My Hand" (Dave Davies solo) "Plastic Man" "Drivin'" "The Village Green Preservation Society" "Shangri-La" "Victoria" 1970 "Lola" "Apeman"
1970s singles (UK & US)	1971 "God's Children" "20th Century Man" 1972 "Supersonic Rocket Ship" "Celluloid Heroes" 1973 "One of the Survivors" "Sitting in the Midday Sun" "Sweet Lady Genevieve" "Where Have All the Good Times Gone" 1974 "Money Talks" "Mirror of Love" "Mirror of Love" (band version) "Holiday Romance" "Preservation" 1975 "Everybody's a Star (Starmaker)" "Ducks on the Wall" "You Can't Stop the Music" 1976 "I'm in Disgrace" "No More Looking Back" 1977 "Sleepwalker" "Juke Box Music" "Father Christmas" 1978 "A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" "Live Life" "Black Messiah" 1979 "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman" "A Gallon of Gas" "Catch Me Now I'm Falling" "Moving Pictures" "Pressure"
1980s singles (UK & US)	1980 "Lola" (live) "You Really Got Me" (live) 1981 "Better Things" "Destroyer" "Predictable" 1982 "Come Dancing" 1983 "Don't Forget to Dance" 1984 "Good Day" "Do It Again" 1985 "Living on a Thin Line" (radio promo only) "Summer's Gone" 1986 "Rock 'n' Roll Cities" "How Are You" 1987 "Lost and Found" 1988 "The Road" 1989 "Down All the Days (Till 1992)" 1990 "How Do I Get Close"
1990s singles (UK & US)	1993 "Only a Dream" "Scattered"
Other singles (non-UK/US)	1966 "Dandy" (Europe) 1969 "Picture Book" (Australia) "Australia" (Australia) 1983 "State of Confusion" (Germany) 1991 "Did Ya" (Europe)
Other songs	"So Mystifying" "Bald Headed Woman" "Stop Your Sobbing" "Dancing in the Street" "I Need You" "I Go to Sleep" "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" "Big Black Smoke" "Party Line" "Rosy Won't You Please Come Home" "Love Me Till the Sun Shines" "David Watts" "Two Sisters" "Polly" "She's Got Everything" "Do You Remember Walter?" "Johnny Thunder" "Last of the Steam-Powered Trains" "Big Sky" "Sitting by the Riverside" "Animal Farm" "Village Green" "Phenomenal Cat" "All of My Friends Were There" "Wicked Annabella" "Monica" "People Take Pictures of Each Other" "Berkeley Mews" "Mr. Churchill Says" "Strangers" "This Time Tomorrow" "Rats" "Got to Be Free" "Have a Cuppa Tea" "Oklahoma U.S.A." "Muswell Hillbilly" "Sitting in My Hotel" "The Hard Way" "Life Goes On" "Misfits" "Attitude" "Low Budget" "Give the People What They Want" "Heart of Gold"