Ray Davies

Ray Davies

The Kinks’ legacy has sadly been overshadowed by their more famous fellow British rockers, but they produced some of the best rock of the ’60s and ’70s, and have graced numerous Wes Anderson soundtracks ever since. Wry frontman Ray Davies released See My Friends in 2010—his fourth solo album since the band’s 1996 breakup—which found him teaming up with artists like Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Spoon, and Frank Black (among many others) for a collection of retooled Kinks songs. It’s a testament to Davies’ formidable songwriting prowess that even the likes of Jon Bon Jovi can’t sink “Celluloid Heroes.”

Updated 10/26/2011