Celluloid Heroes
Celluloid Heroes is a song by the Kinks , lyrics and music are by Ray Davies . The track was first released on August 25, 1972 on the Kinks album Everybody's in Show-Biz . On November 24, 1972, the title with the B-side Hot Potatoes was released as a single on the market.
The text
The text makes reference to the lives of some famous 20th century actors, including Greta Garbo , Rudolph Valentino , Bela Lugosi , Bette Davis , Marilyn Monroe , George Sanders and Mickey Rooney . The interpreter “strolls” along the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame and recalls the fate of these stars. The central theme is the inhumane way in which the Hollywood industry builds up its stars and breaks them down with fame, while their film image lives on unchanged.
"Celluloid Heroes" uses the lives and loves of the classic Hollywood stars as a microcosm of everyone's shattered dreams and fantasies. "
admission
The recordings for Celluloid Heroes took place from May to June 1972 in the "Morgan Studios" in London . In addition to the Kinks - Ray Davies (vocals, guitar), Dave Davies (guitar, background vocals), John Dalton (bass) and Mick Avory (drums) - Dave Rowberry was involved as organist. The song was produced by Ray Davies. Mike Bobak was responsible as the sound engineer .
reception
Although the title was not a hit in the original sense and could not place itself in the charts, it was played steadily by various album-oriented rock radio stations in the USA from the 1970s to the 1980s. Celluloid Heroes is considered one of the best tracks in the group among Kinks fans due to the high quality of the melody and lyrics. According to Ray Davies, the work was the Kinks' best ballad.
"It was probably our biggest non-hit hit."
At the time of publication, Celluloid Heroes was one of the longest Kinks titles at six minutes, with most of the others barely exceeding four minutes. The song was part of the standard repertoire at concerts of the Kinks until their dissolution in 1996.
In 1976, the song served as a template for the title of a compilation that had the well-known pieces of the Kinks time on the RCA label . It was The Kinks' Greatest: Celluloid Heroes .