The Kinks‘ classic song “Lola,” was released as a single in the U.K. 50 years ago today, June 12, and to mark the anniversary, the band has declared this date to be “Lola Day.”

In conjunction with the milestone, The Kinks’ Facebook page will host a celebration featuring special previously unseen videos, new cover versions of the song and more throughout the day.

The band also has encouraged fans to share various “Lola”-related content via their social media sites using the hashtag #LolaDay, including their memories and anecdotes about the tune, their own renditions of the song and related photos and artwork.

Written by Kinks frontman and main songwriter Ray Davies, “Lola” was sung from the perspective of a naive young man who has a romantic encounter with an apparent transvestite whom he eventually realizes isn’t a woman.

“Lola” was one of The Kinks’ biggest hit singles, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #2 in the U.K. The song also was featured on the band’s 1970 album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One.

The Kinks’ Dave Davies, who sang harmony vocals and played guitar on the track, tells ABC Audio, “‘Lola’ was always an important record for us and I had a lot of fun working on it with Ray.” He also reports that a deluxe Lola Versus Powerman reissue will be released later this year.

An interesting story involving “Lola”: Shortly before its release, Ray Davies had to interrupt a Kinks tour to fly 6,000 from the U.S. back to England to sing two words, “cherry cola.” The phrase replaced the term “Coca-Cola” in the song’s first verse for the single version of the track, because BBC Radio would not air it due to its rules against product placement.

By Matt Friedlander
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