I'm Not Like Everybody Else
Encyclopedia
"I'm Not Like Everybody Else" is a song written by Ray Davies
and first recorded by The Kinks
in 1966.
, but it was turned down, so the Kinks released their own version with guitarist Dave Davies
on lead vocals. This went against the norm where each brother usually sang songs they had written themselves.
" but soon became a favourite and was often part of the Kinks live act. Ray Davies
continues to play the song regularly and has been using the song as an opening number in his 2006-2008 solo live appearances. The song neatly sums up (and simultaneously laments) the philosophy that has driven his long musical career.
The song has been included on many compilations including Sunny Afternoon
in the UK in 1967, The Great Lost Kinks Album
in the US in 1973 and the 2002 greatest hits release The Ultimate Collection
. It also appears as a bonus track on the 1998 CD reissue of Face to Face
and the 2011 deluxe edition of The Kink Kontroversy
.
take their name from this song.
The song has been covered by several bands. In 1968 it appeared the The Chocolate Watch Band's second full-length album The Inner Mystique
.
Australian band Jimmy and the Boys
covered the song.
Chris Spedding
recorded the song and used it as the title track for his 1980 album.
Camper Van Beethoven
recorded a cover of The Chocolate Watch Band's version, true to their ironic style, covering a cover of a song about being unique. This version first appeared on their compilation album Camper Vantiquities
in 1993.
Boss Hog
covered the song for the soundtrack to Richard Linklater
's 1996 film subUrbia
The Chesterfield Kings covered the song, which was included on their album "Where the Action Is." The Chesterfield Kings covered the Chocolate Watchband version.
Human Drama
covered the song on their 1993 album Pinups, itself a tribute album to David Bowie
's covers album Pin Ups
The track, amongst many others, was reworked by the Kinks for their 1996 release To the Bone
. This version featured in the Sopranos
season five episode "Cold Cuts
".
An excerpt of the track has also been used as the base sound for an IBM
worldwide TV campaign advertising personalized services.
The 1960s psychedelic garage band The Finchley Boys covered the song on their album Everlasting Tributes. http://www.last.fm/music/Finchley+Boys
The Sacred Mushroom also did a cover of this song on their self titled release in 1969.
Ray Davies
Ray Davies, CBE is an English rock musician. He is best known as lead singer and songwriter for the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave...
and first recorded by The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
in 1966.
History
Davies had written the song for The AnimalsThe Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
, but it was turned down, so the Kinks released their own version with guitarist Dave Davies
Dave Davies
David Russell Gordon "Dave" Davies is an English rock musician best known for his role as lead guitarist and vocalist for the English rock band The Kinks....
on lead vocals. This went against the norm where each brother usually sang songs they had written themselves.
Release and reception
The song was first released as the B-side to their single "Sunny AfternoonSunny Afternoon
"Sunny Afternoon" is a song by The Kinks, written by chief songwriter Ray Davies. Like its contemporary "Taxman" by The Beatles, the song references the high levels of progressive tax taken by the British Labour government of Harold Wilson. The track later featured on the Face to Face album as well...
" but soon became a favourite and was often part of the Kinks live act. Ray Davies
Ray Davies
Ray Davies, CBE is an English rock musician. He is best known as lead singer and songwriter for the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave...
continues to play the song regularly and has been using the song as an opening number in his 2006-2008 solo live appearances. The song neatly sums up (and simultaneously laments) the philosophy that has driven his long musical career.
The song has been included on many compilations including Sunny Afternoon
Sunny Afternoon (compilation)
Sunny Afternoon is the second UK budget-priced compilation album by British rock group the The Kinks released in 1967. The album consists of some of the most popular singles and b-sides released by the Kinks from 1965 and 1966...
in the UK in 1967, The Great Lost Kinks Album
The Great Lost Kinks Album
The Great Lost Kinks Album is a 1973 LP of unreleased material issued by Reprise Records after The Kinks had moved to RCA. The tracks were recorded between 1966 and 1970 and master tapes were shipped to the US Reprise Label in the early 1970s to fulfill contractual obligations with that label...
in the US in 1973 and the 2002 greatest hits release The Ultimate Collection
The Ultimate Collection (The Kinks album)
The Ultimate Collection is a greatest hits compilation by British rock band The Kinks. It was released in the UK on May 27, 2002.The album includes all the hits, spanning from their debut album to their 1984 album Word of Mouth...
. It also appears as a bonus track on the 1998 CD reissue of Face to Face
Face to Face (The Kinks album)
Face to Face, released in 1966 on Pye Records in the United Kingdom and on Reprise Records in the United States, is the fourth UK studio album by The Kinks. A major artistic breakthrough for Kinks' songwriter Ray Davies, the LP represents the first full flowering of Davies' use of narrative,...
and the 2011 deluxe edition of The Kink Kontroversy
The Kink Kontroversy
The Kink Kontroversy is the third studio album by the English band The Kinks, released in 1965. It is a transitional work, with elements of both the earlier Kinks' styles and early indications of the future direction of Ray Davies songwriting...
.
Influence and legacy
American rock band Everybody ElseEverybody Else
-History:Everybody Else was formed by Carrick Moore Gerety and Mikey McCormack after both moved to the Los Angeles area. Both had relocated with bands, hoping to win fame on the West Coast; Moore Gerety had been in a group called The Push Kings, a local band from Boston, and McCormack had been in...
take their name from this song.
The song has been covered by several bands. In 1968 it appeared the The Chocolate Watch Band's second full-length album The Inner Mystique
The Inner Mystique
The Inner Mystique is a 1968 album by The Chocolate Watch Band.-Tracklist:# "Voyage of the Trieste" - 3:41# "In the Past" - 3:08# "Inner Mystique" - 5:37# "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" - 3:42# "Medication" - 2:08...
.
Australian band Jimmy and the Boys
Jimmy And The Boys
Jimmy and the Boys were an Australian New Wave band, active from 1976 to 1984, best known for their incredibly violent stage shows. The act revolved around vocalist Ignatius Jones and keyboard player Joylene Thornbird Hairmouth - a couple of friends from Cranbrook and Riverview, exclusive private...
covered the song.
Chris Spedding
Chris Spedding
Chris Spedding is an English rock and roll and jazz guitarist, best known for his session work. Allmusic states - "Spedding is one of the UK's most versatile session guitarists, and has had a long career on two continents that saw him tackle nearly every style of rock and roll, as well as...
recorded the song and used it as the title track for his 1980 album.
Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven is an American alternative rock group formed in Redlands, California in 1983.An eclectic band, Camper Van Beethoven mixes elements of pop, ska, punk rock, folk and alternative country, as well as various types of world music. Their aggressive musical pluralism created a...
recorded a cover of The Chocolate Watch Band's version, true to their ironic style, covering a cover of a song about being unique. This version first appeared on their compilation album Camper Vantiquities
Camper Vantiquities
Camper Vantiquities is a 1993 rarities compilation album by musical group Camper Van Beethoven, released on I.R.S. It included the earlier EP Vampire Can Mating Oven and a number of other unreleased tracks, compiled by bassist Victor Krummenacher a few years after the band split up...
in 1993.
Boss Hog
Boss Hog
Boss Hog is an American punk blues band including the husband and wife duo of Jon Spencer and Cristina Martinez along with Jens Jurgensen , Hollis Queens and Mark Boyce...
covered the song for the soundtrack to Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater
-Early life:Linklater was born in Houston, Texas. He studied at Sam Houston State University and left midway through his stint in college to work on an off-shore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. While working on the rig he read a lot of literature, but on land he developed a love of film through...
's 1996 film subUrbia
SubUrbia (film)
subUrbia is a 1996 comedy-drama film written by Eric Bogosian, based on his play of the same name, and directed by Richard Linklater. It follows the relationships between a few young adults as they spend their time standing on "the corner" outside a local convenience store.Bogosian based the story...
The Chesterfield Kings covered the song, which was included on their album "Where the Action Is." The Chesterfield Kings covered the Chocolate Watchband version.
Human Drama
Human Drama
Human Drama was a gothic rock/dark wave band led by singer/songwriter Johnny Indovina. They are primarily known for playing a mixture of sad acoustic and gothic atmospheric melodies. Although they don't count themselves as being only a gothic band, they are often named so by music critics.-Human...
covered the song on their 1993 album Pinups, itself a tribute album to David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's covers album Pin Ups
Pin Ups
- Personnel :* David Bowie – vocals, guitar, tenor and alto saxophone, harmonica, arrangements, backing vocals, Moog synthesizer* Mick Ronson – guitar, piano, vocals, arrangements* Trevor Bolder – bass* Aynsley Dunbar – drums- Additional personnel :...
The track, amongst many others, was reworked by the Kinks for their 1996 release To the Bone
To the Bone (The Kinks album)
To the Bone is a 1994 album by English rock group The Kinks. It was the band's final release before their breakup in 1996.Included are concert recordings plus live-in-studio acoustic reworkings of other songs, a popular trend in the 1990s among established acts due to MTV's Unplugged. In 1996, an...
. This version featured in the Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
season five episode "Cold Cuts
Cold Cuts (The Sopranos episode)
"Cold Cuts" is the sixty-second episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the tenth of the show's fifth season. It was written by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, directed by Mike Figgis and originally aired on May 9, 2004....
".
An excerpt of the track has also been used as the base sound for an IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
worldwide TV campaign advertising personalized services.
The 1960s psychedelic garage band The Finchley Boys covered the song on their album Everlasting Tributes. http://www.last.fm/music/Finchley+Boys
The Sacred Mushroom also did a cover of this song on their self titled release in 1969.