"Juke Box Music" is a track from

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...

' 1977 album, Sleepwalker. It was one of the first tracks recorded in The Kinks' Konk recording complex. The song was also performed for

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music series broadcast by the BBC. It was devised by producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough, and aired on BBC2 from ...

in 1977.

Background

Kinks frontman and songwriter

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for the Rock music, rock band the Kinks, which he led, with his younger brother Dave Davies, Dave pro ...

described the song as being about "a girl who listens to the juke box all day and really believes all the lyrics. People like me write lots of lyrics and she really believes it." "Juke Box Music" is about a music fan who believes in the lyrics of the songs that she plays repeatedly on the juke box. David Levesley of '' GQ'' called the song a "fresh take" on the female archetype in American rock 'n' roll culture, writing, "While this woman is obsessed with the romance and heightened emotions of music, it leads to everyone else wondering why she distances herself from reality." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' says that the topic "should be a pathetic song, yet Davies has us tapping our feet, singing along."

Release

"Juke Box Music" was released as the second single from the band's 1976 '' Sleepwalker'' album, backed with "Sleepless Night" in the UK and Germany and with "Life Goes On" in the US. Despite the moderate commercial success of the band's previous single, it did not chart. "Juke Box Music" has since appeared on the Arista compilation album '' Come Dancing with The Kinks''. It also gets the rare airplay on

SiriusXM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...

's Classic Rewind channel as well.

Reception

"Juke Box Music" has been positively reviewed by many critics.

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

recommended the track in his review of the Sleepwalker album, and ''

'' claimed that it "is the best song n Sleepwalker"

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

called the track "exceptional", and said it was "yet another impressionistic portrait by the Kinks' Ray Davies". ''GQ's'' Levesley named the song on his list of "sixteen The Kinks songs that soundtracked England perfectly," writing, "Even here, in a song that feels like very old-school Kinks, they manage to do something fresh thanks to Davies' idiosyncratic look at the world."

References

{{authority control 1977 songs The Kinks songs Songs written by Ray Davies Arista Records singles 1977 singles