B-side "Hot Potatoes" Format 7" single 45 RPM Length 6:19 | Released 24 November 1972 Genre Rock | |
Recorded May-Jun 1972 at Morgan Studios, Willesden, London | ||
"Celluloid Heroes" is a song performed by The Kinks and written by their lead vocalist and principal songwriter, Ray Davies. It debuted on their 1972 album Everybody's in Show-Biz.
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The song names several famous actors of 20th century film, and also mentions Los Angeles's Hollywood Boulevard, alluding to its Hollywood Walk of Fame. The actors mentioned are Greta Garbo, Rudolph Valentino, Bela Lugosi, Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe, George Sanders, and Mickey Rooney although some versions of the song, including recorded concert versions, are performed with fewer verses and, thus, Marilyn Monroe, George Sanders, and Mickey Rooney are left out.
Release and reception
The track was released as the second single from the album. In the UK, the single features the full album version which runs to over six minutes, but the US single used a more corporate-radio-friendly edit which is almost two minutes shorter. Although their previous single had been a top 20 hit on the UK singles chart, "Celluloid Heroes" failed to chart. Although not a hit single, the track received consistent airplay on AOR radio stations in the US through the 1970s and into the 1980s. Airplay in recent years has been scarce with classic rock stations often favoring only the band's top 40 hits; yet it is the song of choice to play when these stations mark the passing of a Hollywood star. This, and Internet radio's "deep cuts" stations ensure its future play.
"Celluloid Heroes" is a firm favorite among Kinks aficionados, and is regarded, lyrically and melodically, as one of Davies' most mature and moving works. The ballad is one of the few where the talent of John Gosling (on piano) is put at the front as a key element of the song. Former Animals keyboardist Dave Rowberry plays the Hammond organ. Building up on the initial D-major key, the harmonies of the verses proceed in a gradual exploration of several minor chords, until they culminate in an unexpected D7 chord preparing for the key change to G-major in the chorus.
At the time of its release, the song was one of the longest for the band, peaking at six minutes, while most of Davies' songs had rarely surpassed four minutes. The song was a standard in their concert playlists until they disbanded in 1996; appearing on the band's live album One for the Road (1980). This live version features a lengthy instrumental intro, a rare occurrence in the Kinks commercial canon. The song continues to be featured in Ray Davies' solo shows, and was chosen to be re-recorded for the 2009 album The Kinks Choral Collection. The song was also the title track of a 1976 collection featuring material originally released while recording for the RCA label, The Kinks' Greatest: Celluloid Heroes.