The Swingin' Sixties

Previous to the 60's, music in the UK (and even the US) was tame. It consisted of simple songs, all about love and happiness and that was it. There wasn't any experimenting in terms of music, because that's how it was.

Come the 60's, there was a huge rush of new genres of music that excited the nation. Gone were the days of singing about love, and in were the lyrics of drugs, sex and rock & roll. 

Amongst the chaos and the free love of the 60s (and sticking it to the man), many new artists emerged that have greatly shaped and influenced the music scene as it now is. Artists like The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin, to name a few, have continued to inspire people into thinking free. (For example, Bob Dylan is one of Ed Sheeran's main inspiration because of his ability to let the lyrics speak for themselves, in protest to the current social unrest at that time).

Genres

Rock - The Beatles (started off) / Rolling Stones

Hard Rock - Led Zeppelin / Jimmy Hendrix

Bubblegum Rock - The Monkees / Archies

Psychadelic Rock - Pink Floyd / 13th Floor Elevators

Folk Songs - Bob Dylan (both plugged and unplugged)

Soul - Otis Redding / Aretha Franklin

Motown -  The Supremes / Stevie Wonder

Surf Music - The Beach Boys

As you can see, the 60s introduced many new genres of music that was influenced from 50s genres (Jazz, Rock & Roll, R&B, Blues).

The new technology in the 60's also meant that new things could be done with music that had never been done before. Reverb was a heavy feature in psychedelic music as was distortion to create the 'free vibe' of that genre. Double track / multitrack taping was also prominent and meant that the sound could be recorded on both then one was slightly offset creating a 'warmer' sound (which is what John Lennon always did, as he didn't like the sound of his own voice). 

One of the bands that emerged in the 60's and were part of the British Invasion (were British musicians travelled to America to take them by storm), were The Kinks. Fronted by lead singer Ray Davies in London, they started the same time as The Rolling Stones which they shared common music styles from their 'heavy guitar riff based sound' from the Stones to their 'popular melodic style and a willingness to experiment' from The Beatles (Hurry, 2001, p. 160). Their single 'All Day and All of the Night' reached number 2 in the UK charts in 1964 and was their second major hit (with their first being 'You Really Got Me').

The simplicity in the song is the minimalistic guitar riff that is played right from the beginning, making it memorable, even if the words are not remembered. Coupled with the simple chorus (repeated twice with an almost jazz styled impressed guitar solo as a bridge), it is clear why the song became so popular.

In terms of the of lyrics and the singing, Davies almost speak sings (coupled with distortion), with a very small vocal range (only three pitches) and even in the harmonies, they're parallel, meaning they move in parallel with the melody, not so difficult in terms of music. Although a danger of making the song too tedious if too long, it works well for the song which spans 2:23 minutes.