The Kinks' 'Waterloo Sunset' Ranked Among 'Best Songs of All Time'

The 1960s were an incredibly formative decade for rock music, with bands such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones completely morphing the genre from its rock-and-roll roots into something much more modern and experimental.

While these bands typically get their due credit for their contributions to rock music, one band that's often (unfairly) omitted from this discussion is The Kinks.

Formed in London in 1962, The Kinks were an integral part of the British Invasion culture that swept the music world in the mid-60s. Their hits "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night" were instant chart-toppers, and they were largely responsible for bridging the gap between American rock-and-roll, British R&B, and the so-called Merseybeat movement.

Though it took a few years for the Kinks to break into the music scene, their rise to fame was meteoric. By 1965, they had multiple hit songs in the same year and were consistently releasing acclaimed albums every twelve months.

Something Else by The Kinks was the band's fifth studio album, and while commercial sales were beginning to slow down at this point in their career, the lead single "Waterloo Sunset" was an immediate success that remains one of their most popular songs today.

Bolstered by frontman Ray Davies' charming and sentimental lyrics, the song tells the story of two lovers walking along a bridge over the River Thames in London, near Waterloo Station. It's a very simple love song that comes alive through poetic lyricism and luscious instrumentation.

"Waterloo Sunset" was a huge success in the United Kingdom, peaking at No. 2 on the U.K. Singles Chart upon release. It was less popular in North America, where it was released as a single but failed to land on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song's true legacy didn't actualize until many years later, when "Waterloo Sunset" was considered much more fondly by critics looking back at the songs that defined the British Invasion movement. The lack of success in America made it harder to appreciate at the time, but a little distance from the song's release was exactly what it needed to come alive.

The song was ranked No. 14 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Best Songs of All Time. They wrote: "It’s a delicate guitar ballad about a solitary man who watches the world from his window, gazing on a couple of lovers who meet at a dismal London train station. [...] You’d never know from the song what a dump Waterloo Station is — a tribute to Davies’ power to find beauty in the mundane."