"Mister Pleasant" (sometimes written as "Mr. Pleasant") is a song recorded by

British rock British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by the Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the develop ...

group

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

in 1967, written by

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

Background

"Mister Pleasant" is lyrically somewhat similar to the earlier track "

A Well Respected Man "A Well Respected Man" is a song by the British band the Kinks, written by the group's lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ray Davies, and originally released in the United Kingdom on the EP '' Kwyet Kinks'' in September 1965. The song was relea ...

", as it satirises the heedless complacency of a ''

nouveau riche ''Nouveau riche'' (; ) is a term used, usually in a derogatory way, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. The equivalent English term is the "new rich" or "new money" ( ...

'' who, for all his newfound worldly success, is but a foolish

cuckold A cuckold is the husband of an adulterous wife; the wife of an adulterous husband is a cuckquean. In biology, a cuckold is a male who unwittingly invests parental effort in juveniles who are not genetically his offspring. A husband who is aw ...

. Musically, the song has strong English

Music Hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

influences and a "

trad jazz Trad jazz, short for "traditional jazz", is a form of jazz in the United States and Britain in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, played by musicians such as Chris Barber, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer and Monty Sunshine, based on a revival ...

" backing that features a

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

and

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

-style

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

(played by

Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...

). ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' described the single as "clever novelty material penned by Ray Davies with an easy dance beat in strong support."

Chart performance

It was released as the A-side of a single in the USA and mainland Europe but not in the UK. It was released in the UK six months later as the B-side to " Autumn Almanac". The song is now available as a bonus track to their album '' Face to Face'', and an alternate version was also released as a bonus track on the 2011 deluxe reissue of ''

Something Else by the Kinks ''Something Else by the Kinks'', often referred to simply as ''Something Else'', is the fifth UK studio album by the Kinks, released in September 1967. The album continued the Kinks' trend toward an eccentric baroque pop and music hall-influence ...

''. Due to the Kinks' absence from American touring and the single's noncommercial

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

, "Mister Pleasant" did not fare well in the USA, only managing a peak of number 80—their poorest showing since "

See My Friends "See My Friends" (sometimes titled "See My Friend") is a song by the English rock band the Kinks, written by the group's singer and guitarist, Ray Davies. Released in July 1965, it reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, ''Record Retailer'' c ...

" failed to reach the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

in 1965—despite being tapped as likely Top 20 material by ''

'' magazine. The publication characterized it as a "clever novelty" piece, which "should skyrocket the group back up to the top of Hot 100 once again."''Billboard'' Magazine, 10 June 1967. p. 16 "Mr. Pleasant" was much more successful in Europe, particularly the Netherlands (where it reached number 2) and Belgium (number 3). While The Kinks mimed 'Mister Pleasant' on the European TV shows 'Fan Club' and 'Beat Club' in 1967 to promote the single, as well as recording it for the BBC in the same year, the only time it was documented as having been played live in concert by the group was at a New York concert on 27 March 1971.

B-sides

While USA B-side "Harry Rag" was included on the upcoming ''

Something Else by The Kinks ''Something Else by the Kinks'', often referred to simply as ''Something Else'', is the fifth UK studio album by the Kinks, released in September 1967. The album continued the Kinks' trend toward an eccentric baroque pop and music hall-influence ...

'' album (released in September), European B-side "This is Where I Belong" remained unavailable in the UK or USA. The track had been recorded with the sessions for '' Face to Face'' but not included (although it is currently available on the CD reissue, along with "Mister Pleasant"). It was made available in the USA on ''

The Kink Kronikles ''The Kink Kronikles'' is a compilation double album by the Kinks, released on Reprise Records in 1972, after the band had signed with RCA Records in 1971. It contains thirteen non-album singles, fourteen tracks taken from five albums released ...

'' in 1972 but was only released in the UK in 1984.

French EP

As 4-track EPs were much more common in France than 2-track singles, most Kinks singles were issued as EPs there, usually adding two album tracks. The EP for "Mister Pleasant", however, contained all exclusive tracks. As well as both sides of the European single (see above), the EP contained "Two Sisters" from the as-yet-unreleased ''Something Else by...'' and the debut of "

Village Green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...

" which only became available in the UK 18 months later on the album '' The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society''.Mister Pleasant EP
at kinks.it.rit.edu, retrieved 17 February 2009.

Track listing

All tracks written by

Side one

#"Mister Pleasant"3:00 #"This is Where I Belong"2:28

Side two

#" Two Sisters"2:00 #"

"2:08

Personnel

According to band researcher Doug Hinman: The Kinks *

lead vocal, acoustic guitar *

Dave Davies David Russell Gordon Davies (born 3 February 1947) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the English rock band the Kinks, which also featured his elder brother Ray Davies. He was ind ...

backing vocal, electric guitar *

Pete Quaife Peter Alexander Greenlaw Quaife (born Kinnes; 31 December 1943 – 23 June 2010) was an English musician, artist and author. He was a founding member and the original bass guitarist for the Kinks, from 1963 until 1969. He also sang backing voca ...

backing vocal, bass *

Mick Avory Michael Charles Avory (born 15 February 1944) is an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and percussionist for the English rock band the Kinks. He joined them shortly after their formation in 1964 and remained with them until 1984, ...

drums Additional musicians *John Beecham or an unidentified session musician trombone *Rasa Davies backing vocal *

piano

Charts

Other versions

* The Mission covered the song on their 1990 album '' Grains of Sand''.

References

Sources

* * * {{authority control The Kinks songs 1967 singles Songs written by Ray Davies Pye Records singles 1967 songs Reprise Records singles Song recordings produced by Shel Talmy