10 Songs That Started Hard Rock

Coming along with the British Invasion explosion of the 60's, the Kinks had a much more adult tinge to their songwriting. While the band played the typical blues rock standards of the day, it wasn't until "You Really Got Me" that the group found a much tougher musical ethos.

Originally conceived as a jazzier tune by songwriter Ray Davies, the attitude completely changed when lead guitarist Dave Davies took a razorblade to his amplifier speaker, which resulted in a more crunchy sound when he played the riff. Amazed by what they heard, the band quickly knocked out a version of the tune with the guitar's nastier growl. The sound of the guitar on here was one of the first uses of distortion, which led to all of the band's competition to find new ways to make their songs sound more hard-edged.

Over time, the song has not only become a hard rock staple but also a mandatory practice routine for anyone interested in rock guitar. The timeless crunch of the tune was so undeniable that Van Halen's cover of it over a decade later still elicited hard-rock euphoria from the public. With just two swaggering power chords, the Kinks took rock into much harder territory almost single-handedly.