Kevin Bacon and Jimmy Fallon Perform the Original Version of Lola by The Kinks

Posted on January 14, 2017

Kevin Bacon joined Jimmy Fallon in a sneak look from First Drafts of Rock. This time they reveal what The Kinks' "Lola" really sounded like in its original incarnation. The British rock band released the single in ‎1970. The sing was written by Ray Davies who said it was based on a real encounter the band's manager had in a bar one night when he met someone named Lola.

The song got banned in Great Britain and Australia due to the subject matter and the used of the trademarked name Coco-Cola, but played in the U.S, where it became a bit hit. In this hilarious early version of the song, the lyrics are quite different. In fact, they are mostly about spelling, in particular how difficult it is to spell the word "doughnut."

The begins with meeting a girl in a bar, just like the later version, but soon it goes off the rails. Here's a sample verse from this early version:

I'm looking for a breakfast food with a hole,
But I don’t want a bagel to play that role, I want a donut. D-O-N-T Donut, I cannot spell donut.
Well it’s got a bunch of letters and it starts with a D,
Why is spelling so hard for me,
I can spell a lot of words, but “donut” is hard,
Why is spelling donut so hard?
Well I’m not the world’s most passionate guy,
Which is why the thing that I’m passionate about is granola. G-R-A-N ola.

Both Kevin and Jimmy are rocking some serious early 70s wigs, as are the other band members. We need more First Drafts of Rock, that's for sure. Take a look:

Photo: Andrew Lipovsky/NBC




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