Jimmy Fallon and Kevin Bacon charmingly refashion the Kinks' 'Lola' as a goofy song about spelling

Kevin Bacon and Jimmy Fallon cover the Kinks

(Image credit: The Tonight Show)

published 13 January 2017

If you think the 1970s was just an era of squares and soulless disco and Jimmy Carter cardigans, remember that the Kinks had a hit in 1970 with a suggestive song about meeting a transvestite in a bar and going home with him. You wouldn't know any of that from Jimmy Fallon and Kevin Bacon's "First Drafts of Rock" version on Thursday's Tonight Show. Playing Ray and Dave Davies, Fallon and Bacon's first draft of "Lola" is closer to a Sesame Street lesson about spelling, only funnier and with a better soundtrack. If you're looking for a smile, watch them sing about y-o-g-a yoga and Motorola below — and if you want a bit more of an edge, check out the Kinks' original song, or even Weird Al's homage, "Yoda." Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.