‘You Really Got Me’ was released in the UK on 4 August 1964 by Pye Records as the group's third single, and reached number one on the Record Retailer chart the following month, remaining there for two weeks. It was released in the US on 2 September by Reprise Records. Dave Davies’s classic distorted guitar riff was built around power chords (perfect fifths and octaves) and would heavily influenced later rock musicians, Ray Davies said of the song's writing, "When I came up with it I hadn't been writing songs very long at all. It was one of the first five I ever wrote."