The Kinks were an English pop/rock group forme in 1963, and categorised as a British Invasion band, along with the other members of the so-called Big Four (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who). Despite being less commercially successful than these three contemporaries, mostly because of a four-year ban from the United States in the mid-to-late 1960s, the Kinks are cited among them as one of the most important and influential rock bands of all time.