“Lola” is a song written by Ray Davies and performed by The Kinks which details a romantic encounter between a young man and a transvestite. It was released in June of 1970 and would eventually reach #2 in the U.K. and #9 in the U.S. charts but not before Davies had to fly from New York to London just to change some lyrics to get the song on the air.

The original lyrics used the word “Coca-Cola” but because of BBC Radio’s policy against product placement, those words were changed to the generic “Cherry Cola” for the single release.

“You drink champagne and it tastes just like Coca-Cola.”

“You drink champagne and it tastes just like Cherry Cola.”

Davies also took the time to make change another lyric at the end of the song as well.

In the “Coca-Cola version“, the lyrics at the end of the song are.

“I know what I am and I’m glad, I’m a man, and so is Lo-la.”

In the “Cherry-Cola version” the lyrics at the end of the song are.

“I know what I am in the bed, I’m a man, and so is Lo-la.”

Both version are available today but it still puzzles me why The Beatles could get away with using Coca-Cola in “Come Together” when The Kinks couldn’t??? Did you know The White Stripes made a jingle for a Coke commercial that only ran one time? Click photo or link below to check it out…