RANKED! OUR 10 BEST KISS HITS – SELECTED BY A FAN

Once you come and see Kiss, you either love us or you hate us.
Ace Frehley

As I contemplated the selection of our next featured artist for the “Our Ten” series on music, I realized there was a perfect option in the band Kiss. With Halloween coming soon, it seemed some hard rock theatre mixed with masks and makeup were right in line with the spirit.

Formed in 1973 by Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss & Paul Stanley, Kiss created a phenomenon with live shows that emulated a circus sideshow featuring fire-breathing, blood-spitting, pyrotechnics and even drum kits that levitated.

As one of the most influential rock bands in history, Kiss has sold more than 75 million records and possess more than 30 gold and 14 platinum certified albums. Their current “End of the Road” World Tour will conclude in New York City in December.

With that being said, here are “Our Ten” favorite songs from Kiss.

NOTE: CLICK ON THE IMAGES FOR A VIDEO PERFORMANCE OF EACH SONG

10. CREATURES OF THE NIGHT (1983)

Having never been released in the US, and struggling to reach its UK peak of #34, the title track to this 1982 album was lacking on several fronts. Both Gene Simmons and Ace Frehley are nowhere to be found on the studio version of the song, replaced by Toto’s Mike Porcaro and Mr. Mister’s Steve Farris. On the positive side, the song opened the “Creatures of the Night” and “Lick It Up” tours and has been covered a number of times by other artists.

Peak Position in the: US (did not chart) UK: #34

9. STRUTTER (1974)

Widely considered to be one of Kiss’s best songs, “Strutter” was the third single from the super group’s debut album but failed to chart at the time. One of the few songs written by Gene Simmons & Paul Stanley, the song was featured on both “Guitar Hero 2” and “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas”. Louder Sound ranked this song at #5 on their list of the greatest 40 songs by Kiss.

Peak Position in the US (did not chart) UK (did not chart)

8. FOREVER (1990)

Surprisingly (or not surprisingly) co-written with Michael Bolton, this power ballad was the second single from 1989’s “Hot in the Shade”. Thanks to heavy exposure on MTV, the single became Kiss’s first Billboard Top 40 hit since 1979’s “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”, and as of today is the most recent Top 40 hit from the hard rock band.

Peak Position in the: US #8 UK #65

7. HEAVEN’S ON FIRE (1984)

Guitarist Paul Stanley co-wrote this catchy song with Desmond Child (“I Hate Myself for Loving You”, “Livin’ on a Prayer”, “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)”, “Livin’ la Vida Loca”), and has the distinction of being one of only three Kiss songs to be performed live with and without makeup.

Peak Position in the: US #49 UK (did not chart)

6. I WAS MADE FOR LOVIN’ YOU (1979)

A song born from a bet about how easy it is to write and record a “disco” song, this track became the band’s second gold single when it peaked at #11 in the US, while going top ten in more than 10 other countries. Co-written with Desmond Child, some suggest this was a track that inspired the Disco Demolition NIght riot in 1979. Despite the backlash, this song has been a staple during concert performances by Kiss since it first became a hit.

Peak Position in the: US #11 UK #50

5. DETROIT ROCK CITY (1976)

This third single from the album “Destroyer” was intended to be the final single supporting the album, until radio play proved to be elusive, and programmers began playing the “B” side of the record instead – a song called “Beth”. Inspired by the death of a fan outside a Charlotte stadium, Paul Stanley merged this with a song he’d been working on about Detroit and the rest is of course history. Louder Sound ranks this at #1 on their list of the greatest songs by Kiss.

Peak Position in the: US (did not chart) UK (did not chart)

4. BETH (1976)

Lifted from the 1976 release “Destroyer”, this single was originally the B-Side of “Detroit Rock City” and is Kiss’s biggest commercial hit. Inspired by the mocking of the wife of guitarist Stan Penridge (who repeatedly called during rehearsals to see when her husband would be home), the song veered away from the Kiss staple subject of sex and instead dealt with love, which producer Bob Ezrin felt everyone could relate to. In 2003, VH1 ranked “Beth” at #3 on their list of Greatest Power Ballads.

Peak Position in the: US #7 UK (did not chart)

3. HARD LUCK WOMAN (1976) – TIE

Originally intended for Rod Stewart, this Paul Stanley-penned song continued the slower paced trend of “Beth” with Peter Criss on lead vocals, resulting in back-to-back hits for the group. In 1994, the song was covered by country superstar Garth Brooks on the tribute album “Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved”, with Kiss providing the instrumentation themselves, clocking in at #26 at its peak on Billboard’s Mainstream Top 40.

Peak Position in the: US #15 UK (did not chart)

3. CALLING DR. LOVE (1977) – TIE

Gene Simmons composed this fourth Top-20 single for Kiss in an Indiana Holiday Inn, with the title inspired from a line in The Three Stooges film “Men in Black”. This second release from the album “Rock and Roll Over” was a huge hit in Canada, reaching #2 on the charts and was many years later featured in both “Rock Band” the game and “Magic Mike” the movie.

Peak Position in the: US: #16 UK – (did not chart)

2. LICK IT UP (1983)

A staple of the band’s live performance since its release, “Lick it Up” was a Top-40 hit in the UK, but only managed to make it to #66 in the US. The song is one of only a few performed live from their unmasked era and is among the 10 most performed songs from their vast catalogue. The throbbing bassline coupled with Paul Stanley’s strident vocals make this tune one to crank up to full volume. It’s also featured in the tv series “The Sopranos” and in the video game “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories”.

Peak Position in the: US – #66 UK – #31

1. ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE (1975)

“Rock and Roll All Nite” is a song that was written by Paul Stanley & Gene Simmons in response to the tepid sales of the album “Hotter Than Hell” in an effort to head off the need of a comeback later. The studio version peaked at #69, with a subsequent live version peaking at #12 in early 1976. The track became the band’s signature song, closing out nearly every concert they’ve performed since 1976. In 2008, VH1 named the track the 16th greatest hard rock song of all time. In 1987, Poison covered the song for the soundtrack to the film “Less Than Zero”.

Peak Position in the: US – #12 UK – (did not chart)

Because this is a “casual” listener list, it consists of mostly hits by the artist. There are so many classic tracks from Kiss that it truly is hard to narrow them down to ten (similar to my experience with Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, Olivia Newton-John, the Eagles and ABBA). What are some of the other songs we “should” have included? What album tracks should have been singles? Here’s my secondary list: