‘Detroit Rock City’: the tragedy behind a Kiss classic
Anyone who has seen Kiss perform live knows there is only one true way they could open their show. It starts with Gene Simmons’s iconic line, “You wanted the best, you got the best, the hottest band in the world, Kiss!” The lights then come up, the atmosphere falls heavy, and the iconic bassline to their classic song, ‘Detroit Rock City’, kicks in.
Kiss has a plethora of tracks that they could open a set with. Classics such as ‘Modern Day Delilah’, ‘Shout It Out Loud’, and ‘Lick It Up’ would all make for tremendous openers; however, there is something incredibly infectious about ‘Detroit Rock City’, which makes it the prime song to start a Kiss set with.
It’s appropriate that the band inhabit characters while singing a rock song that tells a story. However, it’s worth noting that the story embedded within ‘Detroit Rock City’ isn’t a work of fiction but is actually inspired by a tragic real event.
Paul Stanley is responsible for the track. Originally, he wrote the song to reflect the music and party scene in Detroit. The whole thing was supposed to be a big celebration of music and fun, but this felt too similar to a lot of other Kiss songs. They were a party-centric band, always pushing the idea of having fun and giving into rock ‘n’ roll. While this isn’t a bad message for a rock band to send, their producer, Bob Ezrin, told Stanley that he should try to write about something slightly different.
Stanley decided instead to tell the story of somebody who was on their way to a gig and sadly passed away in a car accident. Throughout the track, the song talks about the person driving, the show they’re going to and the eventual crash. We are taken through the story one step at a time, and it turns out that Stanley was inspired by actual events when writing.
“On a previous tour, somebody had gotten hit by a car and killed outside the arena,” he said. “I remember thinking how weird it is that people can be on their way to something that’s really a party and a celebration of being alive, and die in the process of doing it. So that became the basis of the lyric.”
Stanley is right. The whole point behind a Kiss show has always been to have fun and give fans a great show. They’ve always done this by using pyrotechnics and fireworks throughout their concerts. They were one of the first bands to ever focus on their stage show and use it to enhance their music. Before them, most bands would just rely on their music, but Kiss showed there could be much more to it than that.
Black Sabbath have previously admitted that they regretted taking Kiss on tour because they were too much of a hard band to follow. Going on stage after they had put so much into blowing people’s minds proved challenging. It’s a shame to hear about people who were unable to attend those gigs because tragedy struck, and while ‘Detroit Rock City’ may not be the most heartfelt of tributes, it’s in true rock ‘n’ roll form, which is on brand for Kiss.
