The 1976 song Paul Stanley had “every intention of singing” before giving up
New York City. A place for dreamers, two of whom, in the form of Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, found themselves in the same apartment one night.
The two instantly had a connection, as they found out they were into the same music and wanted to become famous artists. The issue that Paul Stanley had was that he was worried about whether or not Gene Simmons was ever going to be capable of collaborating. Simmons is famous for being a pretty larger-than-life character, and that came about as soon as they met.
It’s great to have a big personality if you intend to work in a band together. It’s those kinds of people who sell records, and so why wouldn’t Paul Stanley be drawn to it? Well, he knew that it would work on stage, but wasn’t sure how well they would be able to work in the studio. Simmons’ word was final, and the whole point of working together creatively meant clear collaboration.
“I think he thought Lennon, McCartney and Gene were the only three songwriters in the world,” said Stanley, “And all of a sudden he had to make room for a fourth.”
Much to Stanley’s surprise, though, the whole thing worked out pretty well. The two had ideas that aligned a great deal, not only in the kind of music that they wanted to play, but also in how they wanted to present themselves. They had the same line of thinking when it came to wearing make-up, pyro, and generally just asserting themselves as one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. People were pretty impressed the moment they stepped on the stage, as they were able to take what was already decent music and then elevate it to extraordinary heights.
Their unique look also helped when it came to putting together songs of different styles as well. The band were unified in their appearance; it didn’t matter what genre of music they put out, the moniker of Kiss meant that everything was free rein. As such, there was a load of creative freedom given to everyone who wanted to write music as part of the band. You still had disagreements here and there, of course, but there wasn’t a whole lot off limits.
While that may be the case, there are obviously a few exceptions to the rule, as the band put out plenty of music that certain members weren’t a fan of. For Stanley, this came in the form of ‘God of Thunder’, a song he had written with the intention of singing himself, but that Simmons decided he would be better suited for (with the insistence of producer Bob Ezrin informing the decision as well).
The song has become a bit of a staple for Kiss’s live shows now, as people everywhere get excited about seeing Gene Simmons perform, blood pouring from his mouth, a demonic look, with a song that matches such an image. How frustrating must it be for Stanley to go on stage and feel enraged by the fact that it was originally supposed to be him singing those iconic lyrics?
“Here’s the real story,” said Stanley, “I wrote that song about myself, and the original lyrics were almost identical to what was recorded. ‘Hear my word and take heed’ was originally ‘We make love ’til we bleed’, but that was the only thing that was changed.”
He continued, “When I wrote it, I had every intention of singing it, but Bob Ezrin thought that it would be more appropriate for Gene to sing. Although it became known as a Gene Simmons song, it certainly wasn’t written for him or as a joke.”
