Beth (song)
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"Beth" is a song by KISS that was originally released on their 1976 album, Destroyer. To date, it is their highest-charting single, reaching #7 on Billboard's American charts and attaining gold status. It would be their first, and ultimately final gold single until "Forever" in 1990.
Written and sung by drummer Peter Criss, the song was a last-minute addition to the Destroyer album. The trend among KISS albums was to have contributions by all members of the band; thus they needed a Peter Criss song, and "Beth" was the only one Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley liked.
When released as a single, however, "Beth" was initially as the B-side of "Detroit Rock City". But radio stations, particularly one in Atlanta, Georgia, began playing it more than "Detroit Rock City" and it quickly became a highly-requested selection. KISS and Casablanca Records reissued "Beth" as a A-side with "Detroit Rock City" as the B-side and it was far more successful.
In 1977, KISS received a People's Choice Award for "Beth", one of the few industry awards the band ever won.
"Beth" is also credited as invigorating sluggish sales of the Destroyer album, which many fans initially saw as a misstep. It is also the only KISS song that features no instrumental performances by any member of the band. Moreover, Simmons, Stanley and guitarist Ace Frehley only appearance on the song is providing some backing vocals. Criss is backed by a piano and a string orchestra, a stark departure from the hard rock-oriented band.
Song history
As stated before, the song was written by Peter Criss and Stan Penridge, both of whom were in a band called Chelsea. A demo tape of the song, however, was recorded later, during Criss' tenure in another band, Lips, immediately before he joined KISS.Although Criss has stated that the original song, entitled "Beck", was about his then-wife, Lydia, this is in contradiction to other statements which point to a woman named Becky ("Beck" for short), who was the girlfriend of Chelsea guitarist Mike Brand.
The song was written as an insult to Rebecca, who would frequently interrupt recording sessions and rehearsals. She was, according to Criss, also a notorious hypochondriac.
Several years later, when Destroyer producer Bob Ezrin was presented with the song, he re-wrote the lyrics and suggested the piano and orchestra. Gone was the caustic (and reportedly profane) diatribe against an annoying woman. What it became was a sweet ballad about missing a loved one while on the road; telling her that even though you're not there an have a job to do, you're still thinking about her. However, it was Gene Simmons who suggested a change in title to "Beth". The two versions of this story alternately have Simmons concerned about fans believing it was about guitarist Jeff Beck or, worse yet, misconstrued as a gay love song about the guitarist.
Live, "Beth" was performed by Peter Criss backed solely by a tape of the instrumental track. However, during the years when Eric Carr and Eric Singer were KISS' drummers, the song was never performed live by KISS.
Other versions
In 1988, Eric Carr re-recorded the vocal track of "Beth" for the Smashes, Thrashes & Hits compilation. Carr later stated that he strongly regretted doing it, stating it's "Peter's song, and only Peter's song", but had wanted to sing lead on a KISS song on a KISS album for years.
For the KISS Unplugged album and music video, the original KISS lineup performed a version of "Beth" that featured Peter Criss on vocals, Paul Stanley and Ace Frehley on acoustic guitars, and Gene Simmons on acoustic bass guitar. However, they had to be taught the guitar version of the song by then-current lead guitarist Bruce Kulick since none of them, save Stanley, knew how to play it properly. The performance received a rousing standing ovation.
Paul Stanley can be seen plucking part of the song's melody on an acoustic guitar as Criss sings in the KISS television film, KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park. However, this is the only time Criss' natural voice was heard in the film. A voice actor overdubbed his dialogue.
In the years after he was fired from KISS in 1980, Peter Criss admits that he radically changed the song for live shows. By his own admission, he made it more "Vegasy". With his return to the KISS fold in 1996 for their very successful reunion tour, the song returned to the setlist. However, when Criss was again let go in 2001 (he was replaced by Eric Singer, who assumed Criss' catman persona), the song was again dropped from the setlist.
Appearances on albums
"Beth" is also on the following KISS albums:
- Alive II - Live version
- Double Platinum
- Smashes, Thrashes & Hits - Eric Carr Vocal
- KISS Unplugged - Live acoustic version
- You Wanted the Best... You Got the Best!
- Greatest KISS
- Box Set
- The Very Best of KISS
- - Live version
- Gold
References
- http://www.kissfaq.com/singles/usa/singles_usa.html
- http://www.kissfaq.com/charts/scharts.html
- Sherman, Dale. Black Diamond - The Unauthorized Biography of KISS. CG Publishing, 1997. ISBN (1-896522-35-1)
| KISS |
|---|
| Gene Simmons - Paul Stanley - Tommy Thayer - Eric Singer |
| Peter Criss - Ace Frehley - Eric Carr - Vinnie Vincent - Mark St. John - Bruce Kulick |
| Discography |
| Albums: Studio - Live - Compilation |
| Singles: "Rock and Roll All Nite" - "Detroit Rock City" - "Beth" - "Hard Luck Woman" - "I Was Made For Lovin' You" "Sure Know Something" - "A World Without Heroes" - "I Love It Loud" - "All Hell's Breakin' Loose" - "Forever" "God Gave Rock 'N Roll To You II" - "Psycho Circus" |
| Filmography: KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park |
| Related articles |
| Anton Fig - Bob Kulick - Band timeline - Wicked Lester |
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