Rock and Roll All Nite
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| “Rock and Roll All Nite” | |||||
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| Single by Kiss from the album Dressed to Kill |
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| Released | April 1975 (US) | ||||
| Format | 7" | ||||
| Recorded | Electric Lady Studios, New York City: February 1975 |
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| Genre | Hard rock | ||||
| Length | 2 min 48 sec | ||||
| Label | Casablanca NB-829 (US) | ||||
| Producer | Neil Bogart & Kiss | ||||
| Kiss singles chronology | |||||
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"Rock and Roll All Nite" is a song by Kiss, often seen as a classic rock anthem, originally released on their 1975 album Dressed to Kill. It was released as the A-side of their fifth single, with the album track "Getaway." The studio version of the song peaked at #57 on the Billboard singles chart, besting the band's previous charting single, "Kissin' Time" (#79). A subsequent live version released as a single in October 1975, eventually reaching #12, the first of six Top 20 songs for Kiss in the 1970s.[1] Since then, it has become Kiss's most identifiable song, and has served as one of the group's closing concert numbers in almost every concert since 1976.[2][3]
"Rock and Roll All Nite" was written by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons while Kiss was still in Los Angeles, as part of their Hotter Than Hell tour although during the groups concert at Cobo Hall in Detroit on January 26, 1976, Stanley states to the audience before the group begin the song that the song was written in and for Detroit. The tour ended early (February 1975), when Casablanca Records founder and president Neil Bogart ordered Kiss to return to the studio to record a follow up to Hotter Than Hell, which had stalled on the charts and failed to meet Casablanca's sales expectations. One of Bogart's instructions to the band was to compose an anthem, something he felt the band needed.[2][4] The song itself was inspired by the Slade song Cum on Feel the Noize, and is often referred to as the Rock And Roll National Anthem (for instance, Stanley states during Kiss' performance at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards that "there's only one nation, that's Kiss Nation, there's only one Rock & Roll national anthem: Rock And Roll All Nite, party everyday!")
Stanley wrote the chorus, and Simmons wrote the verses, borrowing parts of a song he had previously written, entitled "Drive Me Wild." The song was one of two the group recorded toward the end of the Hotter Than Hell tour, prior to returning to Electric Lady Studios for the proper Dressed to Kill recording sessions.[4] For the choruses, the band and Bogart brought in a large group of outside contributors to sing and clap, including members of the Kiss road crew, studio musicians, and Peter Criss's wife Lydia. Some of the road crew used their jacket zippers to create sound.[5][2]
While "Rock and Roll All Nite" would eventually become a fixture in Kiss's live performances, it was not inserted into the band's setlist immediately. Nor did it immediately replace "Let Me Go, Rock 'N Roll" as the closing number.[4]
The original version of the song, as it appears on Dressed To Kill, does not have a guitar solo, while many later versions do have one. The Kiss Unplugged version features Ace Frehley and Bruce Kulick sharing the solo. The chorus of the Alive! version of the song is played at the beginning of "Detroit Rock City," from 1976's Destroyer.
The song has been covered, among others, by Toad The Wet Sprocket for the Kiss My Ass tribute album, and by Poison for the Less Than Zero soundtrack.
A cover version of this song, based on the live version heard in Alive!, appears as a playable track in the game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
In Family Guy episode Road to Europe, Kiss sings this song in a concert and wants Lois to finish the chorus line, but she doesn't know the lyrics and she ruins the concert.
In the Commercial for the "Tooth Tunes" Product, there is a big dictator making people brush their teeth, then they protest and start singing this song.
In the extended version of Miley Cyrus's tour: Best of Both Worlds, teen pop sensations Aly & AJ teamed up with Miley Cyrus (performing as Hannah Montana) for a duet of this song. When Aly & AJ finished their leg of the tour, Everlife took over also singing the duet of the song with Miley.
[edit] Appearances
"Rock and Roll All Nite" has appeared on the following Kiss albums:
- Dressed to Kill – Original studio version
- Alive! – Live version
- Double Platinum – Studio version
- Killers – Live version
- Smashes, Thrashes & Hits – Remixed studio version
- Alive III – Live version
- Kiss Unplugged – Acoustic live version
- You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!! – Live version
- Greatest Kiss – Live version
- The Box Set – Studio version & Live version
- The Very Best of Kiss – Live version
- Kiss Symphony: Alive IV – Live version with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
- The Best of Kiss: The Millennium Collection – Live version
- Gold – Live version
- Kiss Chronicles – Original studio version (as part of repackaging of Dressed To Kill)
- Alive II (as part of the Kiss Alive! 1975-2000 box set re-release of Alive!, Alive II, Alive III, plus Alive! The Millennium Concert) - Single Edit Version
[edit] Sample
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"Rock and Roll All Nite", from the Dressed to Kill album The original studio version of Kiss's signature song. - Problems playing the files? See media help.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ "The Complete KISS Singles Chart Action, 1974-". The KISSFAQ. Retrieved July 13, 2006.
- ^ a b c Gooch, Curt and Jeff Suhs. KISS Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History. Billboard Books, 2002. ISBN 0-8230-8322-5
- ^ Prato, Greg. "Rock and Roll All Nite". All Music Guide. Retrieved July 17, 2006.
- ^ a b c Gill, Julian. The KISS Album Focus, Volume 1 (3rd Edition). Xlibris Corporation, 2005. ISBN 1-4134-8547-2
- ^ Leaf, David and Ken Sharp. KISS: Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography, Warner Books, 2003. ISBN 0-446-53073-5
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