“Who does that song about kissing?” “Oh, um… KISS.” KISS – Then (S)he Kissed Me (The Crystals cover)ġ977’s Love Gun saw KISS continuing the trend of covering pop hits with the word “kiss” in the title. It did, however, give KISS their first appearance on the pop charts, as well as a clever way to spread around their name. Their plan worked, but not very well KISS’ version of this song hit number 83 on the charts, not exactly a stunning accomplishment. It was added to later pressings of the album at the behest of the band’s label after initial sales were grim executives felt that a catchy single could give the record some heat. What was originally a song about making out with your girl is now, ostensibly, about this very band – it’s time for the nation to get KISSed! Yet, interestingly, the band didn’t want to put this song on their first record. to “put their two lips together and kiss!” Here we get an early lesson in branding from the KISS boys. In 1974 KISS remade this 1959 feel-good ditty as a “Dancing in the Street”-style partier, down to Paul Stanley’s opening call for various cities around the U.S. If we were pun-inclined we might call this “revisionist KISS-story.” Any cover that KISS touches gets subsumed into their catalog – looking at the tracks below, at least three of them are more associated with KISS than with their original artists, and that’s surely the way Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and the other two rotating guys want it.
Often, they recast these songs in a totally KISS mold, almost obliterating any sense of the original. Their recorded output, though, contains a few unique tributes to groups that the lads in KISS would’ve listened to in their formative years. As such, covers never played much of a role for the group, certainly not in a live setting – KISS tends to keep their tour setlists relatively constant and calculated, leaving surprises to a minimum.
That said, KISS has certainly busied themselves molding a consistent and marketable image. But that would miss two important points about this New York City foursome: one, that they’re a seriously important group that had a huge effect on the music industry and culture in general, and two, that a lot of their music rocks really, really hard. Perhaps if you’re not particularly a fan of the group – like many critics these days, one might guess – you could argue that their crass and unending commercialism speaks to American values in a way that no other act has mastered so purely. You can take that assertion a number of ways, depending on how cynical you’re feeling.
In some respects, KISS embodies the quintessential American band, or at least the quintessential American four-piece rock group.
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