Beth (song)

"Beth" is a song by American hard rock band KISS, originally released on their 1976 album, Destroyer. To date, it is their highest-charting single in the US, reaching #7 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. It is one of only two gold selling singles for the band (the other being 1979's "I Was Made for Lovin' You"), and their first of two Top Ten singles (along with 1990's "Forever", #8) in the US. "Beth" ranked #3 in VH1's 25 Greatest Power Ballads.[1]

"Beth"
Single by Kiss
from the album Destroyer
A-side"Detroit Rock City"
ReleasedAugust 1976
Format7-inch single
Recorded1976
StudioRecord Plant, New York City
GenreSoft rock
Length2:45
LabelCasablanca (NB-863A)
Songwriter(s)Peter Criss, Stan Penridge, Bob Ezrin
Producer(s)Bob Ezrin
Kiss singles chronology
"Flaming Youth"
(1976)		 "Beth"
(1976)		 "Hard Luck Woman"
(1976)

Origins

KISS' drummer Peter Criss sings the song, which was co-written by Criss and guitarist Stan Penridge. The song was written before Criss had joined the band, while he and Penridge were members of Chelsea. A bootleg exists of the song from 1971, but the song was sung "Beck, what can I do?" "Beck" was the nickname of fellow Chelsea member Mike Brand's wife, Becky, who would call often during practices to ask Mike when he was coming home. In an article for Rolling Stone, Paul Stanley questioned Criss' role in co-writing the song, saying, "Peter had nothing to do with it." [2] Lydia Criss (who was married to Peter Criss throughout the 1970s) says that she alone is responsible for the name change.[3]

Recording

The song was a last-minute addition to the Destroyer album. According to Bill Aucoin, the manager of Kiss at that time, Simmons and Stanley did not want "Beth" on the album because it was not a typical Kiss song. Aucoin insisted on keeping the song on the record.[4] During the recording sessions for the song, Criss was the only Kiss member in the studio, making it the only Kiss song that features no instrumental performances by any member of the band. Criss is backed by a piano and a string orchestra, a stark departure from the band's usual hard rock-oriented sound.

Release

When released as a single, "Beth" was initially the B-side of "Detroit Rock City". Some of the initial credit for the flip-hit goes to Rosalie Trombley, at the time the music director at "The Big 8" CKLW in Windsor, Ontario. Trombley's daughter had a copy of the 45 and was hooked on "Beth", and began nagging her mother about it. "Beth" wasn't being promoted as the "A" side, but Trombley added it to CKLW's playlist. After "Beth" became a smash, Kiss presented Trombley's daughter with a gold record.[5] Kiss and Casablanca Records reissued "Beth" as an A-side with "Detroit Rock City" as the B-side, and it was far more successful. The single went gold in the US (the first Kiss single to do so) on January 5, 1977[6] and in Canada on December 1, 1976.[7]

"Beth" is also credited as invigorating sluggish sales of the Destroyer album, which many fans initially saw as a misstep. In 1977, Kiss received a People's Choice Award for "Beth", one of the few industry awards the band ever won.

The song's television debut was on The Paul Lynde Halloween Special on October 29, 1976, where Criss lip-synced a shortened version of the song while miming on piano. Live, "Beth" was performed by Criss alone on stage backed by a tape of the instrumental track. The acoustic version featured on Kiss Unplugged is the only recording with members of Kiss solely backing up Criss. The version of "Beth" featured on the group's 2003 Kiss Symphony: Alive IV DVD and subsequent album would be the only time the song was performed live with an ensemble. In 2010, the song was performed live for the first time with Eric Singer on acoustic guitar during their Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour and again on their The Hottest Show on Earth Tour in 2011. It has since been again removed from setlists, but the band occasionally performs the song at meet and greet sessions. On the 2019 End of the Road World Tour, the song has been performed by Singer, miming it on the piano.

Re-Recording

At the time of the release of KISS's 1988 compilation album, Smashes, Thrashes & Hits, Eric Carr had replaced Peter Criss as the band's drummer. A re-recording of "Beth" was produced just for this greatest hits album with Carr singing the vocals in the same room of the Record Plant studio where the song was originally recorded. This recording used the same backing track as Criss' version, but Carr also overdubbed some drum parts.

Chart performance

Sales certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[14] Gold 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Personnel

Other versions
  • An acoustic version of the song appears on Criss' 1994 album Cat #1
  • In 2010, a cover by the cast of Glee peaked at #44 on Billboard's digital song chart.[15]
  • The 2016 Volkswagen Passat used the song in television commercials to advertise their Car-Net App-Connect, which allows the driver to access certain apps from their Smartphone through the dashboard.[16]
  • A cover appears on punk band No Use For A Name’s 2017 album Rarities Vol. 1: The Covers.

Appearances on Kiss albums

"Beth" appears on the following Kiss albums:

References
  1. "VH1 list of 25 greatest power ballads". Rateyourmusic.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  2. Hiatt, Brian (2014-03-26). "Kiss Forever: The Rolling Stone Cover Story". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  3. Prato, Greg (February 15, 2016). "Lydia Criss Tells the 'Beth' Story". Songfacts. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  4. David Leaf, Ken Sharp. KISS: Behind the Mask – Official Authorized Biography, Warner Books, 2005 ISBN 978-0-446-69524-4 Page268
  5. Radio Revolution: Rise and Fall of the Big 8 Dir. Michael McNamara. Markham Street Films, 2004. Film
  6. "RIAA Gold & Platinum database". Riaa.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2009.
  7. "CRIA certification". Cria.ca. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2009.
  8. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-11-22. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  9. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-11-10. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  10. "Adult Contemporary Music Chart". Billboard. 1976-11-06. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  11. "Top 100 1976-11-20". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-06-23.
  12. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2015-11-21. Retrieved 2016-10-11.
  13. "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1976". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-06-05.
  14. "American single certifications – Kiss – Beth". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  15. "Glee Cast Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-07-23.
  16. Lifton, Dave (18 December 2016). "Kiss' "Beth" Given New Twist in Volkswagen Commercial". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  17. Cormier, Roger (2015-03-24). "21 Things You Might Not Know About NewsRadio". mentalfloss.com. Mental Floss. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
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