I Was Made for Lovin' You

"I Was Made for Lovin' You" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss, originally released on their 1979 album Dynasty. It was released as the A-side of their first single from the album; on the B-side was "Hard Times", a song written and sung by Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley.

Not to be confused with I Was Made to Love You.
"I Was Made for Lovin' You"
Single by Kiss
from the album Dynasty
B-side"Hard Times"
ReleasedMay 1979 (1979-05)
Format7-inch single, 12-inch single
StudioElectric Lady Studios, Record Plant Studios, New York City
Genre
Length4:01 (7-inch/video)
7:54 (12-inch)
4:30 (album)
LabelCasablanca
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Vini Poncia
Kiss singles chronology
"You Still Matter to Me"
(1979)		 "I Was Made for Lovin' You"
(1979)		 "Sure Know Something"
(1979)

History

The B-side of the single is the album track "Hard Times", which was written by Ace Frehley. The song was one of the band's few singles to chart in the UK in the 1970s, though peaking only at No. 50, where a 7 min 54 sec version was released on 12" single in addition to the shorter 7" version. The song has become a permanent staple in Kiss's live performances.[3] The band's performance of the song at their 30th anniversary show in Melbourne, Australia, was accompanied by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, who wore Kiss-style makeup with their tuxedos.[4] At first Desmond Child said, "Paul wanted to write a good disco song and I decided to help him with that. Paul started to write lyrics and chords then I played the song on the guitar and said 'OK, we'll do something to improve this and make it really a good song.'"

"I Was Made for Lovin' You" draws heavily from the disco style that was popular in late-1970s United States. According to legend, the members of the band were in conflict with their producers, who wanted the band to shift to a more commercial sound. In response, the band argued that lucrative disco songs could be written by anyone in a short time frame. The story goes that the song's demo was completed in mere hours after the bet. While the story is unproven, Paul Stanley, who co-wrote the song with Desmond Child and Vini Poncia, has stated that it was a conscious effort on his part to prove how easy it was to write and record a hit disco song.[5] Gene Simmons revealed in a 2018 interview that he always disliked the song because of his vocal part.[6]

Although Peter Criss appears in the video and on the album cover, he did not actually play on the track. As with most of the Dynasty album, session drummer Anton Fig took his place,as Poncia had deemed Criss unfit to play. There is a bootleg audio recording of the writing sessions for the song in which Stanley mentions Criss's name a couple of times, indicating he was present during the arranging of the song.[5] Stanley plays the rhythm guitar and bass guitar while Frehley provided the guitar solo. "The Return of KISS" was how Dynasty was billed in commercials and advertisements for the album.

Release

"I Was Made for Lovin' You" was Kiss's first songwriting collaboration with Desmond Child, who would also write songs for the albums Animalize, Asylum, Crazy Nights, Smashes, Thrashes & Hits, and Hot in the Shade. While not as drastic as the 1979 "Radio Single Mix", the length of the song is edited by some eleven seconds down to 4 minutes and 16 seconds. Like the 1979 edit, the beginning measures of the song are reduced from four to two and the harmonizing following the guitar solo is halved.

The music video of "I Was Made for Lovin' You" was filmed on June 20, 1979, in the Savannah Civic Center in Savannah, Georgia. After the show was canceled, it was decided to use the already completed stage to film two videos. A promotional video was shot featuring the song performed on the Dynasty stage set, consisting simply of the band performing the song. The music video on YouTube has more than 160 million views. It was not included in the "Kissology" DVD series.

Reception

"I Was Made for Lovin' You" was the band's second Gold single, selling over 1 million copies. The single was certified Gold in the U.S. on August 16, 1979,[7] and in Canada on August 1, 1979.[8]

The single reached No. 11 on the U.S. Billboard singles chart and No. 1 in the Canadian RPM National singles chart (the band's second chart-topping single in that country, following "Shout It Out Loud"). It further became a hit in Australia reaching No. 2 on the ARIA charts in 1979, behind My Sharona by The Knack. As well, it charted in Western Europe: it became a top 20 hit in Sweden, a top 10 hit in Norway, and made it to the number 2 position in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. In the Netherlands it was a No. 1. In the UK it stalled at number 50.

Some Kiss fans dismissed it as a sell-out. Despite the backlash, the song has become a concert staple over the years, with a different arrangement that de-emphasizes the song's disco elements. Gene Simmons[6][9] has stated that "I Was Made for Lovin' You" is his least favorite Kiss song, and Ace Frehley[10][11] and Peter Criss[11] have also indicated that they dislike the song.

Chart performance

Sales and certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[38] Gold 75,000^
Italy (FIMI)[39] Platinum 50,000
Japan (RIAJ)[40] Gold 100,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[41] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[42] Silver 200,000
United States (RIAA)[43] Gold 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Personnel

Notes and references
  1. Donald A. Guarisco. "I Was Made for Lovin' You review on Allmusic". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 1 July 2013. "This careful balance of elements made "I Was Made For Lovin’ You" a surprisingly workable cross between hard rock and disco"
  2. Scott Floman. "KISS". Retrieved 1 July 2013. "many older fans were further alienated by "I Was Made For Loving You," a smash disco hit that while catchy and danceable certainly wasn't very KISS-like."
  3. "Kiss Budokan Hall Japan 1988 – I Was Made For Lovin' You". YouTube. 2007-09-14. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  4. "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  5. Leaf, David and Ken Sharp. KISS: Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography, Warner Books, 2003. ISBN 0-446-53073-5
  6. Krol, Charlotte (2018-10-18). "Gene Simmons reveals why he hates KISS' classic song 'I Was Made For Lovin' You'". NME. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
  7. "RIAA Gold & Platinum database". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2009.
  8. "CRIA certified awards". Archived from the original on April 27, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
  9. Madden, Casey. "Find Out What KISS Song Gene Simmons Hates Playing!". YouTube. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  10. Gostin, Nicki (2 November 2011). "Ace Frehley 'No Regrets': KISS Member Talks Rocker Lifestyle, Gene Simmons' Crabs In New Memoir". Huffington Post. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  11. Epstein, Dan (26 March 2014). "Comparing the Original Kiss Members' Memoirs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  12. Danyel Smith, ed. (1979). Billboard 6 october 1979. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  13. "Austriancharts.at – KISS – I Was Made For Lovin' You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  14. "Ultratop.be – KISS – I Was Made For Lovin' You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  15. "I was made for lovin' you in Canadian Disco Singles Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  16. "I was made for lovin' you in Canadian Top Singles Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  17. "Toutes les Chansons N° 1 des Années 70" (in French). InfoDisc. 1979-07-06. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  18. "Nederlandse Top 40 – KISS" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  19. "Dutchcharts.nl – KISS – I Was Made For Lovin' You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  20. "Charts.nz – KISS – I Was Made For Lovin' You". Top 40 Singles.
  21. "Norwegiancharts.com – KISS – I Was Made For Lovin' You". VG-lista.
  22. John Samson. "I was made for lovin' you in South African Chart". Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  23. "Swedishcharts.com – KISS – I Was Made For Lovin' You". Singles Top 100.
  24. "Swisscharts.com – KISS – I Was Made For Lovin' You". Swiss Singles Chart.
  25. "KISS". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  26. Billboard Singles peaks for Dynasty at AllMusic
  27. "KISS awards on Allmusic". Allmusic. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  28. "Top 100 1979-08-11". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-03-19.
  29. "Offiziellecharts.de – KISS – I Was Made For Lovin' You". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  30. "Forum - 1979 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  31. Bac-lac.gc.ca
  32. https://www.top40.nl/bijzondere-lijsten/top-100-jaaroverzichten/1979
  33. "End of Year Charts 1979". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  34. "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1979". Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  35. Swiss Year-End Charts, 1979
  36. "Top 100 Hits of 1979/Top 100 Songs of 1979". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  37. "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1979". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  38. "Canadian single certifications – Kiss – I Was Made for Loving You". Music Canada.
  39. "Italian single certifications – Kiss – I Was Made for Lovin' You" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved August 12, 2019. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "I Was Made for Lovin' You" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli online" under "Sezione".
  40. "Japanese single certifications – Kiss – I Was Made for Lovin' You" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved January 25, 2020. Select 2016年11月 on the drop-down menu
  41. "Dutch album certifications – Kiss – I Was Made for Lovin' You" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved August 24, 2018. Enter I Was Made for Lovin' You in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  42. "British single certifications – Kiss – I Was Made for Lovin' You". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  43. "American single certifications – Kiss – I Was Made for Loving You". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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