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Beth (song)

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"Beth"
Song

"Beth is a pussy destroyer and she loves cheese cake" is a ballad by 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 was named #3 in Vh1's 25 Greatest Power Ballads.[1]

Song information

Kiss's drummer Peter Criss sings the song, which he co-wrote with Stan Penridge. The song was written before Criss had joined Kiss, while he was still a member of Chelsea. Criss came up with the melody for the song while on a train to New York City from New Jersey where the band practiced. He and Chelsea guitarist Stan Penridge wrote the song together.[2]

Neither of the two women who inspired the song were actually named Beth. 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. Years later, while in Kiss, both Bob Ezrin and Gene Simmons are credited for changing the song's title to "Beth," presumably to be more recognizable as a female name. According to interviews with Criss, around the same time, some of the lyrics were changed to reflect his wife Lydia Di Leonardo's lamentations that she missed him while on tour. So, the song is partly written to Becky and partly to Lydia.

The song was a last-minute addition to the Destroyer album. According to Bill Aucoin, the manager of Kiss at that time, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley did not want "Beth" on the album because it was not a typical Kiss song. Bill insisted on keeping the song on the record.[2]

When released as a single, however, "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.[3] Kiss and Casablanca Records reissued "Beth" as an A-side with "Detroit Rock City" as the B-side, and it was far more successful.[citation needed] The single went Gold in the United States (the first Kiss single to do so) on January 5, 1977[4] and in Canada on December 1, 1976.[5]

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. Criss is backed by a piano and a string orchestra, a stark departure from the hard rock-oriented band.

Origin

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's tenure in another band, Lips, immediately before he joined Kiss.

During the recording sessions for the song, Peter Criss was the only Kiss member in the studio.

Live, "Beth" was performed by Peter 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 Peter 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 guitars during their Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour and again on their The Hottest Show on Earth Tour in 2011.

It has since then been re-shelved for The Tour and it is unknown whether or not Kiss will perform it again in future tours.

Sales certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[6] Gold 0^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

Other versions

Appearances on Kiss albums

"Beth" appears on the following Kiss albums:

References

  1. ^ "VH1 list of 25 greatest power ballads". Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  2. ^ a b David Leaf, Ken Sharp Kiss: Behind the Mask - Official Authorized Biography Warner Books, 2005ISBN 978-0-446-69524-4Page268 Cite error: The named reference "behindthemask" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ Radio Revolution: Rise and Fall of the Big 8 Dir. Michael McNamara. Markham Street Films, 2004. Film
  4. ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum database". Retrieved February 7, 2009.
  5. ^ "CRIA certification". Retrieved February 8, 2009.
  6. ^ "American single certifications – Beth". Recording Industry Association of America.
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