"Rise to It" is a song by the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band Kiss, released on the band's fifteenth studio album, ''

Hot in the Shade ''Hot in the Shade'' is the fifteenth studio album by American rock band Kiss, released in 1989. It is the first Kiss studio album since 1981's ''Music From "The Elder"'' to feature lead vocals from someone other than Paul Stanley or Gene Simmons ...

'' in 1989. It is the opening track on the album and was released as the third and final single on April 1, 1990. However, it only charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

. The band only performed the song during the Hot in the Shade Tour. It is the final single by the band on which

Eric Carr Paul Charles Caravello (July 12, 1950 – November 24, 1991), better known professionally as Eric Carr, was an American musician who was the drummer for the rock band Kiss from 1980 to 1991. Caravello was selected as the new Kiss drummer afte ...

plays drums. He was diagnosed with terminal heart cancer following the supporting tour.

Background

The song, written by Paul Stanley, the band's vocalist/rhythm guitarist, and Bob Halligan Jr., starts with an acoustic intro, which has been compared to Cinderella's "Bad Seamstress Blues" by one review . The lyrics explore a singer's life of an unknown musician who claims that he will "rise to it". The story was re-told in a music video, where Stanley and

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...

are seen in 1975 putting on make-up and talking about what would happen if they took the make-up off. Then, the song starts and the band is seen in 1989 playing in a club in a small crowd. The song was added to the setlist for the second show of the Hot in the Shade Tour and was performed until the end of the tour, but the band dropped the song from the setlist for the Revenge Tour and have never played the song again. The song was the lowest charting single off the album, reaching number 81 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 40 on Mainstream Rock. It was the last Kiss single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

Music video

The music video, directed by

Mark Rezyka Mark Rezyka (born 11 June 1959 in Montreal, Canada) was best known as a top director of heavy metal music videos in the 1980s and 1990s. With partners Marcelo Epstein and Dominic Orlando, he founded Pendulum Productions in 1982, and directed ov ...

, features Stanley and Simmons in their iconic makeup personas for the first time since the band's ''Creatures of the Night'' tour in 1982. The video's intro and epilogue scenes take place at the band's dressing room in 1975. While putting their makeup on, Stanley and Simmons debate about performing without the makeup. In the epilogue, as the band prepares for their show, Stanley states that no matter what changes, they will still be Kiss. The costumes used in these scenes are historically inaccurate; Simmons' costume is from the ''Unmasked'' (1980) era while Stanley's is from '' Love Gun'' (1977). In addition, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley are substituted with body doubles who are obviously

and

Bruce Kulick Bruce Howard Kulick (born December 12, 1953) is an American guitarist and since 2000 a member of the rock band Grand Funk Railroad. Previously, Kulick was a long-time member of the band Kiss (19841996). He was also a member of Union with John Cor ...

(who was wearing Vinnie Vincent’s “Ankh Warrior” costume).

Charts

Personnel

* Paul Stanley –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, backing vocals *

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, backing vocals *

– lead guitar, backing vocals

References

{{Kiss singles Kiss (band) songs 1990 singles Songs written by Paul Stanley Songs written by Bob Halligan Jr. American hard rock songs 1989 songs Mercury Records singles