"Rock and Roll All Nite" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

, originally released on their 1975 album '' Dressed to Kill''. It was released as the

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

of their fifth single, with the album track "Getaway". The studio version of the song peaked at No. 69 on the ''Billboard'' singles chart, besting the band's previous charting single, "Kissin' Time" (#89). A subsequent live version, released as a single in October 1975, eventually reached No. 12 in early 1976, the first of six Top 20 songs for Kiss in the 1970s."The Complete KISS Singles Chart Action, 1974–"
The KISSFAQ. Retrieved July 13, 2006. "Rock and Roll All Nite" became Kiss's

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

and has served as the group's closing concert number in almost every concert since 1976.Gooch, Curt and Jeff Suhs. ''KISS Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History''. Billboard Books, 2002. Prato, Greg. "Rock and Roll All Nite" Allmusic. Retrieved July 17, 2006. In 2008, it was named the 16th greatest hard rock song of all time by

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

Recording

"Rock and Roll All Nite" was written by

Paul Stanley Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who is the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popular ...

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 ...

while Kiss was still in Los Angeles, as part of their Hotter than Hell Tour. However, during the group's concert at

Cobo Hall Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly as TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Washi ...

in Detroit on January 26, 1976, Stanley introduced it as a song that was written in and for Detroit. The tour ended early (February 1975), when

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently f ...

founder and president

Neil Bogart Neil E. Bogart (born Neil Scott Bogatz, February 3, 1943 – May 8, 1982) was an American record executive. He was the founder of Casablanca Records, which later became Casablanca Record and Filmworks. Life and career Born Neil Scott Bogatz in t ...

ordered Kiss to return to the studio to record a follow up to ''Hotter Than Hell'', which had stalled on the charts and failed to meet Casablanca's sales expectations. One of Bogart's instructions to the band was to compose an anthem, something he felt the band needed.Gill, Julian. ''The KISS Album Focus, Volume 1'' (3rd ed.) Xlibris Corporation, 2005. The song itself was inspired by the

Slade Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...

song "

Mama Weer All Crazee Now "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1972 as the lead single from their third studio album ''Slayed?''. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. ...

". They wrote the pre-chorus, Stanley wrote the chorus, and Simmons wrote the verses, borrowing parts of a song he had previously written, entitled "Drive Me Wild". The song was one of two the group recorded toward the end of the Hotter than Hell Tour prior to returning to

Electric Lady Studios Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer by 1970. Hendrix spent only ten ...

for the proper ''Dressed to Kill'' recording sessions. For the choruses, the band and Bogart brought in a large group of outside contributors to sing and clap, including members of the Kiss road crew, studio musicians, and

Peter Criss George Peter John Criscuola (born December 20, 1945), better known by his stage name Peter Criss, is a retired American musician, best known as a co-founder, original drummer, and vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss. Criss establi ...

's wife Lydia. Some of the

road crew The road crew (or roadies) are the technicians or support personnel who travel with a band on tour, usually in sleeper buses, and handle every part of the concert productions except actually performing the music with the musicians. This catc ...

used their jacket

zipper A zipper, zip, fly, or zip fastener, formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding together two edges of textile, fabric or other flexible material. Used in clothing (e.g. jackets and jeans), luggage and other Bag, ba ...

s to create sound.Leaf, David and Ken Sharp. ''KISS: Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography'', Warner Books, 2003.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that "the undulating beat and anthem-like quality of the chorus add up to a satanic hit" and that it opens with "pounding drums and a ferocious guitar roar." KISS' version appears in a

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TV commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

for

Applebee's Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads ...

. In 2021, it was listed at No. 404 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time".

Live performances

While "Rock and Roll All Nite" would eventually become a fixture in Kiss's live performances, it was not inserted into the band's setlist immediately. Nor did it immediately replace "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll" as the closing number. The ending of the live version of "Rock and Roll All Nite" is taken from "Getaway" (which, as indicated above, was released as the single's

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

). Kiss performed the song during the closing ceremonies for the

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Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

which proved to be Ace Frehley's final performance with Kiss to date. They also performed the song live with

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical tra ...

during the season 8 finale of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'', on May 20, 2009, at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. On , this song was performed on '' The 70th NHK Red & White Year-End Song Festival'' featuring

X Japan was a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive soun ...

's drummer/pianist

Yoshiki Hayashi , known as Yoshiki, is a Japanese musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is best known as the leader and a co-founder of the visual kei rock band X Japan, for which he is the drummer, pianist and main songwriter. He has been desc ...

Other versions

The original version of the song, as it appears on ''Dressed To Kill'', does not have a

guitar solo A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular m ...

, while many later versions do have one. The ''

Kiss Unplugged ''Kiss Unplugged'' is a live album by the American rock band Kiss, released in 1996. It was recorded in studio for the television program ''MTV Unplugged'' and released as part of a series of live and video albums. It is the first Kiss live a ...

'' version features

Ace Frehley Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician, best known as the original lead guitarist and co-founding member of the hard rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. Space Ace) and played wit ...

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 ...

sharing the solo. The ''Unplugged'' version was released as a single and reached number 13 on '' Billboard'''s

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 original version also ends while fading away; all live versions end with the last notes of another ''Dressed to Kill'' song, "Getaway" (which, as indicated above, was released as the studio-version single's

). The chorus of '' Alive!s version of the song is played at the beginning of "

Detroit Rock City "Detroit Rock City" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss, released on their 1976 album ''Destroyer''. The song was written by Paul Stanley and producer Bob Ezrin. The song is one of the band's most popular and is a classic rock staple ...

", from 1976's ''

Destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

''. Kiss collaborated with Japanese girl group

Momoiro Clover Z is a Japanese idol girl group, commonly abbreviated as MCZ or . The four members of MCZ are known for energetic performances, incorporating elements of ballet, gymnastics, and action movies. MCZ is notable for being the first female group to ho ...

on the single "

Yume no Ukiyo ni Saite Mi na is a single by the Japanese idol group Momoiro Clover Z and American rock band Kiss, credited to "Momoiro Clover Z vs. Kiss". It was released physically in Japan on January 28, 2015. Background Before the collaboration, the members of Kiss wat ...

", consisting of the title track and a version of "Rock and Roll All Nite".

Appearances

"Rock and Roll All Nite" has appeared on the following Kiss albums: *'' Dressed to Kill'' (1975) – Original studio version *'' Alive!'' (1975) – Live version *'' The Originals'' (1976) - Studio version *''

Double Platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

'' (1978) – Studio version *'' Killers'' (1982) – Live version *''

Smashes, Thrashes & Hits ''Smashes, Thrashes & Hits'' is a compilation album by the American hard rock band Kiss. It was the fourth hits album overall but the second hits album released by the band in the United States ('' Killers'' and '' Chikara'' were not released t ...

'' (1988) –

Remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ed studio version *'' Chikara'' (1988) *''

Alive III ''Alive III'' is a live album released by the American hard rock band Kiss in 1993. It is the third installment of the ''Alive'' series. The recording of ''Alive III'' took place over multiple dates (in Cleveland, Detroit and Indianapolis) durin ...

'' (1993) – Live version *''

'' (1996) – Acoustic live version *''

You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!! ''You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!!'' is a live compilation album released by American hard rock band Kiss. The album was issued to coincide with the group's 1996–97 Alive/Worldwide Tour. All of the songs on the album are live versions, ...

'' (1996) – Live version from ''Alive!'' *''

Greatest Kiss ''Greatest Kiss'' is a greatest hits album by American hard rock band Kiss. It was released in 1997 on Mercury Records. Background Along with ''You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!!'', this album was issued to coincide with the group's 1996� ...

'' (1997) – Studio version *'' The Box Set'' (2001) – Studio version and Live version *'' The Very Best of Kiss'' (2002) – Live version from ''Alive!'' *'' Kiss Symphony: Alive IV'' (2003) – Live version with the

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on f ...

*'' The Best of Kiss: The Millennium Collection'' (2003) – Live version from ''Alive!'' (album re-released in 2010 as ''ICON'') *''

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

'' (2005) – Live version from ''Alive!'' *'' Kiss Chronicles: 3 Classic Albums'' (2006) - Studio version *''

Kiss Alive! 1975–2000 ''Kiss Alive! 1975–2000'' is a collection of live recordings from American hard rock band Kiss, released by Universal Music on November 21, 2006. This box set marks the debut appearance of Kiss' Millennium Concert performance, recorded on Dec ...

'' (2006) – Live version from ''The Box Set'' *''Kiss Chronicles'' – Original studio version (as part of repackaging of ''Dressed To Kill'') *''

Alive II ''Alive II'' is the second live album by American hard rock band Kiss, released on October 14, 1977, by Casablanca Records. The band had released three albums (''Destroyer'', ''Rock and Roll Over'', and ''Love Gun'') since the previous live out ...

m³'' - release of ''Alive!,'' ''Alive II'', ''Alive III'', plus ''

Alive! The Millennium Concert ''Alive! The Millennium Concert'' is a Album#Live, live album by the United States, American hard rock Band (rock and pop), band Kiss (band), Kiss. It was released on November 21, 2006, as part of the ''Kiss Alive! 1975–2000'' box set. Album in ...

'' – Single Edit Version *'' Kiss Klassics'' (2008) – re-recorded version included on a bonus CD with ''

Sonic Boom A sonic boom is a sound associated with shock waves created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding similar to an explosion or a thunderclap to t ...

'' * ''

Ikons ''Kiss Ikons'' is a four- CD box set featuring material recorded by the original members of the American hard rock band Kiss. It was released in 2008 by Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and refe ...

'' (2008) - Studio version * ''

Kiss Alive 35 ''Kiss Alive 35'' is a series of 2 CD live albums, each containing a recording of the complete set from a European show on the KISS Alive/35 World Tour from 2008. The second set of recordings from the North American leg of this tour was released ...

'' (2009) – Live album produced at each of the venues * ''

Kiss Sonic Boom Over Europe ''Kiss Sonic Boom Over Europe'' is a series of live albums (2 CDs, a USB stick or an MP3 download), containing a recording of the complete set from a European show on the Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour which began May 1, 2010 in Sheffield, England. Th ...

'' (2010) - Live versions * ''

Kiss 40 ''Kiss 40'' (also known as ''Kiss 40 Years: Decades of Decibels'') is a compilation released by Kiss to celebrate the band's 40th anniversary. Information The album contains one track from every album the band has released over their 40-year ca ...

'' (2014) – Live version from ''Alive!''

Personnel

– lead vocals, bass *

– rhythm guitar, backing vocals *

– lead guitar, backing vocals *

– drums, backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Studio version Live version

Year-end charts

Certifications

Poison version

American rock band

Poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

covered and released "Rock and Roll All Nite" as a single from the soundtrack to the film ''Less than Zero'' in 1987. It was released on a Poison album '' The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock'' in 2006 and again on the cover album ''

Poison'd ''Poison'd!'' is the seventh and most recent studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released June 5, 2007. The 14-track album features recordings of Poison's favorite rock classics. Nine new tracks and five previously released covers ...

'' in 2007. At the start of "

Nothin' But a Good Time "Nothin' But a Good Time" (also known as "Nothing But a Good Time") is the first single from the hard rock/glam metal group Poison's second studio album '' Open Up and Say... Ahh!'', with the band releasing that album in May 1988. B-sides "Livin' ...

" music video, Poison's rendition of "Rock and Roll All Nite" is heard on the radio.

Personnel

Bret Michaels Bret Michael Sychak (born March 15, 1963), known professionally as Bret Michaels, is an American singer and musician. He gained fame as the frontman of rock band Poison who has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and 15 million records in the U ...

– vocals, rhythm guitar *

Bobby Dall Robert Harry Kuykendall, also known as Bobby Dall (born November 2, 1958), is an American musician best known as the bassist for the multi-platinum selling rock band Poison. The band has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and has sold 15 milli ...

– bass *

Rikki Rockett Richard Allan Ream (born August 8, 1961), better known by the stage name Rikki Rockett, is an American drummer for rock band Poison. The band has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide and 15 million records in the United States alone. Bi ...

– drums *

C.C. DeVille C.C. DeVille (born Bruce Anthony Johannesson; May 14, 1962) is an American guitarist best known as a member of rock band Poison. The band has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, including 15 million in the United States. In addition to ...

– lead guitar

References

External links

"Rock and Roll All Nite"
version from ''

Exposed Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * ''The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website Film and TV Film * ''Exposé'' (film), a 1976 thriller film * ''Exposed'' (1932 ...

'' {{Authority control Kiss (band) songs 1975 singles 1996 singles 1987 singles Poison (American band) songs Songs about rock music Songs written by Paul Stanley Songs written by Gene Simmons Capitol Records singles Casablanca Records singles Live singles Enigma Records singles 1975 songs Songs about nights