"Shout It Out Loud" is a song by the American

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 ...

group

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

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

album, ''

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 ...

''. It was released as the lead single off the album, and it proved to be successful, becoming the band's second single to break the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

, after "

Rock and Roll All Nite "Rock and Roll All Nite" is a song by American rock band Kiss, originally released on their 1975 album '' Dressed to Kill''. It was released as the A-side of their fifth single, with the album track "Getaway". The studio version of the song pe ...

". It was also the band's first single to top the charts, as it reached number 1 hit in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

on May 22, 1976.''RPM100'
Singles chart history - May 22, 1976
Retrieved January 6, 2012. The song was performed on almost every

tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

for many years, and is one of the most played songs in the Kiss catalog, having been played over 1,700 times as of June 2022.

Overview

The title of the song was taken from British beat group

The Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke (singer), Allan Clarke and Graham ...

' song "We Want to Shout It Out Loud", which

Wicked Lester Wicked Lester was a rock band based in New York City. Two notable members were bassist Gene Klein and rhythm guitarist Stanley Eisen. Originally formed in 1970 as Rainbow, the band changed its name to Wicked Lester in 1971 to avoid confusion with ...

(pre-Kiss) recorded for their only unreleased album. The song was edited several times for singles and

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

s. The single version of the song is 12 seconds shorter than the studio due to the last "Shout it, shout it, shout it out loud" line being excluded. The ''

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 ou ...

'' single, which was described by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine as a "raucous rocker" that "catches the excitement and energy of the live show," is 23 seconds shorter than the album song due to the removal of audience chant "We want Kiss". The '' Killers'' version is the shortest with the duration of 2:35 as a result of the fade-out of the song starting during the first repetition of the "Shout it, shout it, shout it out loud" lyric following

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 ...

' "Oh yeah". The version found on ''

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 ...

'' is 16 seconds longer, as the chorus repeats and the song ends with "Shout it!". Released as a single in 1976, the band and their record company,

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 ...

, were trying to cash in on the success of their previous single, the live version of "Rock and Roll All Nite", by releasing another anthem. While the song would break into the American ''

'' Top 40, peaking at #31, it would prove to not be as successful as its predecessor was but would remain in the band's concert set lists for almost every tour from that point on. In Canada, the single was far more successful, reaching #1 on the ''RPM'' national singles chart on May 22, 1976. The song is also one of few to be sung by both

and

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 ...

. A music video was made for the live version of the song from the 1996 concert in Tiger Stadium, from the

Alive/Worldwide Tour The Alive/Worldwide Tour (also known as the Reunion Tour) was a concert tour by American heavy metal band Kiss which began on June 28, 1996 in Detroit, United States and concluded on July 5, 1997 in London, England. It was the first tour wi ...

. It was directed by

Wayne Isham Wayne Isham (born December 2, 1958) is an American film director and music video director who has directed films and music videos of many popular artists. Early life and education Isham was born in December 2, 1958. He attended the Univers ...

. ''

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 studio version is "straight ahead rock, complete with power riffs" and that "the vocals are clean and strong." It called the live single version a "show-stopping concert

umber Umber is a natural brown earth pigment that contains iron oxide and manganese oxide. In its natural form, it is called raw umber. When Calcination, calcined, the color becomes warmer and it becomes known as burnt umber. Its name derives from '' ...

complete with explosion and crazed crowds." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' of the live version that "The excitement is contagious."

Legacy

"Shout It Out Loud" is widely regarded as one of the band's best songs. In 2014, '' Paste'' ranked the song number five on their list of the 20 greatest Kiss songs, and in 2019, ''

Louder Sound ''Classic Rock'' is a British magazine and website dedicated to rock music, owned and published by Future. It was launched in October 1998 and is based in London. The magazine publishes 13 editions a year, mainly covering rock bands from the 60, ...

'' ranked the song number 11 on their list of the 40 greatest Kiss songs. The song was performed on almost every tour since its release, being dropped for

Lick It Up Tour The Lick It Up World Tour was a concert tour by American hard rock band Kiss, in support of their eleventh studio album ''Lick It Up''. It was the last tour to feature lead guitarist Vinnie Vincent. Background It was the first tour the band perfo ...

Animalize Tour ''Animalize'' is the twelfth studio album by American rock band Kiss. It was released on September 13, 1984, by Mercury Records. The album marked the only appearance by lead guitarist Mark St. John, who replaced Vinnie Vincent in April 1984. ...

and Asylum Tour. It was listed as the 27th single of '76 in

.''RPM100'
Top 200 singles of '76
Retrieved January 6, 2012. A 2007 re-recording of the song by the band is featured on the music/rhythm video game ''

Guitar Hero 5 ''Guitar Hero 5'' (initially referred to as ''Guitar Hero V'') is a 2009 Music video game, music rhythm game, rhythm video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fifth main installment in the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar He ...

''. The song is featured in the movie ''

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 ...

'' and appears on the soundtrack for the movie. The cast of ''Glee'' covered the song in the episode "

Theatricality "Theatricality" is the twentieth episode of the American television series ''Glee''. The episode was written and directed by series creator Ryan Murphy, and premiered on the Fox network on May 25, 2010. In "Theatricality", glee club member Tina C ...

". The male part of the group (excluding

Kurt Hummel Kurt Elizabeth Hummel is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series '' Glee''. Series creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan initially conceived of him as a fashionable gay countertenor who is routinely bullied ...

) were also dressed as Kiss members. The song was also featured in a ''

What's New, Scooby-Doo? ''What's New, Scooby-Doo?'' is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation for Kids' WB. It is the ninth incarnation of the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise that began with Hanna-Barbera's ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'' and ...

'' episode "A Scooby-Doo Halloween". The song was covered several times. In 1978 by

James Last James Last (, ; born Hans Last; 17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015), also known as Hansi, was a German composer and big band leader of the James Last Orchestra. Initially a jazz bassist (Last won the award for "best bassist" in Germany in each of ...

, in 1998 by

Pretty Boy Floyd Charles Arthur Floyd (February 3, 1904 – October 22, 1934), nicknamed Pretty Boy Floyd, was an American bank robber. He operated in the West and Central states, and his criminal exploits gained widespread press coverage in the 1930s. He was s ...

and

Zeke Zeke is a masculine given name and nickname, sometimes a shortened form (hypocorism) of Ezekiel, which may refer to: People * Caleb Bailey (nickname "Zeke", 1898-1957), US Marine Corps brigadier general and athlete * Zeke Bella (1930–2013), Ame ...

. The all-female band

Crucified Barbara Crucified Barbara were an all-female Swedish hard rock and heavy metal band, formed in Stockholm in 1998. Background Crucified Barbara started out in 1998 as a punk rock band, but soon they changed their primary style to hard rock. They sig ...

covered the song in 2006 and

Stryper Stryper is an American Christian metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet (lead vocals, guitar), Oz Fox (guitar), Perry Richardson (bass guitar), and Robert Sweet (drums). Formed in 1983 as Roxx ...

released a cover of the song on their 2011 cover album ''

The Covering ''The Covering'' is the thirteenth release and eighth studio album by American Christian heavy metal/hard rock band Stryper, released by Big 3 Records/Sony on February 15, 2011. The album is a collection of twelve cover songs from bands that ins ...

''.

Erik Grönwall Per Erik Magnus Grönwall (born 3 December 1987) is a Swedish hard rock and heavy metal singer. In 2009, he won the Swedish ''Idol'' reality television. During several of the shows, he received standing ovations from the jury for his performanc ...

, the 2009 winner of the '' Swedish Idol'' covered the song on his eponymous debut album. While it was not released as a single, the song charted on

Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and known by its current name since October 2007, based on sales data from the Swedish R ...

, reaching number 49.''

'
Albums and singles chart history - Erik Grönwall
Retrieved January 6, 2012. Grönwall also performed the song on ''Swedish Idol''. It was covered by

The Yellow Monkey The Yellow Monkey, sometimes abbreviated as , is a Japanese rock band originally active from 1988 to 2001, before officially disbanding in 2004. They announced their reformation in 2016. The band's name was derived from the ethnic slur that J ...

for the album in 1998,

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...

's cover appears on 2004's '' Spin the Bottle: An All-Star Tribute to Kiss'', Sack Trick with

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...

covered the song for the 2005 ''Sheep in KISS Make Up'' album, and

Keri Kelli Keri Kelli (born Kenneth Fear Jr.) is an American hard rock guitarist who has played with artists and groups including Alice Cooper, Slash, Jani Lane, Vince Neil and John Waite. In March 2013 he formed Project Rock together with James Kott ...

's cover appears on ''

Lick It Up – A Millennium Tribute to Kiss ''Lick It Up – A Millennium Tribute to Kiss'' is a tribute album to American hard rock band Kiss. The album features various artists covering Kiss songs. Artists include Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow), Keri Kelli (Alice Cooper/Ratt), Ryan Roxie (Sl ...

'' from 2008.''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'
Various Artists > Lick It Up – A Millennium Tribute to Kiss > Track listing
Retrieved January 6, 2012.

Appearances

"Shout It Out Loud" has appeared on following Kiss albums: *''

'' - studio version *''

'' - live version *'' Killers'' - edited studio version *''

'' - remixed & edited studio version *''

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) d ...

'' - live video version *'' You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!!'' - ''Alive II'' version *'' Greatest Kiss'' - live version *'' The Box Set'' - ''Greatest Kiss'' version *'' The Very Best of Kiss'' - studio version *'' Kiss Symphony: Alive IV'' - live version *''

Kiss Instant Live ''Kiss Instant Live'' is a series of 2 Compact Disc, CD live albums, each containing a recording of the complete set from a show on the Rock the Nation Tour from 2004. The discs were recorded and distributed through Live Nation. Some shows (where ...

'' - live version *''

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 ...

'' - 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 ...

'' - ''Alive II'' version and '' Alive! The Millennium Concert'' *''

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 release ...

'' - live version *''

Jigoku-Retsuden ''Jigoku-Retsuden'' (地獄烈伝, which roughly translates to "Legends from Hell / Hell's Legends"), also known as ''Kissology'' and ''Kiss Klassics'', is a limited-edition CD/DVD set released in 2008 by the band Kiss, exclusively in Japan. ...

'' - re-recorded studio version *''

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. T ...

'' - live version

Personnel

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 ...

, co-lead vocals *

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, co-lead vocals *

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 ...

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

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 ...

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

Charts

References

External links

* (studio) * (live) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shout It Out Loud (Kiss Song) 1976 songs 1976 singles Kiss (band) songs Casablanca Records singles Song recordings produced by Bob Ezrin Songs written by Bob Ezrin Songs written by Gene Simmons Songs written by Paul Stanley RPM Top Singles number-one singles American pop rock songs