"Strutter" is a song by the 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, ...

, released in 1974 on their self-titled debut album, ''

''. It was the third single released from the album and failed to chart. "Strutter" is one of the few Kiss songs written by

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 ...

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 popula ...

together. Stanley wrote new lyrics to "Stanley the Parrot", a song whose music was composed by Simmons. Stanley's lyrics display his

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

influence.Leaf, David and Ken Sharp. ''KISS: Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography'', Warner Books, 2003. The song was featured in the video games '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' and ''

Guitar Hero 2 ''Guitar Hero II'' is a music rhythm video game developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 and Activision for the Xbox 360. It is the second main installment in the ''Guitar Hero'' series and is the sequel to 2005's ...

''.

Critical reception

"Strutter" is widely considered one of Kiss's best songs. ''

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 "this may be their most dynamic ock 'n' roll songto date" and has "lots of bass and guitar, along with those power driven vocals here, all making for a great single release." In 2014, '' Paste'' ranked the song number two 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 five on their list of the 40 greatest Kiss songs.

Covers

* Extreme covered the song on the '' Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved'' album (1994). *

The Donnas The Donnas were an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1993. The band consisted of Brett Anderson (lead vocals), Allison Robertson (guitar, backing vocals), Maya Ford (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Torry Castellano (drum ...

covered the song for the ''

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 ...

'' soundtrack (1999). *

Vitamin String Quartet Vitamin String Quartet (VSQ) is an American musical group from Los Angeles known for its series of tribute albums to rock and pop acts. VSQ is a series of string quartet projects developed and produced by CMH Label Group, an independent reco ...

covered the song for the ''String quartet tribute to kiss'' album (2004). *

Electric Six Electric Six is a six-piece American rock band formed in 1996 in Detroit, Michigan. Their music was described by AllMusic as a combination of garage, disco, punk rock, new wave, and metal. The band achieved recognition in 2003 with the sin ...

covered the song in their covers album, Streets of Gold (2021)

Appearances

"Strutter" has appeared on the following Kiss albums: *''

'' – studio version *'' Alive!'' – live version *'' The Originals'' – 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 ...

'' – re-recorded version titled "Strutter '78" ("I look back at that and think, 'Why?'" remarked Simmons in 1996. "The original version is the classic and the best."''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original art ...

'', September 1996) *''

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 ...

'' – remixed & edited studio version *'' Greatest Kiss'' – studio version *'' The Box Set'' – demo version *'' The Very Best of Kiss'' – studio version *'' Kiss Symphony: Alive IV'' – live version *'' The Best of Kiss: The Millennium Collection'' – studio 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 Chronicles: 3 Classic Albums'' – 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!'' 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 release ...

'' – live version *''

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 ...

'' – studio version *''

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 ...

'' – re-recorded version titled "Strutter '78"

Personnel

–

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,

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 *

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 ...

References

{{Authority control Kiss (band) songs 1974 singles Songs written by Paul Stanley Songs written by Gene Simmons Casablanca Records singles Warner Records singles 1974 songs Glam rock songs sv:Kiss (musikalbum)#Strutter