"I Was Made for Lovin' You" 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 Wale ...
band
Kiss
A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
, released in 1979 as the lead single off their seventh studio album ''
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others.
H ...
''. The song became a smash hit on the pop singles chart, was
certified gold in the U.S. on August 16, 1979, and went platinum in several countries. The song has remained a concert staple and is featured on many live albums and compilations.
History
The song has become a permanent staple in Kiss's live performances. The band's performance of the song at their
30th anniversary show in Melbourne, Australia, was accompanied by 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 fun ...
, who wore Kiss-style makeup with their tuxedos.
At first
Desmond Child
John Charles Barrett (born October 28, 1953), known professionally as Desmond Child, is an American songwriter and record producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. He has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, a Primet ...
said, "Paul wanted to write a good disco song and I decided to help him with that. Paul started to write lyrics and chords then I played the song on the guitar and said 'OK, we'll do something to improve this and make it really a good song.
"I Was Made for Lovin' You" draws heavily from the
disco
Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
style that was popular in late-1970s United States. According to legend, the members of the band were in conflict with their producers, who wanted the band to shift to a more commercial sound. In response, the band argued that lucrative disco songs could be written by anyone in a short time frame. The story goes that the song's demo was completed in mere hours after the bet. While the story is unproven,
Paul Stanley
Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who was the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss from the band's inception in 1973 to their retireme ...
, who co-wrote the song with
Desmond Child
John Charles Barrett (born October 28, 1953), known professionally as Desmond Child, is an American songwriter and record producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. He has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, a Primet ...
and
Vini Poncia
Vincent "Vini" Poncia Jr. (born April 29, 1942) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer.
Life and career Early life
Poncia was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He is of Italian ancestry.
The 1960s
In the 1960s, Poncia formed a ...
, has stated that it was a conscious effort on his part to prove how easy it was to write and record a hit disco song.
[Leaf, David and Ken Sharp. ''KISS: Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography'', Warner Books, 2003. ] Child confirms that he and Stanley wrote the verses together in an hour at SIR Studios, while the "Motown-influenced" chorus was penned by Stanley and Poncia after Child had left the studio.
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; ; born August 25, 1949) also known by his stage persona "The Demon", is an Israeli-born American musician. He was the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss, which he co-founded wit ...
revealed in a 2018 interview that he always disliked the song because of his vocal part.
Although
Peter Criss appears in the video and on the album cover, he did not actually play on the track. As with most of the ''Dynasty'' album,
session drummer Anton Fig took his place, as Poncia had deemed Criss unfit to play. There is a bootleg audio recording of the writing sessions for the song in which Stanley mentions Criss's name a couple of times, indicating he was present during the arranging of the song.
Stanley plays the rhythm guitar while
Ace Frehley
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (, ; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician who was the original lead guitarist, occasional lead vocalist and founding member of the rock band Kiss (band), Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. ...
provided the guitar solo. The rumours that
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; ; born August 25, 1949) also known by his stage persona "The Demon", is an Israeli-born American musician. He was the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss, which he co-founded wit ...
did not play bass on the recording are incorrect; it is now confirmed by Vini Poncia and others that it is Simmons on the recording. "The Return of Kiss" was how ''Dynasty'' was billed in commercials and advertisements for the album.
Release
"I Was Made for Lovin' You" was Kiss's first songwriting collaboration with Desmond Child, who also wrote songs for the albums ''
Animalize
''Animalize'' is the twelfth studio album by American rock band Kiss. It was released on September 17, 1984, by Mercury Records. The album marked the only appearance by lead guitarist Mark St. John, who replaced Vinnie Vincent in April 1984.
B ...
'', ''
Asylum'', ''
Crazy Nights
''Crazy Nights'' is the fourteenth studio album by American rock band Kiss, recorded from March to June 1987 and released on September 21, 1987, by Mercury worldwide and Vertigo in the UK. This was the second album to feature the line-up of Ge ...
'', ''
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 the ...
'', and ''
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 Simmon ...
''. While not as drastic as the 1979 "Radio Single Mix", the length of the song is edited by some eleven seconds down to 4 minutes and 16 seconds. Like the 1979 edit, the beginning measures of the song are reduced from four to two and the harmonizing following the guitar solo is halved.
The music video of "I Was Made for Lovin' You" was filmed on June 20, 1979, in the
Savannah Civic Center
The Savannah Civic Center is a multi-purpose facility located in Savannah, Georgia, in Savannah Historic District. Built in 1974, the facility consists of an arena, theater, ballroom, and exhibit halls. Throughout the years, the center has hos ...
in
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...
, and was directed by John Goodhue. After the show was canceled, it was decided to use the already completed stage to film two videos. A promotional video was shot featuring the song performed on the Dynasty stage set, consisting simply of the band performing the song. It was not included in the "
Kissology ''Kissology'' is a series of DVD/Home Video releases featuring interviews, live performances, music videos and television appearances by the American rock band Kiss
A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, a ...
" DVD series.
The B-side of the single is the album track "Hard Times", which was written by
Ace Frehley
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (, ; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician who was the original lead guitarist, occasional lead vocalist and founding member of the rock band Kiss (band), Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. ...
.
Reception
"I Was Made for Lovin' You" was the band's second
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
single, selling over 1 million copies. The single was
certified gold in the U.S. on August 16, 1979, and in Canada on August 1, 1979.
The song was one of the band's few singles to chart in the UK in the 1970s, peaking at No. 50.
The single reached No. 11 on the U.S. ''
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 advertis ...
'' singles chart and No. 1 in the Canadian ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines.
One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...
'' national singles chart (the band's second chart-topping single in that country, following
"Shout It Out Loud"). It further became a hit in Australia, reaching No. 2 on the
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...
in 1979, and in New Zealand, topping the
RIANZ Singles Chart. It also charted in Western Europe; it became a top-20 hit in Sweden, a top-10 hit in Norway, and a number-two hit in Switzerland and
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
. In France and the Netherlands, it reached No. 1. In the UK, it stalled at number 50.
''
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 advertis ...
'' described "I Was Made for Lovin' You" as a "catchy song" which is more melodic than previous Kiss efforts and that incorporates some
disco
Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
influence and "heavy guitars."
Some Kiss fans dismissed it as a sell-out, with ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine's
David Fricke
David Fricke (born ) is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 ye ...
writing, "The
Kiss army is going to mutiny when they hear 'I Was Made for Lovin’ You,' the disco-infected leadoff track on the Masked Marvels’ latest album. They'll demand to know why their heroes, after years of rallying the troops into battle against disco and other threatening
schlock, have turned tail and joined forces with uptown popsters like producer
Vini Poncia
Vincent "Vini" Poncia Jr. (born April 29, 1942) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer.
Life and career Early life
Poncia was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He is of Italian ancestry.
The 1960s
In the 1960s, Poncia formed a ...
(whose
soft-rock credentials include LPs by
Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...
and
Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been played by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage.
Early li ...
) and singer/tunesmith
Desmond Child
John Charles Barrett (born October 28, 1953), known professionally as Desmond Child, is an American songwriter and record producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. He has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, a Primet ...
(who cowrote the offending song with Kiss’ Paul Stanley)." Lance Tawzer, curator of a museum exhibit chronicling the infamous
Disco Demolition Night
Disco Demolition Night was a Major League Baseball (MLB) promotion on Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, that ended in a riot. At the climax of the event, a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the fiel ...
riot of 1979, suggested this song may have helped inspire that event, telling the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'', "That's Kiss' disco song, 'I Was Made for Lovin' You... That's the moment when they
jumped that shark."
Despite the backlash, the song has become a concert staple over the years, with a different arrangement that de-emphasizes the song's disco elements. Gene Simmons has stated that "I Was Made for Lovin' You" is his least favorite Kiss song, and Ace Frehley
and Peter Criss
have also indicated that they dislike the song.
Personnel
*
Paul Stanley
Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who was the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss from the band's inception in 1973 to their retireme ...
–
lead
Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
and
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 us ...
,
rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...
*
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; ; born August 25, 1949) also known by his stage persona "The Demon", is an Israeli-born American musician. He was the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss, which he co-founded wit ...
–
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
, backing vocals
*
Ace Frehley
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (, ; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician who was the original lead guitarist, occasional lead vocalist and founding member of the rock band Kiss (band), Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. ...
–
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
*
Anton Fig –
drums
The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
*
Vini Poncia
Vincent "Vini" Poncia Jr. (born April 29, 1942) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer.
Life and career Early life
Poncia was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He is of Italian ancestry.
The 1960s
In the 1960s, Poncia formed a ...
–
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
, backing vocals
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Scooter version
A cover version of the song by German musical group
Scooter was released as a
double A-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...
with "
We Are the Greatest" on September 21, 1998.
Track listing
*CD single
#"We Are the Greatest" (3:27)
#"I Was Made for Lovin' You" (3:32)
#"We Are the Greatest" (Extended) (4:35)
#"Greatest Beats" (3:05)
*12-inch maxi-single
#"We Are the Greatest" (Extended) (4:35)
#"We Are the Greatest" (3:27)
#"I Was Made for Lovin' You" (3:32)
Charts
Other notable versions
Menudo
Puerto Rican boy band
Menudo covered the song in Spanish as "Fui Hecho Para Amarte" for their 1981
Xanadu album. The cover also appeared on their first film,
Menudo: La Pelicula, also released in 1981.
Paulina Rubio
Mexican pop singer
Paulina Rubio
Paulina Susana Rubio Dosamantes (; born 17 June 1971) is a Mexican singer, songwriter and television personality. Referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Golden Girl", she first achieved recognition as a member of the successf ...
recorded the song with producer
Brian Rawling
Brian Rawling is a British record producer and songwriter. He is the managing director of publisher and production company Metrophonic. Rawling has produced singles and albums for artists such as Cher, with whom he won a Grammy in 1999 for his w ...
for her sixth studio album, ''
Border Girl'', in 2002 at Soundtrack Studios in New York.
Rubio's version received positive reviews from critics. While reviewing ''Border Girl'', Jose F. Promis of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
selected the song as a highlight, calling it "almost unbelievably" as emblematic as the original version.
MTV Asia
MTV was a pan-Asian music pay television channel that was launched on 5 May 1995 as a standalone pay television service. The channel was owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA.
History Pre-launch
The first incarnation of MTV Asia was launched on ...
declared, "Gene Simmons and company would have died to have a groupie like her,"
while ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' said Rubio's version "replaces the song's rollercoaster vocal howls with Rubio's sensuous purr and a dumbed-down dance beat."
Rubio's first performed the song on the 2002
MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica. As well, performed the song on her
Amor, Luz y Sonido Tour in 2007.
Oliver Heldens, VINAI and Le Pedre
Dutch DJ
Oliver Heldens
Olivier "Oliver" J. L. Heldens (; born 1 February 1995) is a Dutch DJ and electronic music producer from Rotterdam. He is regarded as a pioneer of the future house genre, propelling it to international attention and scoring numerous chart succes ...
reworked the song with vocals provided by
Nile Rodgers
Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. The co-founder of Chic, he has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 750 million albums and 1 ...
and British vocal group House Gospel Choir (HGC).
Ricki-Lee Coulter
Australian singer
Ricki-Lee Coulter
Ricki-Lee Dawn Coulter (born 10 November 1985) is an Australian singer-songwriter, television and radio presenter. She was born in Auckland, New Zealand, raised in Gold Coast, Queensland, and began performing at age 15. Coulter rose to fame in ...
released a version produced by
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
on March 1, 2024 as the fourth single from her fifth studio album, ''
On My Own''.
Yungblud
British singer-songwriter
Yungblud
Dominic Richard Harrison (born 5 August 1997), known professionally as Yungblud, is an English singer, songwriter and actor. In 2018, he released his debut EP ''Yungblud'', followed by his first full-length album ''21st Century Liability''. In ...
covered the song for the 2024 film ''
The Fall Guy'' in April of the same year.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:I Was Made For Lovin' You
1979 songs
1979 singles
Kiss (band) songs
American disco songs
Casablanca Records singles
Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
Number-one singles in New Zealand
RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Songs written by Desmond Child
Songs written by Paul Stanley
Songs written by Vini Poncia