"Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll" is a song by American rock 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 1974 as the only single from their second studio album '' Hotter Than Hell''. The song failed to chart, but is a staple of the band's live concerts.

Background

"Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll" is one of the few Kiss songs in which lyrics were written before the music. It was based on a riff

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 ...

had been working on. The song was demoed for inclusion on the band's self-titled debut album. Despite not being on the album, it was performed on the supporting Kiss Tour.

Composition

The original song title was "Baby, Let Me Go" but was soon changed by producer Kenny Kerner to "Rock 'n' Roll" before finally being titled "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll".

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 ...

penned the lyrics during a lunch break at his day job, and the song conveys romantic excitement: "Cause baby's got the feeling, baby wants a show, baby won't you tell me, baby rock 'n' roll, yeah, yeah!"

Critical reception

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' described the song as "heavy metal heaven," adding it's "puckered up with all the electricity essential for it to explode."

Live performances

Kiss have played this song live since their early days and it ended their encores until the American leg of the

Destroyer Tour The Destroyer Tour also known as The Spirit of '76 Tour was a concert tour by Kiss, in support of their fourth studio album ''Destroyer''. History At the time of the European leg of the tour the ''Destroyer'' album was already released and the ...

, when it was replaced by " Black Diamond" and later "

Rock and Roll All Nite "Rock and Roll All Nite" is a song by American rock band Kiss, released in 1975 as the first single from their third studio album '' Dressed to Kill''. The studio version of the song peaked at No. 68 on the ''Billboard'' singles chart, besting ...

". It was excluded during the

Love Gun Tour The Love Gun Tour was a concert tour by Kiss, in support of ''Love Gun''. History This was the first tour where Ace Frehley sang lead vocals, on " Shock Me". The three Los Angeles shows were recorded for ''Alive II''. This is the only tour to ...

, but came back for 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 ...

and

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 ...

tours. Except for a club performance on September 8, 1993, the song was not played live from 1980 to 1995. It was returned to the setlist for the Reunion Tour. It was left out on the Rock the Nation Tour, but returned on the Alive 35 Tour and has been played ever since. When performed live, the song has often been extended to nearly five minutes due to guitar and bass solos.

Album appearances

*'' Hotter Than Hell'' – studio version *'' Alive!'' – live version *'' The Originals'' – studio version *''

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

'' – studio version *'' The Box Set'' – demo version *'' Kiss Symphony: Alive IV'' – live version *''

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 ...

'' – studio version *'' Kiss Chronicles: 3 Classic Albums'' – studio version *'' Kiss Alive! 1975–2000'' – ''Alive!'' version *'' Kiss Alive 35'' – live version

Track listing

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 the ...

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 ...

–

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 ...

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 ...

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

–

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 ...

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 ...

References

{{authority control Songs about rock music Kiss (band) songs 1974 singles Songs written by Paul Stanley Songs written by Gene Simmons Casablanca Records singles 1974 songs American rock-and-roll songs