Rock and Roll All Nite
"Rock and Roll All Nite" | |
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Song |
"Rock and Roll All Nite" is a song by 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 peaked at #57 on the Billboard singles chart, besting the band's previous charting single, "Kissin' Time" (#79). A subsequent live version released as a single in October 1975, eventually reached #12, the first of six Top 20 songs for Kiss in the 1970s.[1] Since then, it has become Kiss's most identifiable song, and has served as the group's closing concert number in almost every concert since 1976.[2][3] In 2008 it was named the 16th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.[4]
Recording
"Rock and Roll All Nite" was written by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons while Kiss was still in Los Angeles, as part of their Hotter Than Hell tour although during the group's concert at Cobo Hall in Detroit on January 26, 1975, Stanley states to the audience before the group begin the song that it was written in and for Detroit. The tour ended early (February 1975), when Casablanca Records founder and president Neil Bogart 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.[2][5] The song itself was inspired by the Slade song Cum on Feel the Noize, and is often referred to as the Rock And Roll National Anthem (for instance, Stanley states during Kiss' performance at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards that "there's only one nation, that's Kiss Nation, there's only one Rock & Roll national anthem: Rock and Roll All Nite, party everyday!")
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 for the proper Dressed to Kill recording sessions.[5] 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's wife Lydia. Some of the road crew used their jacket zippers to create sound.[2][6]
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.[5]
Kiss performed this song during the closing ceremonies for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. They also performed the song live with Adam Lambert during the season 8 finale of American Idol, on May 20, 2009 at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.
Other versions
The original version of the song, as it appears on Dressed To Kill, does not have a guitar solo, while many later versions do have one. The Kiss Unplugged version features Ace Frehley and Bruce Kulick sharing the solo. The Unplugged version was released as a single and reached number 13 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks.[7] The original version also ends while fading away; all live versions end with the last notes of another Dressed to Kill song, Getaway. The chorus of the Alive! version of the song is played at the beginning of "Detroit Rock City," from 1976's Destroyer.
Appearances
"Rock and Roll All Nite" has appeared on the following Kiss albums:
- Dressed to Kill – Original studio version
- Alive! – Live version
- Double Platinum – Studio version
- Killers – Live version
- Smashes, Thrashes & Hits – Remixed studio version
- Alive III – Live version
- Kiss Unplugged – Acoustic live version
- You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!! – Live version
- Greatest Kiss – Live version
- The Box Set – Studio version & Live version
- The Very Best of Kiss – Live version
- Kiss Symphony: Alive IV – Live version with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
- The Best of Kiss: The Millennium Collection – Live version
- Gold – Live version
- Kiss Chronicles – Original studio version (as part of repackaging of Dressed To Kill)
- Alive II (as part of the Kiss Alive! 1975-2000 box set re-release of Alive!, Alive II, Alive III, plus Alive! The Millennium Concert) - Single Edit Version
- Kiss Alive 35 – Live album produced at each of the venues
- Kiss Klassics - re-recorded version included on a bonus CD with Sonic Boom
Personnel
- Gene Simmons - lead vocals/bass guitar
- Ace Frehley - lead guitar
- Paul Stanley - rhythm guitar/backing vocals
- Peter Criss - drums
Cover versions
"Rock and Roll All Nite" has been covered, among others, by:
- Toad The Wet Sprocket for the Kiss My Ass tribute album.
- Poison for the Less Than Zero soundtrack (see below for more information on the Poison version).
- The Summer Set for Punk Goes Classic Rock
Other mediums
"Rock and Roll All Nite" is used in the video games Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, "Guitar Hero: On Tour", Guitar Hero: Smash Hits, Karaoke Revolution, Volume 2, Stick Dudes Gone Wild: Rock Band and Tony Hawk's Underground.
The University of Colorado typically plays this song during the second half of their night home football games.
Cultural references
- In an episode of Friends, Phoebe is riding in her grandma's taxicab with Joey, and asks him to sing to her. He starts singing "I wanna rock and roll all night", but falls asleep before finishing the rest, much to her dismay.
- The song is played in the beginning of the movie Detroit Rock City by the Kiss cover band Mystery.
- In Family Guy episode "Road to Europe", KISS sings this song in a concert and wants Lois to finish the chorus line, but she doesn't know the lyrics and she ruins the concert.
- In another episode of Family Guy titled "Saving Private Brian", the James Woods High band Splash Log goes over the lyrics of this song, changing the words in the main chorus.
- In According to Jim, the song's lyrics are debated, as confusion arises when different characters think the line says "Rock and Roll all night and party every day" or "Rock and Roll all night and part of every day".
- In That 70s show Kelso wants to buy a KISS alarm clock that plays the song.
- The cast of That 70s show appeared in a music video for this song with the kids trying to get into a club with the band performing this song, and the adults, (Red, Kitty and Bob) are in the audience watching the band, while Leo is behind the stage eating.
- In the commercial for the "Tooth Tunes" product, there is a dictator making people brush their teeth, then they protest and start singing this song.
- In the movie Role Models, Danny (Paul Rudd) paraphrases the lyrics, stating that he likes to "rock and roll all night and *part* of every day", as he has errands during the day and can only rock between 1:00 and 3:00.
- The song is featured in the movie Dazed and Confused.
- In the Pokémon episode "Fear Factor Phony", James of Team Rocket said the Psychic-type Pokémon in an abandoned mine town "just wanna rock & roll all night and party every day", an obvious reference to the song.
- In The Simpsons episode "Homerpalooza", Homer Simpson is sad about not being cool, and said to Marge Simpson, "In the old days I used to rock and roll all night and party every day...then it was every other day.....Now I'm lucky to find half an hour a week in which to get funky!".
- In the Dharma and Greg episode, Do You Want Fries With That?, Greg sings this song at a party. But instead of singing " I wanna rock and roll all night, and party every day!", He sings "I wanna rock and roll all night, and part of every day!"
- In Full House Danny dates a younger woman and wears clothes like KISS and starts dancing and singing this song.
- In Full House Jesse's band performs a polka version of this.
- In an episode of Still Standing, Linda's rocker fiance Perry thinks he has come up with a new song by singing to the tune of Rock and Roll All Nite: "Do you wanna rock and roll all night, with Perry everyday?", but soon realizes it's from KISS, which disappoints him.
Poison version
"Rock and Roll All Nite" | |
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Song |
"Rock and Roll All Nite" was covered and released as a single by American rock band Poison from the soundtrack album Less Than Zero (released 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 in 2007.
At the start of "Nothin' But a Good Time" music video, Poison sings "Rock and Roll All Nite".
Personnel
- Bret Michaels - lead vocals; rhythm guitar
- Bobby Dall - bass guitar
- Rikki Rockett - drums; percussion
- C.C. DeVille - lead guitar
Notes and references
- ^ "The Complete KISS Singles Chart Action, 1974-". The KISSFAQ. Retrieved July 13, 2006.
- ^ a b c Gooch, Curt and Jeff Suhs. KISS Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History. Billboard Books, 2002. ISBN 0-8230-8322-5
- ^ Prato, Greg. "Rock and Roll All Nite". Allmusic. Retrieved July 17, 2006.
- ^ "spreadit.org music". Retrieved February 7, 2009.
- ^ a b c Gill, Julian. The KISS Album Focus, Volume 1 (3rd Edition). Xlibris Corporation, 2005. ISBN 1-4134-8547-2
- ^ Leaf, David and Ken Sharp. KISS: Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography, Warner Books, 2003. ISBN 0-446-53073-5
- ^ "Billboard singles chart history-Kiss". Retrieved February 18, 2009.