In March 1976, KISS released their fourth studio album, Destroyer. Unknown to them at the time, the album would bring the band their first platinum record. On the charts, it peaked at No. 11 on the US Billboard 200. Although featuring songs like “Detroit Rock City” and “Shout It Out Loud”, the album showcased a different side of drummer Peter Criss when he helped write “Beth.” While a classic song in the legacy of KISS, Gene Simmons recently explained how Criss had no part in the writing process.
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Discussing the history around “Beth” with Professor of Rock, Simmons shocked listeners when he suggested that Criss didn’t write the song. According to Simmons, the idea for“Beth” came from Criss during a limousine ride through Michigan. But at the time, the drummer called it “Beck.”
Liking the melody, Simmons told Criss to bring the concept to producer Bob Ezrin. But he had one little suggestion. “I suggested in the car, ‘Why don’t you change it to ‘Beth’?’ Because when you say ‘Beck,’ that hard syllable stops the melody. … And ‘Beth’ is a much more romantic idea.”
Who Actually Wrote “Beth” For KISS
Criss followed that suggestion and the song was eventually recorded. Now, as to who actually wrote the song, Simmons offered two reasons to refute the songwriting claims. “It’s time for the truth: Peter does not write songs. He doesn’t play a musical instrument. Drums are not a musical instrument, by definition. They’re called a percussive instrument. Really important, sometimes extremely important in a band. It was for us.”
An expert when it comes to the business side of the music industry, Simmons added, “But you cannot play a drum fill that could be [copyrighted]. But you can come up with a riff that you can own, and a melody and a lyric. Those can be [copyrighted]. But nothing you do on drums will prevent anybody else from directly copying whatever you did and applying it to another song.”
With Simmons already hitting the “hot topic” button when describing the role of a drummer, the singer continued with his story. “The person who wrote ‘Beth’ and ‘Baby Driver’ and one or two more is a guy named Stan Penridge. Stan Penridge was with Peter in a group called Chelsea. They had a record out actually. I think it was on MCA. So Peter did not write ‘Beth.’ Peter did not write ‘Baby Driver.’ Stan Penridge wrote that.”
While the song’s credits included Criss, Penridge, and Ezrin, Simmons insisted that “politics” played a part. But in the end, “Peter had nothing to do with that song. He sang it.”
(Photo by Tom Hill/WireImage)
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