Today (February 18) marks the 50th anniversary of KISS’s self-titled debut album. Released on Casablanca Records in 1974, Kiss wasn’t a smashing success out of the gate. But it slowly became a glam rock classic from the ambitious New York band dressed in Kabuki makeup.
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There’s probably no better introduction to KISS than the opening song on the debut, “Strutter.” As Paul Stanley would say, it’s a “classic of classics.”
Of course, you know it’s a “classic,” but you may not know how Pete Townshend and Bob Dylan inspired “Strutter.”
Stanley Can You Hear Me?
Inspired by The Who’s rock opera Tommy, Gene Simmons wrote a song called “Stanley the Parrot.” You can find his demo online; it sounds like the kind of late-’60s, character-driven psych-rock Townshend is known for.
Paul Stanley—not to be confused with the song’s parrot—thought the lyrics were ridiculous, but he liked the chords. Stanley took the guitar riff away from Townshend’s British Invasion rock and transformed it into New York glam.
I know a thing or two about her
I know she’ll only make you cry
She’ll let you walk the street beside her
But when she wants, she’ll pass you by
There’s a playful debate over whether Simmons or Stanley wrote the song, but “Strutter” doesn’t happen without Simmons’ Tommy version. However, that version probably wouldn’t become the classic it is today without Stanley’s rework.
Everybody says she’s lookin’ good
And the lady knows it’s understood
Strutter
Though Stanley changed the song’s feel, Simmons added the iconic post-chorus riff. But the words and vocal melody are all Stanley, as he subconsciously (or not) used the bird metaphor for the song’s title.
Lay Lady Lay
In David Leaf and Ken Sharp’s KISS biography Behind the Mask, Stanley said Bob Dylan influenced “Strutter.” The second verse could be in a Dylan song, though the freewheelin’ one might’ve added detail about a big brass bed.
She wears her satins like a lady
She gets her way just like a child
You take her home, and she says maybe, baby
She takes you down and drives you wild
Stanley’s early influences were Elvis Presley and Eddie Cochran. Dylan released Nashville Skyline in 1969, and it’s not a stretch to imagine a 17-year-old Stanley obsessed with the album. Dylan connected New York folk with Elvis’s country music, which Stanley loved as a child.
Power Pop
The other influence prevalent on the first KISS album is Big Star. Alex Chilton’s power pop surfaces directly on “Cold Gin,” Ace Frehley’s classic. Underneath the demon makeup and space-alien costumes is infectious pop songwriting. You don’t get to the toys and KISS conventions without the songs.
Returning to Simmons’ “Stanley the Parrot” demo, his voice breaks into a ’60s pop falsetto in the chorus. His demo has the same sing-song quality as “Tommy Can You Hear Me?” and even with Stanley’s changes to the song, it didn’t lose the radio-pop of the original.
KISS Feminism
The lyrics are not far removed from The Beatles’ “I Wanna Be Your Man.” First released as a single by The Rolling Stones in 1963, the Lennon and McCartney song has the same juvenile romanticism as “Strutter.”
In Stanley’s tale, the lady knows she looks good. He’s narrating “Strutter” in first person, but the perspective is really about her. Lennon and McCartney’s character tells you what he wants. But Stanley puts the power in the woman.
KISS lyrics don’t need to be analyzed this deeply, but here we are. “Strutter” might be thought of as accidental feminism. Rock ‘n’ roll has a long history of objectifying women, and on the surface, “Strutter” appears to do the same. But objectification is a struggle for power or, more accurately, a lack of control.
The woman in Stanley’s song is clearly in charge, driving the plot. She’s probably laughing at the gawkers with their jaws on the sidewalk as she “struts” by.
The Great Escape
In Julia Phillips’ brilliant novel Disappearing Earth, Zoya, a restless wife, takes secret walks during the day in front of a nearby construction site. She catches the attention of the migrant workers and imagines a different life she might have had. Zoya puts on confidence, though she’s nervous inside, but it gives her a kind of joy pretending to be someone she’s not.
She’s putting on a show, but aren’t we all? The whole point of KISS is fantasy. They look otherworldly, and their army of fans has flocked to them because sometimes everyone needs a break from reality.
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Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images
