Beth

"Beth" is a song by American rock band Kiss, originally released on their 1976 album Destroyer. The song features drummer Peter Criss on lead vocals. Though Criss had gotten credit over the years for writing the song, he was not truly the sole composer. Criss had hand in a demo called “Beck”, but his friend, Stan Penridge, was the main writer. Producer Bob Ezrin turned it into “Beth” for the album. Casablanca Records released it as a single in August 1976, after it was released as the B-side of "Detroit Rock City". "Beth" is Kiss's biggest commercial hit in the United States; it reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, received a Gold Record certification from the RIAA, and won the 1977 People's Choice Award for "Favorite Song". In 2003, "Beth" ranked #3 in VH1's 25 Greatest Power Ballads. Background During drummer Peter Criss's time in Chelsea, he and the group's guitarist Stan Penridge decided to write a song that mocked a woman named Becky, the wife of their bandmate, Mike Brand. According to Criss, she regularly called the group during rehearsals to ask when her husband would come home, and this gave them the idea of composing the first verse of the song: "Beck, I hear you callin', but I can't come home right now. Me and the boys are playin', and we just can't find the sound". Criss has said he composed the song for his first wife, Lydia. By 1975, Kiss had released three studio albums, in which Criss's compositional contributions were minimal; the only track on which he appeared credited was the instrumental track "Love Theme from Kiss", written by the four members of the band and included on their self-titled debut. Criss assumed the role of vocalist in other songs created by his bandmates; however, for Destroyer, Criss set himself the goal of adding one of his own compositions. During a limousine ride, Criss sang an uptempo version of "Beck" for Simmons and Stanley, assuming they would not be interested in including a sentimental ballad on the album. Simmons and Stanley suggested that he sing it to producer Bob Ezrin, who agreed to record it and assured him that it would be a success. Ezrin's decision was motivated by the fact that the band's other songs were primarily about sex, and he believed that "Beck" was a love song that "everyone would relate to". Composition and recording Ezrin made several arrangements of the song's melody and wrote part of the lyrics.