Daily Archives: June 17, 2025
“I said to those guys, ‘I would like us to do something where you become Marlon Brando — where you can still be bad boys but there has to be an element of vulnerability’”: How producer Bob Ezrin added a new dimension to Kiss
The biggest hit single that Kiss ever had in America was in 1976 with Beth — a ballad sung by the band’s drummer Peter Criss.
“It was such a big departure for them,” says Bob Ezrin, the producer and co-writer of the song.
In a new interview for CBS News show The National, Ezrin recalls how Beth was created from humble beginnings and transformed into a classic rock ballad with a unique sound.
“I don’t think Beth was a power ballad,” Ezrin says. “There’s no big rock ’n’ roll guitars, no drums…”
He also recalls how Beth was originally greeted with outright hostility by many diehard Kiss fans: “People thought it was like heresy!” he says.
Ezrin was enlisted by Kiss for their fourth studio album Destroyer after he had produced huge hits for Alice Cooper with songs such as School’s Out and Only Women Bleed.