Released 1981 (US) Length 2:39 | Format 7" | |
 | ||
Recorded Ace in the Hole Studios, A&R Studios, New York, NY; Record Plant Studios, New York, NY;
1981 Label Casablanca NB-2343 (US) Writer(s) Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Lou Reed, Bob Ezrin | ||
"A World Without Heroes" is a song by the American hard rock band Kiss. It is credited as being written by Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Lou Reed and Bob Ezrin, and was originally recorded and released on their 1981 album Music from "The Elder".
Originally titled "Every Little Bit of Your Heart", the lyrics were changed in order the fit the concept of the album, which Lou Reed contributed the line "A world without heroes, is like a world without sun" to the lyrics.
The song is a slow ballad which features Simmons on lead vocals and Stanley on guitar solo. It was released as the lone single from The Elder album and reached #56 in the U.S. and #55 in the UK.
A video was made to help promote the single, and was the first Kiss video to be played on MTV.
Despite the video and chart performance of the single, Kiss only played it live once during their appearance on the "Fridays" TV show and did not play the song live again until fan request at Kiss conventions in 1995 led them to performing an acoustic version on their Kiss Unplugged performance and subsequent album.
Cher's version
In 1991 Cher recorded a version of this song for her album Love Hurts. It is worth noting that she was once in a relationship with Gene Simmons.