Released June 30, 1977 Genre Hard rock Label Casablanca Records | Recorded May 1977 Length 3:47 Writer(s) Ace Frehley | |
"Shock Me" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss on their 1977 album Love Gun. It was written by lead guitarist Ace Frehley, who made his lead vocal debut. The song was inspired by an event that took place during Kiss' Rock and Roll Over tour, when he was nearly electrocuted. It was ranked #50 in Guitar World magazine's "100 Greatest Guitar Solos Ever".
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Background
On December 12, 1976, Kiss performed a concert at the Lakeland Civic Center in Lakeland, Florida. During the opening number, Frehley touched a metal staircase railing, which was ungrounded. He was knocked to the ground, and the concert was delayed for 30 minutes. The show was eventually completed, and Frehley claimed to have lost feeling in his hand for the remainder of the concert.
Frehley presented "Shock Me" to Kiss in its completed form. According to Gene Simmons, the rest of the band was not involved in the song's arrangement. Although Frehley had written a number of Kiss songs previously, this was his first time performing lead vocals. The song has since become his "theme song" for the band. Frehley, who was insecure about his singing, recorded his vocals while lying on the floor.
Live history
"Shock Me" was added to Kiss' setlist starting with the Love Gun tour. Frehley's guitar solo, previously performed during "She" and then "Cold Gin", was added to the song. The song was dropped from the setlist after the 1977–78 Alive II tour. Kiss did not perform the song again until Frehley returned to the group for their 1996–97 Alive/Worldwide Tour. It remained in the group's setlist during the Psycho Circus tour, although Frehley's guitar solo was moved to "Into the Void". Since Frehley's departure, Kiss continued to perform the song live with Tommy Thayer on lead vocals until it was dropped from the setlist in 2012 in favor of his song, "Outta This World".