First Kiss song you heard on the radio?

jannep17 · Post by **jannep17** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 10:26 am

Can anyone beat mine for obscurity; first Kiss song I heard on the radio was Parasite.

Swedish radio show host Kaj Kindvall played Parasite in his program Discorama. Must have been 1974.

Bing80 · Post by **Bing80** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 10:56 am

Genuinely can’t remember hearing anything before ‘Radioactive’ in 78! Was a minor hit in U.K. (41 or 42) and it piped up on radio. Nearly fell out of my chair!

Post by **sneed78** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 11:01 am

Holy shite, for some odd reason, Parasite was one of the first KISS songs I heard on the radio too (I believe before I was even officially a KISS fan. I heard it on HTH in the 80’s and it was instantly nostalgic of years before to both me and my brother.)

We did have HTH on 8 track in the late 70’s, but the nostalgic feeling we got from hearing Parasite again in the 80’s predates that.

But some of the ones I heard AS a young KISS fan in the 70’s were the obvious ones: RARAN, Beth, HLW and Dr.Love

KrazySwede · Post by **KrazySwede** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 11:13 am

Must've been IWMFLY.....we basically had three channels that covered the entire nation (didn't change until late 70s), and of those three channels only one played pop, rock.....so to get on the radio a band had to have a song in the charts - or a radioDJ who favoured them strongly.
And KISS never had many songs in the charts, but IWMFLY was one that did.

BC Witch · Post by **BC Witch** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 11:17 am

Something from Unmasked when Tommy Vance interviewed the band on their UK tour for Radio One. Probably 'Is That You?'.

KrazySwede · Post by **KrazySwede** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 11:19 am

jannep17 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 10:26 am Can anyone beat mine for obscurity; first Kiss song I heard on the radio was Parasite.

Swedish radio show host Kaj Kindvall played Parasite in his program Discorama. Must have been 1974.

He's a legend - listened to a Poporama (from may '83) that got a rerun on P4 Plus today. Fun listening to those old radioshows..

Kiss-Army-Sergeant · Post by **Kiss-Army-Sergeant** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 11:20 am

jannep17 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 10:26 am Can anyone beat mine for obscurity; first Kiss song I heard on the radio was Parasite.

Swedish radio show host Kaj Kindvall played Parasite in his program Discorama. Must have been 1974.

IWMFLY

Hi I'm Witz · Post by **Hi I'm Witz** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 11:33 am

RARAN. Back in the mid 70's, RARAN was pretty much it if you hoped to hear KISS on the radio, at least until Beth came out.

Post by **StillAlive** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 11:36 am

Christine Sixteen.
Still have the single (I think).

redfield · Post by **redfield** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 12:27 pm

Shandi around 1984... The DJ announced a KISS song being played during the coming batch...which was a total rarity on that 'Top40 Station ... i hadnt heard the song before and actually didnt even recognize THAT being the Kiss Song among the other played pop tunes LOL

Much Too Soon · Post by **Much Too Soon** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 12:58 pm

Hotter than Hell. 74

wjs296 · Post by **wjs296** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:10 pm

RNRAN, the live version after Alive came out. Beth was a big hit on AM radio in 76.

KF73 · Post by **KF73** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:16 pm

The first song I remember hearing on the radio was "I Was Made For Loving You". I was 6 1/2 years old and remember it vividly. On I-84 west bound in Newtown, CT in my mom's brown '78 Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser station wagon. I remember my sister going nuts over it and I just fell in love with the song. I am sure I heard something else by Kiss on the radio before that as I had been a fan for 2+ years, but IWMFLY I remember clear as day!

KlassicKISS54 · Post by **KlassicKISS54** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:30 pm

The first songs I remember hearing on the radio and inquired were Beth and Hard Luck Woman. I was shocked both times when I was told it was KISS. The band did not have any radio presence in Louisville during the 70’s. Now before that, the first KISS record I ever heard was Alive that my friend had. We listen to it at slumber party’s. At that point I felt like they were this show and the music was like a soundtrack. I didn’t take them seriously until those two songs made radio play. When I heard those I felt they had to have some other gems in their collection.

Post by **Forevertj** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:38 pm

Bing80 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 19, 2021 10:56 am Genuinely can’t remember hearing anything before ‘Radioactive’ in 78! Was a minor hit in U.K. (41 or 42) and it piped up on radio. Nearly fell out of my chair!

BINGO! I heard the same song when I was a kid at an arena.

Goodwilltowardsall · Post by **Goodwilltowardsall** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:43 pm

The first time I heard KISS was when one of the chronically badass kids put together a weird slide show for English class (7th or 8th grade) that featured random pics of ephemera that he thought were interesting. The slides were synced to one of those 70'-cassette-players (probably not the official version) that played Hotter Than Hell, probably around 1974 or so. I very much liked hearing KISS and seeing weird images in English class. I think most of the other students were baffled. I do hope KISS get Steven Wilson to remix HTH-that would be cool.

I think I have heard RARAN a couple of times on commercial radio, nothing else by KISS and I grew up in hard-rocking town. I Was Made for Loving You was completely ignored.

ACESTATION · Post by **ACESTATION** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:55 pm

My brother said the first song he heard was Going Blind on KAAY Little Rock AM station not long after the album came out. There were already rumours that Gene was 60 some years old.

MrPaulStanley · Post by **MrPaulStanley** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 2:31 pm

Definitely can't say that I heard anything by KISS on the radio prior to '76, at least not that I was aware of.

I think the first time I heard anything on the radio by KISS it would have been on TEN-Q, which I didn't discover until Fall of '76. But, again, I couldn't tell you if I heard RARAN (studio or live), SIOL, FY, DRC, or Beth first? All six were in rotation at that time, if I remember correctly. By then, I owned every album up through Destroyer, and RARO wasn't even out yet, so it wouldn't have made an indelible impression on me.

Post by **Kissoff** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 2:41 pm

Woke up to Christine 16 in 77.

mbrunn · Post by **mbrunn** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 3:12 pm

Calling Dr. Love - Fall of 1976

PaulsPoonanny · Post by **PaulsPoonanny** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 3:25 pm

Talk to Me

kisswah · Post by **kisswah** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 3:47 pm

I was made for loving you - car radio on vacation in Italy 1979

Frigoria · Post by **Frigoria** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 4:27 pm

I snuck a transistor radio into my desk in 6th grade and heard Beth played during class, which was a pretty major score. It was probably '77. Would've been better if it was a Kiss radio.

I heard, I Was Made For Loving You, when it premiered on KFRC (San Francisco) during English class in 7th grade, but this time the teacher was playing a radio in class. It was hyped-up as a promotional contest in which listeners, after hearing the song, could call in to guess the artist, and win. Same teacher had the Gene, Alive 2 poster up in the classroom and someone wrote "GROSS" on it.

Eddie Van Hazel · Post by **Eddie Van Hazel** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 4:31 pm

In the early morning hours on Saturday Oct 28, 1978, I heard RARAN on NY radio.

Needless to say, it put me in a good mood for the whole entire day.

worth1 · Post by **worth1** » Sun Sep 19, 2021 5:56 pm

It was either RARAN or Beth. Don’t exactly remember now after 45+ years.

gene therapist · Post by **gene therapist** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 12:25 am

I practically never listen or listened to the radio. Of course, you get to hear it in malls, other people's cars etc. I Was Made for Loving You I've heard several times and it could well be the first I ever heard (no recollection though). The coolest was without a doubt Speedin' Back to My Baby on national radio!

sugardaddy · Post by **sugardaddy** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:23 am

I remember New York Groove being played on a local high school station not long after it came out.

I have a vague memory of something obscure like Parasite being played on the radio several months before that but my ears were probably hallucinating

spacekace · Post by **spacekace** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 9:12 am

First song I heard on radio was Shout It Out Loud back in ‘76.

Wiped Out 78 · Post by **Wiped Out 78** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 9:15 am

RRAN live, 1976.

CStomp1 · Post by **CStomp1** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 9:36 am

I was playing a pickup game of basketball and one of the guys had a radio playing courtside. RARAN live came on but I had no clue who the band was. This was in 1975 when it was a big hit.

Kissologist · Post by **Kissologist** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 10:15 am

IWMFLY

belgiankissarmy · Post by **belgiankissarmy** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 10:20 am

IWMFLY

King · Post by **King** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 10:24 am

Dr Love

Krimsonglory · Post by **Krimsonglory** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 10:32 am

IWMFLY

J-Lefty · Post by **J-Lefty** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 11:08 am

IWMFLY

67Kiss · Post by **67Kiss** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 11:51 am

Mine was Rock and Roll All Nite from Alive!, it was 1975

DaveinSpain · Post by **DaveinSpain** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 12:12 pm

I'm only 44 so I think the 1st I heard on the radio had to be either Rock n Roll all night or probably lick it up or heavens on fire

tazchris · Post by **tazchris** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 12:17 pm

Turn On The Night March 1988 on AM 106 in Calgary. It was on the Top 10 at 10 for the weeks surrounding their show here March 9, 1988. I was a fan for close to four years at that point, and it was vindicating to finally hear them on the radio.

hooligan3 · Post by **hooligan3** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:47 pm

The first one I can remember was IWMFLY in '79. I was riding in the back of a friend's station wagon when the song came on. I was all excited, and then his dad quickly turned to a different station. LOL

southernkiss · Post by **southernkiss** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:51 pm

RNRAN. I was in fourth grade. I do not even remember if it was the studio or live version.

ToddofThunder · Post by **ToddofThunder** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:51 pm

Definitely "Beth." To me, it's a funny story that goes to the root of my fandom:

When I was just 6 or 7, I was going to a Catholic school. Before school one morning, an older kid calls a few of us over to his backpack. He looks around and pulls the "Hotter Than Hell" LP out of his backpack as if it was some sort of contraband. The rest of us were blown away just by the imagery alone! Without hearing a lick of music, my young friends and I decided right then & there that KISS was our favorite band! And you see, for us, it WAS all about the image, at least back then! If that kid had pulled out a Beatles or even Eagles record, at our age, we would've shrugged our shoulders and ran back out to the playground to swing on the swing set! But it was KISS' LOOKS that got us hooked, again--without even hearing a single note of their music! My best friend at the time and I started drawing pictures of KISS and trading them with each other.

Fast forward to later that year, my Mom picked me up after school and was listening to her AOR/singers radio station. Then the DJ announced, "And here's the latest hit from KISS!" I screamed, "Mom! Mom! This is KISS! This is my favorite group!!" It was "Beth." Of course, my Mom thought it was wonderful, and she probably thought it was cute that at my age, I already had a favorite band. Obviously this was the first time she had ever heard of KISS. She took me to our local Tower Records in Stockton, California a few days later to pick up the 45 of "Beth." Because it was such a huge hit, they were sold out of the 45. But the clerk said he thought they had the full LP. He walked us over to the stacks and pulled out "Destroyer." At my age, I got very embarrassed and sheepish. I loved the cover, but it did look very "dark" and I assumed my Mom would say, "Never mind." To my utter shock, she looked at me and said, "Do you want it?" You can guess my answer.

From the moment I put that needle down on "Detroit Rock City," I was hooked!! That was it for me. I was also very excited a few years later to hear "I Was Made For Loving You" getting heavy rotation too (I still too young to be a music snob, so I loved that song at the time and still do). I only waned in my fandom in my pre-teen and early teen years, only because from around 1981-1983 I sort of lost track of the band. I was also getting heavily into Pop so I was more into Michael Jackson and Huey Lewis, among many others LOL. I was vaguely aware that KISS had taken their makeup off and I remember staring at the "Lick It Up" cover in a record store, instantly recognizing Paul and Eric just by their faces, and Gene only because of his tongue (but I found it hard to believe that that was the face of "The Demon" I had known). I could not tell if Vinnie was Ace, but in the end, I guessed correctly that it was some guy I had never heard of. At any rate, it wasn't until the end of my Freshman year of high school that I was riding with someone in their car and they were blasting "Heaven's On Fire." That melody and sound really resonated with me, and when I asked who it was, I was so excited to hear it was KISS! I became a fan all over again, and haven't wandered since!

I know that was a long story that ventured way beyond the original question, but I have never shared my KISS-timony here so I thought you'd all get a kick out of it.

ToddofThunder · Post by **ToddofThunder** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:55 pm

Definitely "Beth." To me, it's a funny story that goes to the root of my fandom:

When I was just 6 or 7, I was going to a Catholic school. Before school one morning, an older kid calls a few of us over to his backpack. He looks around and pulls the "Hotter Than Hell" LP out of his backpack as if it was some sort of contraband. The rest of us were blown away just by the imagery alone! Without hearing a lick of music, my young friends and I decided right then & there that KISS was our favorite band! And you see, for us, it WAS all about the image, at least back then! If that kid had pulled out a Beatles or even Eagles record, at our age, we would've shrugged our shoulders and ran back out to the playground to swing on the swing set! But it was KISS' LOOKS that got us hooked, again--without even hearing a single note of their music! My best friend at the time and I started drawing pictures of KISS and trading them with each other.

Fast forward to later that year, my Mom picked me up after school and was listening to her AOR/singers radio station. Then the DJ announced, "And here's the latest hit from KISS!" I screamed, "Mom! Mom! This is KISS! This is my favorite group!!" It was "Beth." Of course, my Mom thought it was wonderful, and she probably thought it was cute that at my age, I already had a favorite band. Obviously this was the first time she had ever heard of KISS. She took me to our local Tower Records in Stockton, California a few days later to pick up the 45 of "Beth." Because it was such a huge hit, they were sold out of the 45. But the clerk said he thought they had the full LP. He walked us over to the stacks and pulled out "Destroyer." At my age, I got very embarrassed and sheepish. I loved the cover, but it did look very "dark" and I assumed my Mom would say, "Never mind." To my utter shock, she looked at me and said, "Do you want it?" You can guess my answer.

From the moment I put that needle down on "Detroit Rock City," I was hooked!! That was it for me. I bought every album after that with allowance money as they came out (although the Solo Albums were too expensive to buy all at once, so those I got one at a time). I was also very excited a few years later to hear "I Was Made For Loving You" getting heavy rotation too (I was still too young to be a music snob, so I loved that song at the time and still do). I only waned in my fandom in my pre-teen and early teen years, only because from around 1981-1983 I sort of lost track of the band. I was also getting heavily into Pop so I was more into Michael Jackson and Huey Lewis, among many others LOL. I was vaguely aware that KISS had taken their makeup off and I remember staring at the "Lick It Up" cover in a record store, instantly recognizing Paul and Eric just by their faces, and Gene only because of his tongue (but I found it hard to believe that that was the face of "The Demon" I had known). I could not tell if Vinnie was Ace, but in the end, I guessed correctly that it was some guy I had never heard of. At any rate, it wasn't until the end of my Freshman year of high school that I was riding with someone in their car and they were blasting "Heaven's On Fire." That melody and sound really resonated with me, and when I asked who it was, I was so excited to hear it was KISS! I became a fan all over again, and haven't wandered since! I went and re-bought their albums on cassette and CD over the next few years, including the first 4 albums that I had never heard (S/T through "Alive!")!

I know that was a long story that ventured way beyond the original question, but I have never shared my KISS-timony here so I thought you'd all get a kick out of it.

strutter78 · Post by **strutter78** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 7:59 pm

I’m almost positive it was Beth in 76’ I had an AM clock radio that I got from my great grandmother. I’m not sure, but I think it had tubes/valves instead of transistor. I also recall hearing Queen after Beth. That was rare. I do recall IWMFLY being on the top 40 hits on Sunday multiple times in the Summer of 79’.

caligari · Post by **caligari** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 8:04 pm

1975
Rock and roll all nite
Alive! Version

sugardaddy · Post by **sugardaddy** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 10:41 pm

ToddofThunder wrote: ↑Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:51 pm Definitely "Beth." To me, it's a funny story that goes to the root of my fandom:

When I was just 6 or 7, I was going to a Catholic school. Before school one morning, an older kid calls a few of us over to his backpack. He looks around and pulls the "Hotter Than Hell" LP out of his backpack as if it was some sort of contraband. The rest of us were blown away just by the imagery alone! Without hearing a lick of music, my young friends and I decided right then & there that KISS was our favorite band! And you see, for us, it WAS all about the image, at least back then! If that kid had pulled out a Beatles or even Eagles record, at our age, we would've shrugged our shoulders and ran back out to the playground to swing on the swing set! But it was KISS' LOOKS that got us hooked, again--without even hearing a single note of their music! My best friend at the time and I started drawing pictures of KISS and trading them with each other.

Fast forward to later that year, my Mom picked me up after school and was listening to her AOR/singers radio station. Then the DJ announced, "And here's the latest hit from KISS!" I screamed, "Mom! Mom! This is KISS! This is my favorite group!!" It was "Beth." Of course, my Mom thought it was wonderful, and she probably thought it was cute that at my age, I already had a favorite band. Obviously this was the first time she had ever heard of KISS. She took me to our local Tower Records in Stockton, California a few days later to pick up the 45 of "Beth." Because it was such a huge hit, they were sold out of the 45. But the clerk said he thought they had the full LP. He walked us over to the stacks and pulled out "Destroyer." At my age, I got very embarrassed and sheepish. I loved the cover, but it did look very "dark" and I assumed my Mom would say, "Never mind." To my utter shock, she looked at me and said, "Do you want it?" You can guess my answer.

From the moment I put that needle down on "Detroit Rock City," I was hooked!! That was it for me. I was also very excited a few years later to hear "I Was Made For Loving You" getting heavy rotation too (I still too young to be a music snob, so I loved that song at the time and still do). I only waned in my fandom in my pre-teen and early teen years, only because from around 1981-1983 I sort of lost track of the band. I was also getting heavily into Pop so I was more into Michael Jackson and Huey Lewis, among many others LOL. I was vaguely aware that KISS had taken their makeup off and I remember staring at the "Lick It Up" cover in a record store, instantly recognizing Paul and Eric just by their faces, and Gene only because of his tongue (but I found it hard to believe that that was the face of "The Demon" I had known). I could not tell if Vinnie was Ace, but in the end, I guessed correctly that it was some guy I had never heard of. At any rate, it wasn't until the end of my Freshman year of high school that I was riding with someone in their car and they were blasting "Heaven's On Fire." That melody and sound really resonated with me, and when I asked who it was, I was so excited to hear it was KISS! I became a fan all over again, and haven't wandered since!

I know that was a long story that ventured way beyond the original question, but I have never shared my KISS-timony here so I thought you'd all get a kick out of it.

post of the month

StrangestWay · Post by **StrangestWay** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 11:15 pm

"Beth" in late 1977. Some lame-ass Dubuque Iowa radio station that also played Christopher Cross, Air Supply and Mary Macgregor. AOR LITE.

I was 8 years old. Thought it was a cool song, but didn't know shit at 8. At least, not about music.

Then saw them in a Supermag issue. The image didn't correspond with "Beth."

Then heard Destroyer, late 1977. Sent me and a friend ballistic. By "King of the Night Time World" we're thrashing around the room discovering instinctual air guitar insanity. And the Ken Kelly depiction of the band. Then Alive II. Then it was...2021 and I'm 52 and I still love KIss.

"Beth" now pales to the rest of Destroyer and the Kiss Experience as a totality, but super interesting place in their history.

B5Erik · Post by **B5Erik** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 11:25 pm

Now, I heard multiple KISS songs on the radio before I knew about KISS.

Beth, Calling Dr. Love, Christine Sixteen.

I probably heard them in that order (my mom had Top 40 radio on in the car in those days).

I, "Discovered," KISS, properly, in August of 1977 (a few weeks after hearing Christine Sixteen). It was the first album on 8 Track!

After hearing that album I was a rabid fan, and then realized that those songs I had heard in the past were KISS. Previously, my stepbrother and stepsister told me that KISS sucked, and that they tried to look like girls. Well, I thought they looked stupid before my step-siblings said anything, so I believed them when they said KISS sucked.

Then I heard the first album and my first though was, "HEY!!! They don't suck!!!" And after realizing that those songs I heard and liked on the radio were by KISS? I thought my stepbrother and stepsister were crazy idiots.