KISS’ Paul Stanley Wanted to Sing ‘God of Thunder’ Instead of Gene Simmons

Paul Stanley wanted to sing the KISS song "God of Thunder" instead of Gene Simmons.

After all, Stanley wrote the track, the second single from the rock band's 1976 album Destroyer.

But it is indeed bassist and co-vocalist Simmons who carries the song with his voice, and it remains a difficult part of KISS history that's been dredged up before. It came up again this month when the choice to have Simmons sing — a decision that was made by producer Bob Ezrin — was discussed by the band in a magazine interview.

"It was crushing and devastating," Stanley remembered to Rock Candy. "We'd understood and agreed that the role of the producer on Destroyer was to have final say and make decisions. When I played 'God of Thunder', Bob immediately said, 'Oh, that's great. That's for Gene.'" (via Blabbermouth)

He continued, "I was just devastated. The idea of a song so quickly being passed off from me to someone else. … It was difficult, and it remained a sore point, even when I heard it finished."

Stanley echoed that USA Today last year. He said, "I was broken. I brought the song in, and I thought it was this signature song for me. We brought in a producer for many reasons, and one of them was to be the tiebreaker between Gene and I, because there certainly were times where Gene and I were at odds."

Elsewhere this month, Stanley celebrated his 70th birthday (Jan. 20) with a thank you note to fans.

In 2021, KISS wrapped a U.S. leg of their End of the Road tour, but concerts were affected when Stanley and Simmons both tested positive for COVID-19. A KISS Las Vegas residency originally due to stretch into 2022 has been put on the back burner for now.