Deuce (song)
| "Deuce" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Kiss from the album Kiss | |
| Released | February 8, 1974 |
| Recorded | Bell Sound Studios New York City October – November 1973 |
| Length | 3:08 |
| Label | Casablanca Records |
| Writer(s) | Gene Simmons |
| Producer(s) | Kenny Kerner, Richie Wise |
| Kiss track listing | |
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"Deuce" is a song by the American hard rock band Kiss, written by bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons. The song appeared on Kiss' eponymous 1974 debut album. In addition to being one of the band's most popular and most-covered songs, "Deuce" is a traditional concert opener. The song has been performed on almost every tour to date, and has appeared on many Kiss live and compilation albums.
According to Gene Simmons, he simply copied the bassline of The Rolling Stones' "Bitch" and played it more or less backwards. "I wrote 'Deuce' on the bass," he said, "so the guitars ended up shadowing the bass line or variations of it in different octaves."
The entire song was written nearly linearly; the riff came first, then the bridge, then finally the chorus. While uncredited, Paul Stanley provided the lightly phased intro riff, inspired by The Raspberries' "Go All the Way". "It's an integral part of the song," he observed, "but should I get credit for that? I don't think so."
"Deuce" also has special significance for Ace Frehley, who listed it as his favorite Kiss song. "When I auditioned for Kiss", recalled Frehley, "they said, 'We're going to play you a song for you to listen to, and then try playing along — it's in the key of 'A'. They played ["Deuce"] as a three-piece. I thought, 'That's easy enough,' so I got up and wailed for four minutes playing lead work over it".
Gene Simmons stated in reference to the song: "Lyrically, I had no idea what I was talking about. Sometimes stuff means a lot, sometimes it means nothing.".
On July 28, 2009, a live version was released (along with live versions of "100,000 Years" and "Parasite") in the Kiss 01 track pack for Rock Band 2.
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