Shout It Out Loud (Kiss song)

"Shout It Out Loud" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss originally released on their 1976 album, Destroyer. It was released as the lead single off the album, and it proved to be successful, breaking the Top-40, the second Kiss single to achieve that. Also, it is the band's first single to top the charts, as it was number 1 hit in Canada on May 22, 1976. The song was performed on almost every tour for many years, and is one of the most played songs in the Kiss catalog, having been played over one thousand and four hundred times as of June 2014.

Overview
The title of the song was taken from British beat group The Hollies' song "We Want to Shout It Out Loud", which Wicked Lester (pre-Kiss) recorded for the unreleased album. The song was edited several times for singles and compilation albums. The single version of the song is 12 seconds shorter than the studio due to the last "Shout it, shout it, shout it out loud" line being excluded. The Alive II single, which was described by Billboard magazine as a "raucous rocker" that "catches the excitement and energy of the live show," is 23 seconds shorter than the album song due to the removal of audience chant "We want Kiss". The Killers version is the shortest with the duration of 2:35 as a result of the fade-out of the song starting during the first repetition of the "Shout it, shout it, shout it out loud" lyric following Gene Simmons' "Oh yeah". The version found on Smashes, Thrashes & Hits is 16 seconds longer, as the chorus repeats and the song ends with "Shout it!".

Released as a single in 1976, the band and their record company, Casablanca Records, were trying to cash in on the success of their previous single, the live version of "Rock and Roll All Nite", by releasing another anthem. While the song would break into the American Billboard Top 40, peaking at #31, it would prove to not be as successful as its predecessor was but would remain in the band's concert set lists for almost every tour from that point on. In Canada, the single was far more successful, reaching #1 on the RPM national singles chart on May 22, 1976. The song is also one of few to be sung by both Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. A music video was made for the live version of the song from the 1996 concert in Tiger Stadium, from the Alive/Worldwide Tour. It was directed by Wayne Isham.

Legacy
The song was performed on almost every tour since its release, being dropped for Lick It Up Tour, Animalize Tour and Asylum Tour. It was listed as the 27th single of '76 in Canada. A 2007 re-recording of the song by the band is featured on the music/rhythm video game Guitar Hero 5. The song is featured in the movie Detroit Rock City and appears on the soundtrack for the movie. The cast of Glee covered the song in the episode "Theatricality". The male part of the group (excluding Kurt Hummel) were also dressed as Kiss members. The song was also featured in a What's New, Scooby-Doo? episode "A Scooby-Doo Halloween".

The song was covered several times. In 1978 by James Last, in 1998 by Pretty Boy Floyd and Zeke. The all-female band Crucified Barbara covered the song in 2006 and Stryper released a cover of the song on their 2011 cover album The Covering. Erik Grönwall, the 2009 winner of the Swedish Idol covered the song on his eponymous debut album. While it was not released as a single, the song charted on Sverigetopplistan, reaching number 49. Grönwall also performed the song on Swedish Idol. It was covered by The Yellow Monkey for the Jigoku no Shōsan: Kiss Tribute in Japan (地獄の賞賛－KISS TRIBUTE IN JAPAN－) album in 1998, Lemmy's cover appears on 2004's Spin the Bottle: An All-Star Tribute to Kiss, Sack Trick with Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson covered the song for the 2005 Sheep in KISS Make Up album, and Keri Kelli's cover appears on Lick It Up – A Millennium Tribute to Kiss from 2008.

Appearances
"Shout It Out Loud" has appeared on following Kiss albums:
 * Destroyer - studio version
 * Alive II - live version
 * Killers - edited studio version
 * Smashes, Thrashes & Hits - edited studio version
 * Alive III - live video version
 * You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!! - Alive II version
 * Greatest Kiss - live version
 * The Box Set - Greatest Kiss version
 * The Very Best of Kiss - studio version
 * Kiss Symphony: Alive IV - live version
 * Kiss Instant Live - live version
 * Gold - studio version
 * Kiss Alive! 1975–2000 - Alive II version and Alive! The Millennium Concert
 * Kiss Alive 35 - live version
 * Jigoku-Retsuden - re-recorded studio version
 * Kiss Sonic Boom Over Europe - live version

"Shout It Out Loud" has appeared in following movies:
 * Detroit Rock City
 * Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery

Personnel

 * Paul Stanley - rhythm guitar, co-lead vocals
 * Gene Simmons - bass guitar, co-lead vocals
 * Ace Frehley - lead guitar, backing vocals
 * Peter Criss - drums, backing vocals

Charts
Kiss

Erik Grönwall