‘God Gave Rock and Roll to You’ is a 1973 song by the British band Argent and covered by Kiss as ‘God Gave Rock 'N' Roll to You II’ in 1991, with modified lyrics. Argent recorded the song in 1971 during the sessions for their album All Together Now, but it originally did not appear as an album track until 1973's In Deep, and was released as a successful single at that time. The original Argent version of the song reached No. 18 in the United Kingdom, and No. 114 in the United States.
American rock band Kiss covered the song in 1991 as ‘God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You II’ for the soundtrack to Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. The track was released as a single in 1991 and appeared on the band's 1992 album Revenge. Though the power ballad covered the original Argent 1973 version "God Gave Rock and Roll to You", it had slightly modified lyrics in the verses, thus the reason behind the slight change in the name of the song. It is one of the few songs from Kiss' "non-makeup era" to be played live since the band returned to wearing their trademark makeup in 1996. The single was the first to feature Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley sharing lead vocals since ‘I’ from 1981's Music from ‘The Elder’.
This was the last Kiss song Eric Carr appeared on. Carr was their drummer since 1980, and died of cancer in 1991 at age 41. Carr didn't play drums on the track - incoming Kiss drummer Eric Singer did - but he did contribute backing vocals and also appeared in the video, which was shot while he was being treated for the disease. Bruce Kulick, who was the Kiss guitarist at the time, recalled in the book Tales From The Stage: "He played his heart out. He had more energy than I did. I couldn't believe it, but it meant a lot to him. You can see in his face in the video and photos that it's kind of drawn. You can tell that he wasn't healthy and fighting a disease, but I must say that he was very brave." In an interview with VH1, Gene Simmons said: "It's not just a cover song for a soundtrack, but a testament to Eric Carr, and I think a lot of people don't realize that."
The song proved to be a big hit for the band in many parts of the world, including making the top 10 in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland. In the United States, it reached No. 21 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. The music video received heavy rotation on music television channels.
Label – Interscope
Songwriters – Russ Ballard, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Bob Ezrin
Producer – Bob Ezrin
SONG LYRICS
[Intro]God gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to you
Put it in the soul of everyone
[Verse 1]
Do you know what you want? You don't know for sure
You don't feel right, you can't find a cure
And you're getting less than what you're looking for
You don't have money or a fancy car
And you're tired of wishing on a falling star
You got to put your faith in a loud guitar
[Chorus]
God gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to you
Gave rock and roll to everyone (oh yeah)
God gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to you
Put it in the soul of everyone
[Verse 2]
"Now listen"
If you want to be a singer, or play guitar
Man, you got to sweat or you won't get far
Because it's never too late to work nine-to-five
You can take a stand, or you can compromise
You can work real hard or just fantasize
But you don't start living until you realize -I got to tell ya!
[Chorus]
God gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to you
Gave rock and roll to everyone
God gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to you
Put it in the soul of everyone
[Guitar solo]
[Chorus]
God gave rock and roll to you (to everyone he gave the song to be sung)
Gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to everyone
God gave rock and roll to you (to everyone he gave the song to be sung)
Gave rock and roll to you, saved rock and roll for everyone
Saved rock and roll
[Chorus]
God gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to you
Gave rock and roll to everyone (oh, yeah)
God gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to you
Put it in the soul of everyone
God gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to you
Gave rock and roll to everyone
God gave rock and roll to you, gave rock and roll to you
Put it in the soul of everyone
[Outro]
I know life sometimes can get tough! And I know life sometimes can be a drag!
But people, we have been given a gift, we have been given a road
And that road's name is... Rock and Roll!
[Fade]
Yeah
Oh yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Oooooo
Yeah! Hey!
That mean you! And you! That means you too!
How many people here like the sound of rock and roll music?
Well, I do! I do! I do!..