In a bombshell January 6, 2026, interview with Professor Of Rock, Gene Simmons effectively ended the decades-long dispute over the authorship of “Beth,” claiming original KISS drummer Peter Criss had virtually no involvement in writing the band’s highest-charting U.S. single. While the song is officially credited to Criss, Stan Penridge, and producer Bob Ezrin, Simmons asserts that the track was almost entirely the work of Penridge, a former bandmate of Criss in the group Chelsea. The 76-year-old bassist revealed that the “whiskey-voiced” drummer couldn’t even recall the chords to the song when first presenting the demo, suggesting the writing credit was a political “nudge” rather than a creative reality.
The “Catman” legacy is under fire once again. Gene Simmons has publicly declared that Peter Criss did not write the KISS classic “Beth,” attributing the track entirely to the late Stan Penridge and the transformative arrangements of producer Bob Ezrin. Simmons broke down the song’s transition from the 1970 demo “Beck” to the string-laden ballad that hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, claiming Criss’s primary contribution was the vocal performance. Scroll down to read Gene’s unfiltered quotes on why “drums are not a musical instrument” and how a limousine ride in Michigan birthed the band’s most controversial hit.
The Loaded Radio Perspective: A Family Grieving and Arguing
At Loaded Radio, we’ve seen the KISS family dynamic shift from greasepaint brotherhood to courtroom combat for over 50 years. This latest revelation from Gene feels heavier because it follows the devastating loss of Ace Frehley in October 2025. It was at Ace’s funeral that the three surviving original members—Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, and Peter Criss—reunited to mourn.
Yet, even amidst the sorrow, the quest for the “truth” remains Gene’s priority. To Gene and Paul, “Beth” is a “lifeline” Peter has clung to for validation. To Peter, it’s the People’s Choice Award-winning proof that he was more than just a drummer. This isn’t just a songwriting dispute; it’s the final battle for the legacy of the original KISS lineup.
“Okay, Children, It’s Time for the Truth”: The Gene Simmons Quotes
Gene’s breakdown of the “Beth” mythology with Professor Of Rock was clinical and uncompromising. Below are the definitive statements from the Demon:
On Peter’s Songwriting Ability:
“Okay, children, now that you’ve all grown up, it’s time for the truth. Statement of fact: I love Peter. We all do. Families are complex… But it’s time for the truth. Peter does not write songs. He doesn’t play a musical instrument. Drums are not a musical instrument, by definition. They’re called a percussive instrument.”
On the “Beck” to “Beth” Limo Ride:
“Peter and I were in one limo… Peter starts humming. I’m, like, ‘What is that? That’s a nice melody.’ He goes, ‘Oh, it’s a song I wrote called ‘Beck’.’ I suggested in the car, ‘Why don’t you change it to ‘Beth’, because when you say ‘Beck’, that hard syllable stops the melody.’ ‘Beth’ is a much smoother way. And ‘Beth’ is a much more romantic idea.”
On the Real Writer, Stan Penridge:
“The person who wrote ‘Beth’ and ‘Baby Driver’ and one or two more was a guy named Stan Penridge. Stan Penridge was with Peter in a group called Chelsea. Peter did not write ‘Beth’. And he did not write ‘Baby Driver’. Stan Penridge wrote that. But through politics and — hint, hint, nudge, nudge — I wasn’t there when the conversation went down, Stan Penridge apparently agreed that Peter’s name would go in the songwriting credit.”
On Peter Criss’s Total Involvement:
“Peter had nothing to do with that song — nothing. He sang it. And to fix all the mythology and the gossip and the outright lies, it was Bob Ezrin who said, ‘I wanna do this like The Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’,’ more like a string quartet and piano.”
The Paul Stanley Counter-Punch
Simmons isn’t alone in this assessment. Paul Stanley previously shared a similarly devastating perspective with Rolling Stone: “Peter can’t write a song, because Peter doesn’t play an instrument… Peter had nothing to do with it. Because if you write one hit song, you should be able to write two. That’s the reality. Devastating? It’s the truth. It was a lifeline that Peter hung on to validate himself.”
The Peter Criss Retort
Peter, however, remains defiant, attributing the friction to jealousy: “Paul is so full of f*ing st, ’cause as a lead singer of the band he never got to write the hit. That’s his problem. They hated the fact that I wrote a hit record and won a People’s Choice.”