It’s not easy to imagine Neil Young in full KISS makeup and seven-foot heels with his rather simplistic choices for stage wear. Still, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be able to sing for the band, or at least that’s what Gene Simmons thought.
However, Simmons wasn’t thinking about ‘fully’ hiring Young into KISS; he wanted the folk icon to sing for the band’s 1994 tribute album, ‘KISS My Ass,’ and cover a song. The attempts, however, wouldn’t succeed.
Gene even opened up about his ‘failed’ attempt in 2019 while speaking with Record Collector magazine and discussing the album’s behind the scenes:
“I decided to have a KISS tribute album, and I’m the guy who stayed on the phone and called all the artists. I remember calling Neil Young’s manager [Elliott Roberts]. I said, ‘How about we have Neil on our album?’ and Elliot said, ‘Are you out of your f*cking mind? Why don’t you do a Neil Young tribute?’ I go, ‘Okay, that’s a deal. We’ll do a Neil Young song, if Neil does a KISS song.'”
After recalling that rejection, Simmons revealed another singer who he almost collaborated with:
“Everybody was gonna do it. Madonna was gonna do ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You.’ I talked directly to the artists.”
Young’s reaction to these words came a short while after the interview, as a fan asked the Canadian rocker about whether he knew his manager had dismissed Simmons. Neil answered the question on his website, simply saying:
“Never heard [about] that.”
Although the KISS rocker couldn’t get Young or Madonna to sing for the record, names such as Lenny Kravitz, Dinosour Jr., and Extreme covered the band’s songs to celebrate their 20th anniversary. The album was later certified gold by RIAA and stayed on the rock charts for 13 weeks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGCQ4Y_otVA&t=6s
