KISS bassist Gene Simmons revealed details about a song title change in a recent interview with Ultimate Classic Rock.
“I originally wrote a song called ‘Sh*t’ — ‘Doesn’t mean sh*t to me’ was the tagline,” Simmons said. “Bob Ezrin, who produced that record, said, ‘You can’t call a song ‘Sh*t.’ Wal-Mart won’t put it out.”
“So I said, ‘How about ‘Spit?’ ‘Doesn’t mean spit to me?’ Same vibe, different word,” he continued.
Major retailers like Walmart threatened not to stock the album with its original title. This pressure highlighted retail distribution’s influence on creative decisions in the music industry.
The incident took place during the recording of KISS’s 1992 album ‘Revenge.’ This release marked a significant return to the band’s heavier sound roots.
Producer Bob Ezrin’s collaboration with KISS spans several decades. His influence has shaped many of the band’s iconic albums. Loudwire documents his production credits on landmark KISS albums including ‘Destroyer’ (1976) and ‘Music from ‘The Elder” (1981). He later reunited with the band for ‘Revenge’ in 1992.
The title change represents a rare documented case of direct censorship in KISS’s catalog. The band faced broader content scrutiny throughout their career. During the 1980s, the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) targeted KISS along with many rock acts for their explicit content.
The ‘Spit’ incident illustrates the music industry’s commercial realities during the pre-digital retail era. Store chains wielded significant power over album distribution at that time.
