Reason To Live
by Kiss

Album: Crazy Nights (1987)
Charted: 33 64
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • One of the more memorable songs from the no-makeup era of Kiss (1983-1996), "Reason To Live" has a lead vocal by Paul Stanley, whose soul music influence is evident on the track. It's a breakup song where he finds the strength and confidence to move forward. He'll find a reason to live, but it won't be her love.
  • Paul Stanley wrote this song with Desmond Child, one of the most prolific and successful writers in pop history. Child was fronting a band called Desmond Child & Rouge in 1979 when he and Stanley teamed up to write the Kiss hit "I Was Made For Lovin' You." It was an eye-opener for Child, who learned from Stanley how to make soulful rock songs that connect with everyone in the stadium. He brought this approach to Bon Jovi on songs like "Livin' On A Prayer" and "Born to Be My Baby."
  • Desmond Child thinks "Reason To Live" is one of the best songs he wrote for Kiss, citing the universal message that relates to listeners. "I think that song is very profound," he said in a Songfacts interview. "Everybody's got a reason to live. Those kinds of feelings bring out a whole other dimension of what Kiss is about."
  • "Reason To Live" was the second single from the Crazy Nights album, following "Crazy Crazy Nights," which Paul Stanley wrote with Adam Mitchell. The band lineup at the time was Stanley on rhythm guitar, Gene Simmons on bass, Bruce Kulick on lead guitar and Eric Carr on drums. Over the next few years, Carr's health declined and he died from cancer in 1991 at 41.
  • The music video was directed by Marty Callner and includes lots of Gene Simmons brooding on stage. The girl in the video is Eloise DeJoria, who shows up in the movies Weekend at Bernie's and Don't Mess with the Zohan. It did well on MTV, which had been around for only six years by this point.
  • The album was produced by Ron Nevison, who became a first-call producer after working on Heart's 1985 self-titled album. He had a talent for coaxing modern sounds out of veteran acts like Ozzy Osbourne and Chicago. Crazy Nights was the only album he produced for Kiss.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino EditionMusic Quiz

Whether he's splitting ears or burning Nazis, Quentin Tarantino uses memorable music in his films. See if you can match the song to the scene.

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillian

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillianSong Writing

A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.