The energy Gene Simmons brings to everything he does comes to mind. The flamboyance of his performances is also notable. His hard rock style of bass playing completes the picture when people think of Gene Simmons. The man isn’t known for being one of the world’s greatest lyricists. His lack of profound or thought-provoking music may make this acceptable. Nevertheless, even though partying and sex are major themes in a lot of Simmons’ songs, these themes also make for catchy songs. Decades later, people still play them. Therefore, it would be unjust to imply that he is anything less than a superb songwriter.
For Simmons, like many others, it all began with The Beatles. As a result of The Beatles’ ability to win hearts all over the world with their sound, many people began attempting to compose music. They aimed to emulate their success. When Simmons first put pen to paper, he meant to follow in the footsteps of Paul McCartney and John Lennon. What he ultimately made was worlds apart from the Fab Four.
“I had never heard of the Beatles when I moved to America. In 1958, I arrived here; The Beatles’ breakthrough came in 1964. Though Simmons was a fan of the early forms of rock and roll, he didn’t realize he could get into it until he saw The Beatles. “The first music I heard was black music: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, the same things the Beatles did.” Then, everything made sense—all the DNA that preceded them and became a part of them—when I saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. Within two years of seeing The Beatles, I began penning my songs.
Nevertheless, even though lyricists like John Lennon and Paul McCartney inspired Simmons to pursue music as a career. They sparked his passion for it, but they aren’t his all-time favorites. He only keeps that place for Bob Dylan. This is not shocking in the slightest. Simmons lived in New York for a considerable amount of time and would have witnessed the growth of the folk scene firsthand. The interweaving of poetry with such meaningful music was impossible to look away from in amazement.
“Being surrounded by so much music and media made New York so important,” Simmons remarked before expressing his admiration for Bob Dylan’s work. “It would have to be Dylan.” On Mount Olympus, there are people you never would have imagined being able to stand next to. Let alone share a room with and collaborate on something.
“Maybe no one has had a bigger impact on lyrics than Dylan with ‘The Times They Are A Changin,’ which was maybe the most well-known line of the twentieth century,” he went on.
Simmons added, “His songs have been covered by everybody from The Byrds to Jimi Hendrix to Guns N Roses,” demonstrating the breadth of artists who have paid homage to Dylan. This speaks to the impact Dylan has had on music history. Very few artists have possessed such an impact. His songwriting is superior.
Indeed, Dylan is among the greatest lyricists of all time. Even though Gene Simmons didn’t hear his influence in Kiss’s songs, it inspired him to write songs that would make Kiss feel the way they did. Whether it is evident or not, Dylan is among those artists who have influenced and inspired a multitude of musicians.
