"Detroit Rock City" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss, released on their 1976 album Destroyer. The song was written by Paul Stanley and producer Bob Ezrin.

Background

"Detroit Rock City" began with a guitar part by Paul Stanley, who explained: "I had the basic riff of the song, the 'get up, get down' part, but I didn't know what the song was about except it was about Detroit." Stanley explained the song's origin further in 2023: "'Detroit Rock City' is an interesting one, because Detroit really embraced us before any other city. We were an opening act everywhere else, but in Detroit we were a headliner. It started as a tribute to Detroit, and then it kind of took a left turn, because we played Charlotte once, and somebody coming to the arena was killed in an accident. And I thought how bizarre that somebody on their way to something so life affirming loses their life. So there's a juxtaposition in that song about singing about how great Detroit is, and actually about someone going to the show who doesn't make it." Bassist Gene Simmons played an R&B-influenced bassline, which he considered a departure from his usual style. In 2014, Paste ranked the song number three on their list of the 20 greatest Kiss songs, and in 2019, Louder Sound ranked the song number one on their list of the 40 greatest Kiss songs.

Personnel

Charts