"Hard Luck Woman" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss and the lead single from their 1976 album, Rock and Roll Over. It was originally written by Paul Stanley as a possible track for Rod Stewart, but after the success of the soft rock ballad "Beth", Kiss decided to keep it for themselves as a follow-up. Stanley has stated his admiration and love of Stewart's music numerous times, and that "Hard Luck Woman" was inspired by Rod Stewart, in particular the songs "Maggie May" and "You Wear It Well". While Stewart's music served as a partial inspiration for the song, the nautical themed song "Brandy" by American pop-rock band Looking Glass served as Stanley's main inspiration.

Details

Alluding to the style of "Hard Luck Woman", Steven Bailey called the song an exemplar of "gentle folk rock". Sung by Peter Criss, the single was an attempt to follow the success of the hit single "Beth" released earlier in the year by releasing another love song sung by Criss. According to Billboard Magazine, Criss' vocal performance sounds similar to Rod Stewart. It proved to be a top 20 hit in the US, peaking at number 15. A version of "Hard Luck Woman" appears on Kiss's 1977 Alive II. Kiss also performed the song during their MTV Unplugged appearance with Stanley on vocals. It did not appear on the CD of the performance, but it was one of five bonus tracks on the DVD.

Reception

Cash Box said that the song is moving away from heavy metal and that "the lead vocal is not unlike Rod Stewart — there's a growling, bluesy intensity, centered around acoustic rhythm work."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Garth Brooks version

In 1994, country star Garth Brooks recorded the song for the tribute album Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved, with Kiss themselves providing the instrumentation. Kiss and Brooks performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in promotion of the album.

Charts

Other versions

Personnel

Alive II version

In popular culture