Peter Criss fires back at Gene Simmons over ‘Beth' songwriting claims

Peter Criss and Gene Simmons’ conflict intensified as the founding KISS drummer publicly refuted Simmons’ recent remarks questioning his role in writing the band’s 1976 hit, Beth.

Criss insisted he played a pivotal role in crafting the ballad and slammed his longtime bandmate for “talking about things he doesn’t know about.”

Appearing on the YouTube series Professor of Rock, Simmons dismissed Criss’ songwriting credit.

He said the drummer “had nothing to do with” the ballad.

He argued Criss merely sang the track and was “lucky enough to be in the same place at the same time” as Stan Penridge, who co‑wrote the original demo.

Criss didn’t hold back when asked by Billboard to respond.

He branded 76-year-old’s comments ‘ridiculous’ and ‘very uncalled for”.

He stressed that Simmons wasn’t present during the song’s conception in the late ’60s or its completion with producer Bob Ezrin.

“…he [Gene] talks about things that he doesn’t know about,” the 80-year-old said.

He explained that he wrote the melody and phrasing for the original demo, then worked closely with Ezrin to refine the track’s tempo and orchestration.

Criss emphasized that while Penridge’s verse and chorus remained, his core melody carried through to the final version.

He recalled sitting at the piano with Ezrin at the Record Plant studio to reshape verses and phrasing to fit the slower tempo.

“My name was credited to that song before it was a hit,” Criss added. “I would not put my name on a song I had nothing to do with. That is not who I am”.

Beth became one of KISS’s biggest commercial successes reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

It also earned the band a People’s Choice Award.