Christine Sixteen

"Christine Sixteen"
Single by Kiss
from the album Love Gun
Released	1977 (U.S.)
Format	7"
Recorded	Record Plant Studios, New York City: 1977
Genre	Hard rock
Length	3:14
Label	Casablanca NB-889-AS-RE-1 (US)
Writer(s)	Gene Simmons
Producer	Eddie Kramer & Kiss
Kiss singles chronology
"Calling Dr. Love" / "Take Me" (1976) "Christine Sixteen" / "Shock Me" (1977) "Love Gun" / "Hooligan" (1977)

"Christine Sixteen" is a song by American hard rock band Kiss. The song originally appeared on their 1977 album Love Gun. Released as a single in the United States in 1977, the single peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that year,^[1] and would do well in Canada, peaking at number 22.

Written and sung by bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons, the song is about an older man with a crush on a sixteen-year old girl named Christine. The song's subject and lyrics were controversial and made some hit radio stations reluctant to put it on their playlists at all, while others (including WABC in the band's home town of New York, and WKBW in Buffalo) only played it after 7 PM as an album cut. The song's title was originated by bandmate Paul Stanley who was planning to write a song under the title, until Simmons beat him to it.^[2] Two different time lengths are printed on the single; one at 3:13, and another at 2:52. They both run 3:10.Although Kiss is often considered a heavy metal band by many, longtime fans know that the group also had a soft spot for the Beatles and old-time rock & roll -- as evidenced by their covers of "Kissin' Time," "Then She Kissed Me," "Any Way You Want It," and the 1977 original "Christine Sixteen" (off Love Gun). Written by Gene Simmons, the song lyrically deals with your usual Simmons fair -- sex, sex, sex -- as he professes his admiration for a 16-year-old high-school student. A simplistic, repetitive piano figure gives the song a rock & roll feel throughout, while the harmony in the chorus (supplied by Paul Stanley and Simmons) is pure early-'60s rock, as is a romantic midsong "rap" by Simmons. One of Kiss' more overlooked tracks, it proves to be one of Simmons' more tuneful (he's known mainly for penning Kiss' heaviest songs). And there's an interesting story behind the demo of "Christine Sixteen." Simmons had befriended a then-unknown band in Los Angeles, Van Halen (then known as Mammoth), and had guitarist Eddie Van Halen and drummer Alex Van Halen play on the song's demo. Simmons was so impressed with Eddie's melodic lead that he made Kiss' guitarist Ace Frehley play it note for note on Kiss' version.

The song was sampled by Tone Lōc in his 1989 song "Funky Cold Medina".

The song was covered by the Gin Blossoms on the 1994 Kiss tribute album Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved and by All on Hard to Believe: Kiss Covers Compilation.

Personnel

• Gene Simmons - lead vocals/bass guitar
• Ace Frehley - lead guitar
• Paul Stanley - rhythm guitar/backing vocals
• Peter Criss - drums
• Eddie Kramer - piano

Charts

Country (1977)	Peak position
Australia	99
Canada	22
Germany	46
United States	25

References

1. ^ "AllMusic Billboard singles". http://www.allmusic.com/album/r11060. Retrieved 2009-01-27. 
2. ^ Leaf, David and Ken Sharp. KISS: Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography, Warner Books, 2003. ISBN 0-446-53073-5