Shock Me
by Kiss

Album: Love Gun (1977)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Mötley Crüe's "Kickstart My Heart" may be the most famous song inspired by the near death of a band member, but it's not the first. Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley was nearly electrocuted at a concert in Lakeland Florida on December 12, 1976 when he touched the metal railing of their improperly grounded set and a surge of electricity went through his body. Frehley fell to the floor unconscious, but was able to complete the show when he came to, even though he had no feeling his hands. After someone suggested he write a song about the incident, he came up with "Shock Me."
  • Frehley's near-electrocution may have been the inspiration for this song, but his lyric is really a stack of metaphors relating electrical terms to sex:

    "My insulation's gone, girl you make me overload"
    "Baby, I'm down to the bare wire"

    In our interview with Ace Frehley, we brought this up and the guitarist replied: "Isn't every Kiss song about sex? What Kiss song isn't about sex? Sex, drugs, and rock n' roll."
  • Frehley, the original guitarist with Kiss, had written or co-written some songs for the band ("Cold Gin," "Flaming Youth"), but "Shock Me" was the first song in which he sang lead. It became a showcase song for him at Kiss concerts.
  • Even AC/DC, the most electric of rock bands, never did a whole song relating that theme with sex. Their song "High Voltage" is about rock and roll.

Comments: 1

  • Debby from UsaAce was inspired, as he claims in his autobiography No Regrets, to write this after being electrocuted by an ungrounded wire during a sound check at a rehearsal in Florida in 1977 but then comments that it's more about getting laid than anything else.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Amy Grant

Amy GrantSongwriter Interviews

The top Contemporary Christian artist of all time on song inspirations and what she learned from Johnny Carson.

70s Music Quiz 1

70s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

The '70s gave us Muppets, disco and Van Halen, all which show up in this groovy quiz.

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music Scene

Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt On How To Create A Music SceneSong Writing

With $50 and a glue stick, Bruce Pavitt created Sub Pop, a fanzine-turned-label that gave the world Nirvana and grunge. He explains how motivated individuals can shift culture.

Jello Biafra

Jello BiafraSongwriter Interviews

The former Dead Kennedys frontman on the past, present and future of the band, what music makes us "pliant and stupid," and what he learned from Alice Cooper.

Bible Lyrics

Bible LyricsMusic Quiz

Rockers, rappers and pop stars have been known to quote the Bible in their songs. See if you match the artist to the biblical lyric.

Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty

Rob Thomas of Matchbox TwentySongwriter Interviews

Rob Thomas on his Social Distance Sessions, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana.