"Shout It Out Loud" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss originally released on their 1976 album, Destroyer. It was released as the lead single off the album, and it proved to be successful, breaking the Top-40, the second Kiss single to achieve that. Also, it is the band's first single to top the charts, as it was number 1 hit in Canada on May 22, 1976.[1] The song was performed on almost every tour for many years, and is one of the most played songs in the Kiss catalog, having been played over one thousand and four hundred times as of June 2014.[2]
Overview
The title of the song was taken from British beat group The Hollies' song "We Want to Shout It Out Loud",[3] which Wicked Lester (pre-Kiss) recorded for the unreleased album.
The song was edited several times for singles and compilation albums. The single version of the song is 12 seconds shorter than the studio due to the last "Shout it, shout it, shout it out loud" line being excluded.[4] The Alive II single, which was described by Billboard magazine as a "raucous rocker" that "catches the excitement and energy of the live show,"[5] is 23 seconds shorter than the album song due to the removal of audience chant "We want Kiss".[6] The Killers version is the shortest with the duration of 2:35 as a result of the fade-out of the song starting during the first repetition of the "Shout it, shout it, shout it out loud" lyric following Gene Simmons' "Oh yeah".[7] The version found on Smashes, Thrashes & Hits is 16 seconds longer, as the chorus repeats and the song ends with "Shout it!".[8]
Released as a single in 1976, the band and their record company, Casablanca Records, were trying to cash in on the success of their previous single, the live version of "Rock and Roll All Nite", by releasing another anthem. While the song would break into the American Billboard Top 40, peaking at #31, it would prove to not be as successful as its predecessor was but would remain in the band's concert set lists for almost every tour from that point on. In Canada, the single was far more successful, reaching #1 on the RPM national singles chart on May 22, 1976.[1] The song is also one of few to be sung by both Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. A music video was made for the live version of the song from the 1996 concert on Tiger Stadium, from the Alive/Worldwide Tour. It was directed by Wayne Isham.
Legacy
The song was performed on almost every tour since its release, being dropped for Lick It Up Tour, Animalize Tour and Asylum Tour.[2] It was listed as the 27th single of '76 in Canada.[9]
A 2007 re-recording of the song by the band is featured on the music/rhythm video game Guitar Hero 5. The song is featured in the movie Detroit Rock City and appears on the soundtrack for the movie.[10] The cast of Glee covered the song in the episode "Theatricality". The male part of the group (excluding Kurt Hummel) were also dressed as Kiss members.[11] The song was also featured in a What's New, Scooby-Doo? episode "A Scooby-Doo Halloween".[12]
