GENE SIMMONS: 'THE BEATLES Are Above And Beyond Anything That Anybody's Seen In Music Over 200 Years'

During an appearance on a recent episode of The School Of Greatness podcast with host Lewis Howes, KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons was asked to name some of the greatest musicians and songwriters in the world that he has seen or heard. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, clearly THE BEATLES are above and beyond anything that anybody's seen in music over, oh, 200 years — easily. Not since the Renaissance. You have to understand, they only existed seven years and they came from a place that was a pool filled with liver, Liverpool, where nothing ever happened. High unemployment rate, no experience, no resume, no nothing. And yet [sings] 'I wanna hold your hand', [sings] 'She loves you. Yeah, yeah, yeah.' And that last chord, that minor ninth is as sophisticated chord, if you know about music… That thing is almost like a jazz chord — unheard of in rock music.'

He continued: "Okay, look, I'm gonna give you something you'll be able to understand. [THE ROLLING STONES'] 'Satisfaction' is one of the great songs… It takes about 40 seconds to get to the first [chorus], 'I can't get no…' Or anything. [CREAM's] 'Sunshine Of Your Love'. It takes about 50 seconds to get [to] 'I've been waiting so long' and all that. On and on and on. THE BEATLES. 'I just wrote a new song.' 'What is it called?' 'It's called 'Help'.' 'How's it go?' It goes like this: [sings] 'Help. I need somebody. Help.' Not even an introduction, nothing. 'Got another one for you.' 'What is it called?' 'It's called 'Yesterday'.' 'How's it go?' It goes like this: [sings] 'Yesterday. 'I got another one for you. It's called 'Michelle'.' 'How's it go?' [Sings] 'Michelle…' 'Got another one for you. It's called 'Hey, Jude'.' Not only does it be begin with 'Hey, Jude', the word 'Hey' is before the music. [Sings] 'Hey, Jude', and then the chords come in. Those are what's called perfect songs. Not only that, but the title of the song is the first word of the song, it's the most memorable song and it's the last word in the song. [Sings] 'Yesterday.' The last [words of the] song, [sings] 'Cause I believe in yesterday.' Who writes songs like that? It's undeniable, their writing. [Paul] McCartney, especially, by far is the most successful songwriter in all of recorded history. There have been over a thousand different artists who've recorded just 'Yesterday'."

Gene previously reflected on his first memory of THE BEATLES in an interview with SPIN magazine. He said: "When I was a kid, I was affected by THE BEATLES — like a religious event, like a singularity. I wasn't a musician. I was just a kid. Turn on the TV, and THE BEATLES came out: 'She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah.' I'm going, 'What is that? What accent is that?' And they look like girls, and they're small human beings with silly haircuts."

In a separate interview with Goldmine, Simmons named THE BEATLES' self-titled album, commonly referred to as the White Album, as one of the ten LPs that changed his life. He said: "THE BEATLES' White Album is one of my favorites because you're seeing turmoil within perhaps the greatest band that ever existed that recorded its own music, where each member was a star. But you could hear and feel the disjointed sense of that album, although clearly the songs shined and the playing and the production was terrific."

He continued: "It's interesting that 'Abbey Road' perhaps was the greatest BEATLES album, and they were breaking up at that point, but somehow that had a more unified thing. But just for crazy out-there music, it's gotta be The White Album."

Two years ago, Gene told the PA news agency: "Were it not for THE BEATLES, England would have been about Knights Of The Round Table and Guy Fawkes and all this other stuff — just another country with a history and lots of countries have colorful histories. THE BEATLES made it, and created a culture, almost a religion, and Liverpool became a holy ground… so when THE BEATLES hit, it was like a H-bomb. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing. It was unbelievable, and all of us kept pointing back to England and it affected me so much that I actually started to speak in a fake English accent. I mean, Elvis [Presley] was a star, but it didn't affect culture. He was a true rock star, but didn't affect how you lead your life or what you did or what you thought. But THE BEATLES changed everything. It was almost like BB and AB — before THE BEATLES and after THE BEATLES. Everything changed, and it was a British invasion which hit not just America, but all around the world."