PETER CRISS On Beating Breast Cancer Nearly Two Decades Ago: 'God Gave Me My Miracle'

In a new interview with Julian Gill, Lonnie Weischaar and Ken Keenan of the KissFAQ podcast, original KISS drummer Peter Criss spoke about the lyrical inspiration for the song "Walking On Water" from his latest solo album, simply titled "Peter Criss", which arrived on December 19, 2025. Asked how important the "Walking On Water" track is to him, Peter responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Very important. I had breast cancer a while back, and I prayed. I'm a very religious guy, so I really prayed very, very hard. I was at church probably more than the pastor, and I really prayed hard. And God gave me my miracle. And I felt, and I kid you not, that I really could walk on water."

He continued: "Have you ever watched that 'Being There' movie with Chauncey Gardner? And at the end he walks on water, and you realize he's an angel. I love that movie. And I felt like that. I felt like I could walk on the ocean, and it was such a high. I was so elated that I was cured. And so I wanted to write a religious song, and I wanted to write about the experience that I was feeling inside, 'cause I always sing from the heart. Everything comes from my heart. And that's one of my favorite songs. I'm glad you brought it up, because 'Walking On Water' is special. I think Paul Shaffer played an amazing organ on it. The whole band was just dynamite. But the vocals were very — yeah, it's near and dear to my heart. It's one of my favorite songs on the album… That meant so much to me about beating cancer, 'cause I'm a big cancer guy. Every year I go out on October and I raise money for men for breast cancer."

Criss, who turned 80 last month, went on to say that he will continue to write and record music as long as he is physically able to. "I'll never stop, man," he said. "I ain't stopping until they put me in the box. I'm gonna keep on going till I… Music is a gift from God. I'm so blessed that I'm talking to you guys and talking about my writing and my composing and my feeling about music.

"My mom used to say, 'Wasted talent is a bad thing,' and I grew up with that always in my ear," he explained. "And I got a gift from the Lord, and I'm gonna just keep going until I can't. And that's the way it is. If I get to live to 180, then I'm gonna be still singing and playing them drums at 180. I'm never gonna stop."

Criss, who discovered a lump in his left nipple in December 2007, told Reuters men need to get over their perception that breast cancer is a woman's disease.

"It can happen to you, and when it does, if you don't deal with it right away, with your 'dude' and your metal and your tattoos, you'll go in the box and we'll see you."

Back in 2015, Criss told the Asbury Park Press about his battle with breast cancer: "I try to get the awareness to men that we get it. Men don't know. What annoys me is that it's called breast cancer. Bingo, right off the bat, it's breast cancer. Why isn't it called pec cancer?"

He continued: "Every year I meet 20 18-year-old boys (who have breast cancer) and they don't know what to do. They're embarrassed. It's a chick's disease. Only girls get it.

"My battle is I just want guys to know they can get it, and if they can detect it immediately [they can be cured]. [Early detection] saved my life and I've now become very involved."

While some men feel embarrassed because of "this macho crap," Criss told CNN surviving breast cancer was actually a blessing. He was treated before the tumor could spread and said he was speaking about male breast cancer to raise the profile of this rare disease.

Criss, who played drums for KISS and was known as "Catman," offered this advice to men who spot lumps in their breast: "Don't sit around playing Mr. Tough Guy. Don't say 'It's going to go away.' It might not and you might not see life anymore and how beautiful that is."

In a 2011 interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, Peter said that he first noticed signs of trouble when he discovered "a nodule, like a lump" in his nipple when he got back from the gym. He explained: "Look out for bumps and pain, a kind of pain where you just know this is a kind of pain I've never had before. I've had cysts and I remember them and I remember the doctor taking them out. This was different, it hurt like hell, it got bigger as I screwed around with it… I swear, I just knew that breast cancer had hit me, for some reason. I think that was my angel speaking, and the red light went on, like, 'This is something more, Peter. You've got to check this out now. By the grace of God, my wife was going that day for her own cancer problems, and told her doctor about me. She checked me out and said, 'If my husband had that, I would send him over to [the doctor] immediately, like now."

"Peter Criss" was co-produced by Criss alongside Barry Pointer, who has worked with Ozzy Osbourne, John 5, MÖTLEY CRÜE, Steve Stevens, Pearl Aday and Dolly Parton. Joining the legendary KISS musician on the LP are Billy Sheehan and Matthew Montgomery (a.k.a. Piggy D.) on bass, John 5 and Mike McLaughlin on guitar and Paul Shaffer on piano. The record also features the talents of backing vocalists Dennis and Sharon Collins, and Cat Manning of CAT 5.

The album is Criss's first solo release since 2007's "One For All", which arrived 13 years after his previous solo LP.

The first details of Criss's new rock solo album were released in April by famed KISStorian Julian Gill, who has been running the KissFAQ web site since the mid-1990s.

Criss first left KISS in 1980. Since then he's worked with other bands and released solo albums. He teamed up with KISS again for a reunion tour in the 1990s and most recently in 2004. He was replaced by Eric Singer.

In addition to playing drums in KISS, Peter also provided lead vocals for a number the band's most popular and memorable songs, including "Beth", "Black Diamond" and "Hard Luck Woman".

Peter last appeared onstage with all three other original members of KISS when the group was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2014, though he and his former bandmates didn't perform at the event.

Criss and the other two surviving original members of KISS — guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley and bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons — received a Kennedy Center Honor at a December 7, 2025 ceremony.

Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley died on October 16 after a fall at his New Jersey home. He was 74 years old. His cause of death was listed as blunt trauma injuries to his head due to a fall, according to a report from the Morris County Medical Examiner. The manner of his death was ruled an accident.

Image courtesy of KissFAQ