Calling Dr. Love
Encyclopedia
"Calling Dr. Love" is a song by the American
hard rock band Kiss
, originally released on their 1976 album Rock and Roll Over
. The song was written by Kiss bassist/lead vocalist Gene Simmons
at a Holiday Inn
in Evansville, Indiana. It was the second single released from the album, and the group's fourth US Top 20 single, reaching #16 in Billboard
. The song's title came from Gene Simmons' recollection of a Three Stooges
short called "Men in Black", containing an announcement over a hospital intercom, "Calling Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard", meaning Moe, Larry and Curly, respectively. The songs' main riff is very reminiscent of the song "Cold Ethyl" by Alice Cooper, from the 1975 LP, "Welcome To My Nightmare".
A live version of the song was included on Alive II
, released later in 1977. Since then, "Calling Dr. Love" has appeared on numerous Kiss compilation albums. In 2003, it appeared on Kiss's fifth live album, Kiss Symphony: Alive IV
.
Rock Band
.
The song also featured in the setlist of the Kiss Alive 35 tour in 2008.
The song is mentioned - albeit briefly - in The Wastelands, the third installment of Stephen King
's epic Dark Tower Series.
British wrestling ring announcer and former wrestler, 'Sweet' Stevie Aaron uses the song as his entrance theme.
The song was used in 2009 in a commercial for the cherry-flavored Dr. Pepper. The commercial features Gene Simmons on a couch with several women, in front of a large electric KISS logo which flashes when he says that the new product has a "KISS of cherry." His son
enters and scolds him for over-emphasizing the word "kiss," as the flavor is very smooth. The spot ends with "Dr. Love" reminding the audience to trust him, as "I'm a doctor!" A variant of this ad aired during Super Bowl XLIV
.
The Canadian 8 track tape version of the song is extended by about 55 seconds, with a smoothly edited-in repeat of the guitar solo.
Shandi's Addiction (vocalist Maynard James Keenan
, guitarist Tom Morello
, bassist Billy Gould
, and drummer Brad Wilk
) as part of the Kiss tribute album Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved
.
In 1996, the industrial rock
band The Electric Hellfire Club covered the song on their album Calling Dr. Luv, renaming the album and song to reflect the name of their keyboardist The Rev. Dr. Luv who had recently died, which the album was dedicated to. The punk
band Hullabaloo covered the song for the Kiss tribute album
Hard to Believe: Kiss Covers Compilation
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hard rock band Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
, originally released on their 1976 album Rock and Roll Over
Rock and Roll Over
-Personnel:*Paul Stanley - rhythm guitar , vocals*Gene Simmons - bass guitar, vocals, rhythm guitar on "Ladies Room"*Ace Frehley - lead guitar, backing vocals*Peter Criss - drums, percussion, vocals-Charts:-Certifications:...
. The song was written by Kiss bassist/lead vocalist Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
at a Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
in Evansville, Indiana. It was the second single released from the album, and the group's fourth US Top 20 single, reaching #16 in Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
. The song's title came from Gene Simmons' recollection of a Three Stooges
Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...
short called "Men in Black", containing an announcement over a hospital intercom, "Calling Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard", meaning Moe, Larry and Curly, respectively. The songs' main riff is very reminiscent of the song "Cold Ethyl" by Alice Cooper, from the 1975 LP, "Welcome To My Nightmare".
A live version of the song was included on Alive II
Alive II
Alive II is a 1977 live album from Kiss. It is the group's eighth album and second live album.-The songs:The origins of Alive II go back to early 1977 when the band's manager, Bill Aucoin, had the idea to have Eddie Kramer record a live album during the evening show at Budokan Hall in Tokyo on...
, released later in 1977. Since then, "Calling Dr. Love" has appeared on numerous Kiss compilation albums. In 2003, it appeared on Kiss's fifth live album, Kiss Symphony: Alive IV
KISS Symphony: Alive IV
Kiss Symphony: Alive IV is a 2003 live album from Kiss performing with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra . The arrangements were made by David Campbell, who also conducted the MSO. It is the group's fourth album in the Alive series and first release under Kiss Records and Sanctuary Records...
.
In popular culture
The song was released as downloadable content in the music video gameMusic video game
A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs...
Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
.
The song also featured in the setlist of the Kiss Alive 35 tour in 2008.
The song is mentioned - albeit briefly - in The Wastelands, the third installment of Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's epic Dark Tower Series.
British wrestling ring announcer and former wrestler, 'Sweet' Stevie Aaron uses the song as his entrance theme.
The song was used in 2009 in a commercial for the cherry-flavored Dr. Pepper. The commercial features Gene Simmons on a couch with several women, in front of a large electric KISS logo which flashes when he says that the new product has a "KISS of cherry." His son
Nick Simmons
Nicholas Adam Tweed Simmons is an American reality comic book creator, musician and television personality.-Early life:...
enters and scolds him for over-emphasizing the word "kiss," as the flavor is very smooth. The spot ends with "Dr. Love" reminding the audience to trust him, as "I'm a doctor!" A variant of this ad aired during Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League champion for the 2009 season. The Saints defeated the Colts by a score of...
.
The Canadian 8 track tape version of the song is extended by about 55 seconds, with a smoothly edited-in repeat of the guitar solo.
Covers
In 1994, the song was recorded and re-arranged by the one-off supergroupSupergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
Shandi's Addiction (vocalist Maynard James Keenan
Maynard James Keenan
Maynard James Keenan is an American rock singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, winemaker, and actor. Originally from Ohio, Keenan spent his high school and college years in Michigan. After serving in the Army in the early 1980s, he attended Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids...
, guitarist Tom Morello
Tom Morello
Thomas Baptiste "Tom" Morello is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, his acoustic solo act The Nightwatchman, and his newest group, Street Sweeper Social Club...
, bassist Billy Gould
Billy Gould
Billy Gould is an American musician and producer. He is noted for playing bass in the band Faith No More.- Faith No More :...
, and drummer Brad Wilk
Brad Wilk
Brad Wilk is an American musician, best known as the drummer of the American rock bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave.-Family and early life:...
) as part of the Kiss tribute album Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved
KISS My Ass: Classic KISS Regrooved
-Charts:Album - Billboard Singles - Billboard -External links:*...
.
In 1996, the industrial rock
Industrial rock
Industrial rock is a musical genre that fuses industrial music and specific rock subgenres. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal, with which it is often confused...
band The Electric Hellfire Club covered the song on their album Calling Dr. Luv, renaming the album and song to reflect the name of their keyboardist The Rev. Dr. Luv who had recently died, which the album was dedicated to. The punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Hullabaloo covered the song for the Kiss tribute album
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
Hard to Believe: Kiss Covers Compilation
Hard to Believe: Kiss Covers Compilation
-Various labels:Waterfront Records DAMP-121 Southern Records DAMP-121 Records C/Z Records CZ-024 -External links:* Amazon...
.
Personnel
- Gene SimmonsGene SimmonsGene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
– lead vocals, bass guitar - Ace FrehleyAce FrehleyPaul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...
– lead guitar - Paul StanleyPaul StanleyStanley Harvey Eisen , better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's...
– rhythm guitar, backing vocals - Peter CrissPeter CrissGeorge Peter John Criscuola , better known as Peter Criss, is an American drummer and singer, best known as the original drummer for the rock band Kiss...
– drums, percussion, backing vocals