10 Classic Rock Songs That Were Written For Someone Else
5. Hard Luck Woman - Paul Stanley
When you reach the top of the charts once, you're going to want to stretch your writing chops a little bit more later down the line. No artist can write the same song forever, even if the members of KISS have certainly tried to do that over and over trying to milk the success of Rock and Roll All Nite. As the sessions for Rock and Roll Over started though, Paul Stanley had some folksy rock on his mind when penning his next ballad.
Whether or not this was trying to capture the same magic that Beth did one album before, Hard Luck Woman was the same story song about a down on her luck girl, with Paul trying to convince her that things will be okay and she'll eventually wind up with the one she loves. Before Peter Criss even stepped up to the mic though, Stanley was originally trying to write something that he could sell to Rod Stewart, with the vocal range being more in his style.
Once the song started to take shape though, Rod had passed on the song, probably because it may have been too similar to the kind of ballads he had done like Maggie May in the past. Then again, Peter and Rod have that same raspy tone to their voice, so it ended up working out whichever way you listen to it. Though Paul may have written every bit of this song, Peter's voice makes the whole thing feel a lot more experienced.