Rock Soldiers
| Rock Soldiers | |
|---|---|
| Frehley's Comet | |
| publication | July 7, 1987 |
| length | 5:05 |
| Genre (s) | Rock music |
| Author (s) | Ace Frehley , Chip Taylor |
| album | Frehley's Comet |
Rock Soldiers is the title of a song written by Ace Frehley and Chip Taylor that was released on Frehley's Comet's 1987 debut album . At the same time, the song was the first single released from the album . The title picks up on an accident Frehley's drive on May 21, 1983.
background
Some time after Frehley Kiss had left, he met with a friend in Manhattan ( New York City ) to give it its recently acquired DeLorean show. After their meeting, both went to a bar and drank. Although they later became drunk (Frehley said he was too drunk to drive at all), Frehley got behind the wheel of the car and drove towards Westchester, New York . The police noticed them, but managed to escape and continued to drink at Frehley's acquaintance, which they did again the next morning.
To do this, they went to a bar in White Plains that belonged to a cousin of Frehley's friend. As they left the bar, Frehley was driving again, bumped into two vehicles in the bar's parking lot, and hit another as he pulled from the parking lot onto the street. The most recent collision was watched by a passing police officer who stopped to record the accident. When he asked Frehley for his papers, he said he had them in the car. At the vehicle he asked his friend to get out, got into the car and fled.
On the almost hour-long escape, Frehley disregarded numerous red traffic lights, collided with several other vehicles and drove the Bronx River Parkway as a wrong-way driver. After feeling like he'd shaken the police off, he stopped at a deli to ask a friend to come and pick him up. His plan was to report the car as stolen in order to avoid punishment. When he left the store, he was by now arrived police arrested and later set bail of 500 dollars released.
Recording and publication
Rock Soldiers was recorded while working on the album at "Right Track Studios" and "Sound Ideas Studios" in New York City, as well as at "Master Sound Studios" (Astoria, NY) and "Bear Tracks" (Suffern, NY) .
The single was released on Megaforce Records ; an LP-sized promo single contained the title in identical versions on the A and B sides, but the song was 45 seconds longer than on the album.
Video
The video clip for the song was made in Canada, involving fifty fans who made their grand entrance during the guitar solo. The video was produced by Allan Weinrib, whose brother, Geddy Lee, is bassist for the band Rush .
Sources / individual references
- No regrets ; Ace Frehley & Joe Layden, MTV Books, 2011; ISBN 978-1451613940
- http://www.kissfaq.com/singles/ace/singles_ace.html Singles discography on kissfaq.com