"Sure Know Something" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

, band

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

, released in 1979 as the second single off their seventh studio album ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

''. While not as successful as the album's previous single, "

I Was Made for Lovin' You "I Was Made for Lovin' You" is a song by American Rock music, rock band Kiss (band), Kiss, released in 1979 as the lead single off their seventh studio album ''Dynasty (Kiss album), Dynasty''. The song became a smash hit on the pop singles ch ...

", the song reached No. 47 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and was another top ten hit (No. 4) for the band in Australia.

Composition

"Sure Know Something" is a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

and

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

ballad written by vocalist and rhythm guitarist

Paul Stanley Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who was the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss from the band's inception in 1973 to their retireme ...

and producer

Vini Poncia Vincent "Vini" Poncia Jr. (born April 29, 1942) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Life and career Early life Poncia was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He is of Italian ancestry. The 1960s In the 1960s, Poncia formed a ...

. Along with " Strutter '78", "

" and "Dirty Livin'", the song is one of four

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

flirtations by Kiss. One of the more sophisticated songs written by Stanley, it's heavily carried by a bass guitar line that follows a close melody to the vocals. Musically and lyrically darker than most Kiss tracks, it's played in a

minor key In music theory, the key of a piece is the group of pitches, or scale, that forms the basis of a musical composition in Western classical music, jazz music, art music, and pop music. A particular key features a '' tonic (main) note'' and it ...

with lyrics referring to being overwhelmed by loss of virginity.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' declared the song has "a rock-anthemic quality with just the right pop hook to take it straight to the top." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' called it a "megarocker that bowls you over with sheer power and enthusiasm." A personal favorite of ''Castleton Spartan'' writer Jack Aicher, he claims the "retro sounds from the vinyl pull the listener deeper into this song." A promotional video, directed by John Goodhue, features the band on a mock-up of what was their ''Dynasty''-era stage show.KISS video information
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Appearances

"Sure Know Something" has appeared on the following Kiss albums: * ''Dynasty'' - studio version * ''Killers'' - studio version * ''

Kiss Unplugged ''Kiss Unplugged'' is a live album by the American rock band Kiss, released in 1996. It was recorded in studio for the television program ''MTV Unplugged'' and released as part of a series of live and video albums. It is the first Kiss live al ...

'' - live version * ''Greatest Kiss'' - studio version * ''The Box Set'' - studio version * ''Kiss Symphony: Alive IV'' - live version * ''Gold'' - studio version Other appearances: *

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of the "Dirty Livin'" single * B-side of the "2,000 Man" single *

Double A-Side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

of the " Tomorrow" single in Mexico

Track listing

Personnel

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar *

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; ; born August 25, 1949) also known by his stage persona "The Demon", is an Israeli-born American musician. He was the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss, which he co-founded wit ...

– bass *

Ace Frehley Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (, ; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician who was the original lead guitarist, occasional lead vocalist and founding member of the rock band Kiss (band), Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. ...

– additional guitar, backing vocals *

Anton Fig Anton Fig (born 8 August 1952) is a South African session drummer perhaps best known as the drummer and second-in-command for Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band. David Letterman, for whom the band served as house band on his lat ...

– drums *

– keyboards, backing vocals

Charts

Weekly Charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control Kiss (band) songs 1979 singles Songs about heartache Songs written by Vini Poncia Songs written by Paul Stanley Casablanca Records singles