British crooner Engelbert Humperdinck released a cover of Kiss classic “Beth,” with former Yes member Rick Wakeman providing a piano track.
The new version of the 1976 song appears on Humperdinck’s new album Faithfully, which arrives on Aug. 28.
It comprises “Humperdinck’s interpretations of songs originally made famous by rock ’n’ roll bands Journey, Ozzy Osbourne, Kiss, Aerosmith and others,” record label Cleopatra noted in a press release.
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“The album includes guest appearances by an impressive roster of musicians, including Jonathan Cain (Journey) … Al Di Meola, Harvey Mandel (Canned Heat), Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) and Eric Gales.”
Humperdinck’s video is shown below, along with the album track listing and guest list.
Watch Engelbert Humperdinck Featuring Rick Wakeman Perform ‘Beth’
Born Arnold Dorsey and performing as Gerry Dorsey before adopting the name of a 19th-20th century German composer, Humperdinck is best known for his 1967 version of “Release Me,” previously recorded by the Everley Brothers, Esther Phillips and others.
“Beth” remains Kiss’ most successful single, helping make parent album Destroyer their third top 40 hit. The song itself reached No.7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Written and sung by drummer Peter Criss, with input from collaborator Stan Penridge, it began as a heavier rock song titled “Beck” before producer Bob Ezrin decided that Kiss needed a ballad-style track to appeal to a wider audience.
In 2023, Ezrin said that he’d thought the first version was “kind of arrogant,” its subject seeming to be a “guy saying basically, ‘Screw you, you know, I’m not coming home. Me and the boys are more important.’”
He continued: “I thought, ‘This is actually a very sad song. Why isn’t he coming home? He knows that he’s breaking her heart. Why? What’s going on?’
“So we made it into a ballad – a really kind of sensitive, sad ballad. And Peter just happens to have this kind of smoky voice that lent itself to the song perfectly in that form.”
Ezrin admitted that the other members of Kiss “didn’t feel like it was representative,” continuing, “And it wasn’t, you know, not at the time. It wasn’t representative of Kiss as people knew them – but it was representative of the Kiss of Destroyer.”
Engelbert Humperdinck, ‘Faithfully’ Track Listing
1. “Faithfully” feat. Jonathan Cain & Keven Eknes
2. “Take My Breath Away” feat. Al Di Meola
3. “More Than Words” feat. Eric Gales
4. “Something” feat. Carmine Rojas
5. “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” feat. Harvey Mandel
6. “Mama, I’m Coming Home”
7. “Drive”
8. “Feel Like Makin’ Love” feat. Ian Anderson & Bob Daisley
9. “Heaven” feat. Marcus Nand
10. “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” feat. Sonny Landreth
11. “Beth” feat. Rick Wakeman
12. “Always My Love” feat. Rene Le Blanc
13. “Alone” feat. Steve Morse & Jonathan Cain
14. “Can’t Get It Out Of My Head” feat. Marcus Nand & Jonathan Cain
15. “I Won’t Back Down” feat. George Lynch
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Gallery Credit: Matthew Wilkening
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