Pop-punk legends Green Day are back on the road playing their first full-sized shows since before the COVID-19 pandemic, and so far, the performances have been an inspiring display of arena rock at its finest. This past Saturday (July 24) in Arlington, Texas, the trio affirmed that with a romping cover of KISS’s signature song, “Rock And Roll All Nite.”
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Already, the cover’s been a hit within the KISS community, especially for members of the band itself. “‘Tonight In DALLAS!’ Another reason to love @GreenDay!” Paul Stanley wrote on Twitter, sharing the video. “In Houston yesterday! Thank you, Gentlemen,” Gene Simmons said, a little foggy on Texan geography but with genuine praise nonetheless. Even the band’s official Twitter page got in on the action: “‘Rock And Roll All Nite’ tonight in Dallas. SO Cool!”
For Green Day, the cover comes after frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong, spent the past year covering all sorts of tunes. Last March, he put out a rendition of Tommy James and the Shondells’ “I Think We’re Alone Now.” In November, he followed up with a full album: No Fun Mondays, which includes Armstrong-ified versions of songs by Prince, John Lennon, Billy Bragg, and more.
Meanwhile, KISS has been making headlines recently themselves—in the past few weeks, Stanley and Simmons have both spoken on the record about how a reunion with the original lineup won’t be happening. Stanley, in an interview on SiriusXM, called any such prospect “impossible;” Simmons has made similar remarks. Stanley’s also created some buzz recently for calling out Megyn Kelly for mocking tennis star Naomi Osaka.
“Anyone brave and strong enough to seek help for their struggles whether physical or psychological should be commended, supported, and applauded,” he Tweeted last week, sharing an op-ed from the Chicago Sun-Times. “It’s vile that @megynkelly clearly finds joy mocking and ridiculing rather than extending an open hand. Shame on you.”
46 years old, “Rock And Roll All Nite” is still one of the most-loved songs in the entire canon of popular music—and insofar as covers that can get a crowd dancing go, it’s almost second to none. Covered by everyone from Poison to Toad The Wet Sprocket to Adam Lambert and more, the Green Day version is the latest to prove that rock ’n’ roll isn’t going away any time soon.
Listen to the original “Rock And Roll All Nite” and a few of the famous cover versions of it below:
