Russ Ballard Revisits KISS and Argent Hit 'God Gave Rock N' Roll To You'

02-17-2025

Russ Ballard has shared a video for his new rendition of "God Gave Rock N' Roll To You", the song that he penned that was a hit for both Argent and KISS.

Ballard had this to say, "It reflected the optimism I felt at the time, with lines like 'love your friend, love your neighbour, love your life and love your labour, it's never too late to change your mind.' It was a hit for Argent and a hit for KISS 18 years later when it was included in the film 'Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey.'"

This new rendition of "God Gave Rock N' Roll To You" follows Russ's recent release of a new version of "New York Groove", which was a hit for KISS guitarist Ace Frehley on his 1978 solo album.

Freeman Promotions shared this background info on Russ: Ballard is simply one of the most renowned and gifted songwriters in pop and rock music. His music career started when he was only 14 years old, and he wrote a tune, which was recorded by The Shadows, appearing on their album, 'The Sound Of The Shadows' in 1964.

During the 70s and 80s, his songs ruled the airwaves, and the list of hits is pretty much endless. From "Since You Been Gone" (Rainbow), "God Gave Rock'n'Roll To You" (Argent and KISS), "So You Win Again" (Hot Chocolate), "New York Groove" (Hello and Ace Frehley), "You Can Do Magic" (America), "Winning" (Santana) or "I Don't Believe In Miracles" (Colin Blunstone) - just to name a few - everyone who needed a great song knew that with RUSS BALLARD they could not go wrong.

Numerous records/artists were also produced by him, like Roger Daltrey, America, Elkie Brooks, Skindred or Sada Vidoo. In 1974, he started a solo career (after his stint with the band Argent in early 70's), which had its highest momentum with the 'S/t' album in 1984 (which included the hit single "Voices") and the follow up "The Fire Still Burns".

Since then, BALLARD has released 10 studio albums and is still writing and producing hits. Three songs from his 1984 and 1985 albums were featured in the TV show "Miami Vice" and were extensively played on dance floors around Europe.