Longtime KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer says he's only ever seen one person cause Gene Simmons to change his famously me-first tune: Bob Dylan.
Thayer recalls an incredible day from 1991 when he, Simmons, Dylan and a few others recorded a song together. Not only was working with Dylan an amazing moment for him personally, Thayer tells Jay Gilbert, but it was also one of the only times he saw Simmons in awe of anyone but himself.
"He won't mind me saying this, but I've never seen Gene be anything but, 'I'm Gene Simmons and I'm the center of the universe,'" Thayer says. "But around Bob Dylan, he was like a kid just happy to be in the room."
Thayer says the collaboration came as a surprise to him. He recalls being summoned by Simmons the day of the session and instructed to find a keyboard player and drummer and meet him at the studio at 7 p.m.
"I got there, and sure enough, in walks Bob Dylan and his girlfriend. Suddenly, I'm thinking, 'It's Bob Dylan—the guy who influenced The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. Unreal!'"
Ultimate Classic Rock surmises that the song in question is probably "Waiting for the Morning Light." Simmons released it on his 2004 album, Asshole, the song was recorded years earlier. Dylan is credited with coming up with the song's chord progression, while Simmons wrote the rest.
Thayer says he saved the guitar strings Dylan used on the track.
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