Hear Peter Criss on Richie Scarlet’s ‘The Catman and the Emperor’
Peter Criss has come out of retirement to play drums on a new song by his former bandmate Richie Scarlet, "The Catman & the Emperor."
The track, which can be streamed below, references both of their nicknames. Criss became known as the "Catman" during his time in Kiss and Scarlet was given the nickname "The Emperor of Rock and Roll" during Scarlet's tenure in Ace Frehley's solo band, Frehley's Coment.
"Well, it was a joke," he said in 1997. "Elvis Presley obviously was the king, and then once he died, some people in New York started calling me that just as a goof, and then Ace started calling me that, and the next thing you know I'm 'The Emperor of Rock and Roll.'"
The song isn't the first piece of music from Criss since he announced his retirement in June 2017. Back in July, he uploaded an impromptu video of him singing along with his 1978 solo single "Don't You Let Me Down."
"My friend and a longtime fan Mark stopped by my house to help me out with a few things," Criss wrote, "and while he was here he asked if I would sing for him one of his favorite songs from my 1978 solo record, So here I am singing live along with my solo record.” Criss added that Mark "wanted to share his exciting moment with all of you other fans and asked if I could post it on my site for you to see. He was so excited he was shaking. Hope you all enjoy it as well. We did. It was fun!!!"
Criss' last solo album was 2007's One for All.