SIX DEGREES OF KISS: LITTLE RICHARD

Enrique Altamirano I accept your challenge and will connect Little Richard to KISS in six steps or less.

Little Richard is an androgynous singer-songwriter who played a very important role in the development of rock and roll. He also played Orvis Goodnight in Down and Out In Beverly Hills. How am I going to connect Richard Wayne Penniman to KISS in six steps or less? Like this:

1. Little Richard's 1964 album Little Richard Is Back (And There's a Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On) includes a version of the traditional folk standard "Goodnight Irene" which was originally popularized by Leadbelly.

2. A version of "Goodnight Irene" (aka "Irene Goodnight") also appears on a 1992 album called Still Life With Guitar by Kevin Ayers.

3. Kevin Ayers was originally a member of early UK prog/psych band The Soft Machine.

4. The Soft Machine's 1968 self-titled debut album was co-produced by Chas Chandler and Tom Wilson.

5. Chas Chandler is a very important figure in the history of rock and roll (he was an original member of The Animals with Eric Burdon and also managed both Jimi Hendrix and Slade) but I'm going to use Tom Wilson for my next link in the chain since he produced, among other things, the 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home by Bob Dylan.

6. Bob Dylan co-wrote the song "Waiting For the Morning Light" with Gene Simmons from KISS and the song appears on Gene's 2004 solo album Asshole.

And there you have it: