Kiss frontman Paul Stanley has put his recent voice troubles down to singing "through sheer willpower" to "cram in" as many shows as possible.
The singer underwent surgery on his vocal cords last month (Oct11) for a recurrent problem with his throat which left his voice "cracking".
The 59-year-old rocker admits 40 years of performing with Kiss left him struggling to sing, and he worked his voice too hard as the band attempted to fit in as many concerts as possible.
He tells the Hollywood Reporter, "(I was singing) through sheer willpower... (to) cram in as many shows as possible to maximise profit... The nature of rock singing is a strain on the voice and when you compound that with that amount of shows, you're not giving yourself time to recuperate and the problem is compounded... I was finding myself working harder and harder to do what was once effortless, and having already passed through puberty, I was surprised to hear my voice cracking."
Stanley is also convinced many stars ruin their vocal cords by partying too hard, adding, "If you're going to mix alcohol, cigarettes and drugs with singing, you've got a combustible combination that can only get you in trouble.
"When I was starring in Phantom of the Opera, I found I couldn't drink a glass of wine the night before because it affected my vocal cords the next night, so people who are staying up till all hours, snorting this, smoking that and drinking the other, turn over the sand timer and when the sand runs out, your number comes up."