The song was a last-minute addition to the "Destroyer" album. According to Bill Aucoin, the manager of Kiss at that time, Simmons and Stanley did not want "Beth" on the album because it was not a typical Kiss song. Aucoin insisted on keeping the song on the record. During recording, Criss was the only band member in the studio, making "Beth" the only Kiss song to have no instrumentals from any member of the band. Criss was backed by a recording of a piano and harp, a dramatic departure from the band's usual hard rock sound.