KISS



More famous for their theatrics, white-face makeup, and flamboyant black-on-black costumes than for their twenty-four albums, KISS captured the imaginations of millions of teenagers. Vending a commercially potent mix of Hard Rock and glossy ballads, KISS' brand of music fell flat with the critics, but ignited an entire generation of budding music fans. On stage, the band often obscured its songs with pyrotechnics and dry-ice fog, but audiences loved every fire-breathing, blood-spitting minute of their shows. What some don't realize is that KISS' massive appeal as a touring band also translated to album sales, as the band ranks third behind The Rolling Stones and The Beatles for consecutive Gold records, with twenty-three (which ties them with Rush).

KISS was the brainchild of Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz in Haifa, Israel), a former elementary school teacher and bass player, and singer-guitarist Paul Stanley, who were band mates in a Manhattan-based group called Wicked Lester. The two recruited drummer Peter Criss (born Peter Crisscoula) through an ad in Rolling Stone magazine, and brought in guitarist Ace Frehley through a classified ad in The Village Voice. Simmons and Stanley had a concept for their new band right from the start, which was to perform in full theatrical regalia, including white pancake makeup with elaborate facial markings, platform boots, and outrageous black and silver get-ups. Fully costumed, each member of the band was in effect a cartoon character: Simmons was the Bat Lizard, Criss was the Cat, Frehley was the Spaceman, and Stanley was the Star Child. With this decision, KISS showed that while they may have been Rock 'n' Rollers at heart, they were marketing geniuses first and foremost.

At their second show at the Hotel Diplomat, Manhattan, in 1973, Flipside producer Bill Aucoin offered the band a management contract, and within two weeks they were signed to Neil Bogart's recently established Casablanca Records. Their first three albums failed to attract much attention, but in the Summer of 1975 their fortunes changed with the release of "Alive!", which spawned their first U.S. hit single with the reissued live version of "Rock And Roll All Nite" climbing to #12 in November. The album became their first certified Platinum record in the USA.

The appeal of KISS has always been based on their live shows: the garish greasepaint make-up, outrageous costumes and pyrotechnic stage effects, along with their hard-rocking anthems, combined to create what was billed as 'The Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Show On Earth'. In 1976, KISS released "Destroyer" under the direction of former Alice Cooper producer Bob Ezrin. Despite the band's Hard Rock style, the album's breakthrough track was the heavily orchestrated ballad "Beth", which featured drummer Peter Criss on vocals. The song went to #7 on the singles chart, virtually unheard-of territory for a Hard Rock band, and could rightly be called the first power ballad. With the success of "Beth", Marvel Comics paid the band the ultimate tribute by publishing a KISS comic book. The popular rumor of the day was that the red ink used in the illustrations contained a small amount of blood from the band members themselves, another stroke of marketing genius.

By 1977, KISS had topped the prestigious Gallup poll as the most popular act in the USA. They had become a marketing dream. KISS merchandise included make-up kits, masks, board games, pinball machines and a full-length science-fiction film, Kiss Meet The Phantom Of The Park. The ranks of their fan club, the KISS Army, had swollen to a six-figure number. In September 1978, all four group members released solo albums on the same day, a feat never before envisaged, let alone matched. At the time, this represented the biggest shipment of albums from one unit to record stores in the history of recorded music. The albums enjoyed varying degrees of success; Ace Frehley's record came out on top and included the U.S. Top 20 hit single, "New York Groove", Gene Simmons, whose album featured an impressive line-up of guests including Cher, Donna Summer, Bob Seger and Janis Ian, had a hit single in the UK with "Radioactive", which reached #41 in 1978.

Through the release of 1979's "Dynasty", KISS was a near-permanent fixture on the road and the band was still performing in full makeup. But by 1980, the dynasty had begun to come apart. Peter Criss left the band prior to the recording of "Unmasked", and was replaced for the sessions by future David Letterman Show drummer Anton Fig (he had played on Frehley's solo album). Criss was replaced permanently by Eric Carr in 1981. Surprisingly, guitarist Frehley left the band prior to 1982's embarrassing "Creatures of the Night" to form his own band, Frehley's Comet, and KISS' music suffered dramatically. By 1983, the popularity of the band was waning and drastic measures were called for. The legendary make-up that had concealed their true identities for almost ten years was removed on MTV in the USA. While fans were sympathetic to dermatological damage the cosmetics had caused over the years, part of the KISS magic was lost when they wiped their faces clean.

Vinnie Vincent, who had joined prior to "Lick It Up", left two years later, replaced by Mark St. John for "Animalize" (1984). St. John, in a sad twist, took ill with Reiter's syndrome, and in 1985, Bruce Kulick assumed the role and held it for a decade. Despite these adversities, the late-eighties saw KISS regaining its stature and enlisting a new army of fans. "Forever", from the 1989 album "Hot in the Shade", became the band's biggest single since "Beth" when it reached #9 in early 1990. But there would be more tragedy in 1991, when drummer Eric Carr died of cancer at the age of forty-one, casting a shadow over the band's first album in three years, "Revenge". Despite this setback, KISS contributed a hit cover version of Argent's classic "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You II", to the soundtrack of the film Bill And Ted's Bogus Journey, and brought in replacement drummer Eric Singer (ex- Black Sabbath). A third live album, "Alive III", followed in 1993, and its success sparked another year-long tour.

By this time, KISS had started to take its legion of fans, its history, and its influence very seriously. Under the watchful eye of Gene Simmons, a tribute album titled "Kiss My Ass" was hatched in 1994, which featured covers of KISS songs by artists as diverse as Lenny Kravitz and Garth Brooks. Next came another brilliant marketing move: instead of letting others put on KISS fan conventions, the band created an entire convention tour, the centerpiece to which was an intimate live performance. For fans, it was a chance to see KISS play acoustically for the first time, and the band even took requests.

The outgrowth of these shows was a 1995 MTV Unplugged session (released on CD in March of 1996), which saw the band bring back original members Criss and Frehley for special guest appearances. The current KISS line-up had a new studio album, "Carnival of Souls", finished and set for release in 1996, but with the success of the Unplugged set, plans changed dramatically. The Summer of 1996 saw a full-fledged KISS reunion tour become the season's hottest ticket, as Simmons, Stanley, Frehley and Criss put the makeup back on and cranked up the fog machine. So successful was the tour that Kulick and Singer were naturally somewhat annoyed and both quit. A year later "Psycho Circus" marked the return of the original line-up to the studio, and became the group's highest charting U.S. album when it debuted at #3 in October. The four platform-shoe wearing, cosmetic-covered men who endured years of critical derision were not only back, they were hipper than ever.

In early 2000, KISS started what they called their Farewell Tour, with dates that had them booked well into 2001. With a history spanning three decades, KISS' impact on a generation of music fans remained enormous, but dissention among its members continued to mar their success. Ace Frehley announced that his departure from the band was permanent in 2003 and he was replaced by Tommy Thayer. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley did not renew Peter Criss' contract when it expired in March 2004. He was replaced again by Eric Singer for the Rock The Nation tour, which was considered by insiders to be of only nominal success. The fifty-eight dates grossed about 20.3 million, resulting in the cancelation of concerts in 2005. The group played just two shows in '05, only six in 2006 and four in 2007.

The band was back in the news in early '07 when a rumor spread across the internet that Ace Frehley had committed suicide by taking two dozen sleeping pills. Frehley quickly countered the rumor by stating "I don't know how this ridiculous rumor got started." He then continued to work on his new album, which was slated to hit store shelves in September '09. In April 2007, tragedy struck KISS again when former guitarist, Mark St. John, died from an apparent cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 51.

Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer soldiered on, hitting the road in 2009 for what they dubbed the Kiss Alive / 35 World Tour, which saw the group visit Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. October 6th of the same year brought the release of "Sonic Boom", the band's 19th studio album and the first in eleven years. The CD debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 108,000 copies in its first week of release. It also went to #1 on Billboard's Top Rock Albums, Independent Albums and Hard Rock albums and #5 on the Top European Albums Chart. KISS was nominated for induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, ten years after becoming eligible. However, on December 15th, 2009, it was announced that they would not be included. That same year, Ace Frehley's solo album, "Anomaly" managed to climb to #27 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Kiss kicked off the European leg of the Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour in May 2010. Sadly, their former manager Bill Aucoin died of cancer on June 28, 2010 at the age of 66. The band continued to play numerous shows throughout the US, Canada and Mexico and on April 13th, 2011, they began recording a new album called "Monster", but its release was delayed several times before finally being issued in October, 2012. A supporting tour was also in the works. In March of 2012, Gene Simmons made the news when spoke out about the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's decision to omit his legendary band once again, branding the snub a "joke." July of that same year brought news of a guitar size book entitled Monster that featured unseen photographs from KISS' 40-year career. Only 1,000 copies were to made available at a cost of $4,299 each. A statement from the band said, "Some of the close-up photographs are, quite literally, larger than life! This is the closest any fan could ever get to their heroes without an access-all-areas pass."

KISS was finally elected to The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2014, however any hope of seeing the original members perform 'live' again were dashed when Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons revealed that they could not find a way to work together. Stanley said that he was unimpressed with the band's induction because he believes Hall Of Fame executives voted the rockers in "begrudgingly." In late March, KISS announced that it had signed a new marketing deal with Epic Rights, a year-old company that does brand management and arranges licensing deals. Meanwhile, Ace Frehley was busy preparing his first new album in five years, "Space Invader". When it was issued in mid-August, it shot to #9 on the Billboard 200 and became the highest charting solo album by any KISS member.

In late January, 2016, Frehley announced a eleven date tour starting in February in Houston, Texas and winding up in New York City in mid-April in support of his latest album, "Origins Vol. 1", which would include a contribution from his former band mate Paul Stanley. That same year, KISS announced a Summer tour titled the Freedom To Rock Tour, as well as an arena tour in the UK and Europe for 2017. On December 17th, 2016, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley appeared in the James Franco and Bryan Cranston film Why Him, where they performed "I Was Made for Lovin' You".

In mid-May, 2017, Gene Simmons confirmed plans to release a tell-all book titled On Power, slated for release on November 14th. In September he made music news headlines by announcing a ten disc box set of his solo material titled "The Vault", which contains 150 of his unreleased songs. The collection carried a retail price of $2,000, but for an additional $50,000 Gene himself would personally make the delivery to your home. Simmons took the stage with former band mate Ace Frehley on September 20th for the first time in sixteen years when the pair performed in St. Paul, Minnesota for a Hurricane Harvey benefit for The Children Matter. The pair performed four Seventies-era KISS songs, "Parasite", "Cold Gin", "Shock Me" and "Rock and Roll All Nite". The last time they played together was at the final show of KISS' Farewell Tour in Australia in April, 2001. When asked if the pairing could lead to Frehley's re-admission to the band, Simmons replied, "That's not gonna happen. Ace has been in and out of the band three different times. That's enough."

Gene Simmons was back in the news again in mid-November, 2017 when it was reported that he had been banned by Fox Network executives because he engaged in some off-camera antics after appearing on Mornings With Maria which stars Maria Bartiromo. He apologized shortly after the incident by saying that he was sorry that he unintentionally offended members of the Fox team. More trouble came for him in December when he was sued by an unnamed radio and television broadcaster, who filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming that he made what were described as "unwanted, unwarranted sexual advances." Simmons emphatically denied the accusations and said that he intended to defend himself against all charges.

On January 27th, 2018, Gene Simmons appeared alongside his former KISS band-mate Ace Frehley at Walter Grace Vintage Guitars in Miami, Florida. In mid-February he announced plans to release a new book, 27: The Legend and Mythology of the 27 Club, which explores the stories of celebrities who died at the age of 27. On April 30th, Paul Stanley made an appearance on CNBC's morning news and talk program Squawk Box and revealed plans for 2019 by saying, "A major KISS tour, I would say, starts at the end of January." During the band's appearance on TV's America's Got Talent on September 22nd, the band confirmed that their upcoming End Of The Road tour would be their last. That jaunt had shows booked into September. A greatest hits collection called "KISSWORLD - The Best Of KISS" was slated for release in January, 2019. The band's final show was scheduled to take place on July 17, 2021, in New York City, preceded by seventy-five shows slated for 2020. Group manager Doc McGhee revealed that every surviving former member of the band has been approached about potentially taking part in that last show. Those tour plans were altered by the COVID-19 pandemic, but their 2020 New Year's Eve show in Dubai went on as scheduled. That event set at least two Guinness World Records, "The highest flame projection in a music concert" (35 meters) and "The most flame projections launched simultaneously in a music concert. (73)

In mid-January, 2021, Paul Stanley announced that his side project, Soul Station would release its first album, "Now and Then" on March 5th. The record consists of nine covers of '60s and '70s R&B classics, and five original tunes. The first single from the LP was a rendition of The Five Stairsteps' 1970, #8 hit, "O-o-h Child". When asked about the possibility of new music from KISS, Stanley said that he didn't really see any need for it. He went on to say that he believes that when classic bands release a new album, they are mostly listened to once and then thrown away. KISS' last album was "Monster" in 2012, which debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200.

In late April, the American TV network A&E announced that they would air a two-part feature on KISS called Biography: KISStory, on June 27th and 28th. Directed by D.J. Viola, the four-hour film chronicles the band's 50-year history and features interviews with Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, as well as current members Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer. At the time of the press release, it remained unclear if founding members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss were interviewed for the documentary.

On August 16th, 2021, Gene Simmons confirmed that the band had dropped David Lee Roth as an opening act when their current tour resumed, because they felt he was past his prime. The former Van Halen frontman had opened for KISS on the February and March, 2020 North American dates on the End Of The Road tour. Roth responded by updating his Instagram account with 18 identical black-and-white images of a child wearing sunglasses and extending his middle finger. A few days later, Simmons apologized to Roth for the comments he made.

KISS was slated to start a twelve show residency at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas when the Fall shows were complete. Unfortunately the band's August 26th date had to be canceled when lead vocalist Paul Stanley tested positive for COVID. Just days later, Gene Simmons joined his bandmate on the COVID victims list after contracting the virus. The band and crew were to remain at home for ten days, forcing the cancellation of the next four shows. Sadly, 53-year-old Francis Stueber, the band's guitar tech for over twenty years, died of COVID on October 17th. Two weeks later, the group canceled their month long residency at Zappos Theater. Gene Simmons spoke out against those who refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19 during an appearance on Talkshoplive's Rock N' Roll Channel, saying in part, "This whole idea, this delusional, evil idea that you get to do whatever you want and the rest of the world be damned, is really terrible."

In December, 2021, Gene Simmons announced that he was building a KISS museum at The Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The venue was slated to open in March, 2022 and was to include more than fifty years' worth of the band's memorabilia, including costumes, stage props and Gold and Platinum albums. The group was slated to kick off their 11th-annual Kiss Kruise in Los Angeles on October 29th and visit Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada, Mexico before returning on November 3rd. Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer were scheduled to perform unmasked, acoustic and indoor electric shows, and also participate in group and individual activities. Original KISS members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss were scheduled to perform together at Creatures Fest May 27-29, 2022 at Nashville's Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel. Former KISS guitarists Bruce Kulick and Vinnie Vincent were also expected to perform, meaning all four living, non-active band alumni would be under the same roof.

As they continued their End Of The Road tour, KISS was expected to continue their official live bootleg series by releasing "KISS – Off the Soundboard: Live At Donington 1996" on June 10. Following that, "KISS - Off the Soundboard: Live in Des Moines 1977", was given a September 9th release date. A five-CD box set of 1982's "Creatures of the Night" would follow on November 18th.

Speaking on The Howard Stern Show in March, 2023, Paul Stanley was asked about the possibility of working with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss again. He replied, "At this point, that would be demeaning to the band, and also would give some people confusion. 'Cause if you saw people onstage who looked like KISS but sounded like that, maybe we should be called PISS." Those early years that included the original members were scheduled to be revisited in a new biopic slated to hit Netflix in 2024.

KISS was slated to bring their stage career to an end at Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 2nd, 2023. That last show would stream exclusively worldwide on PPV.COM at a cost of $39.99 in North America and $14.99 for international viewers.

In mid-January, 2024, Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley announced a U.S. tour in support of his forthcoming album "10,000 Volts", which was scheduled for release on February 23rd. Just a few days later, Gene Simmons revealed plans to perform at various U.S. venues with The Gene Simmons Band, comprised of guitarists Brent Woods and Zach Throne, along with drummer Brian Tichy.

Following in the footsteps of many other Classic Rock bands, KISS sold their name, logo, image and likeness rights, as well as their share of their music catalog. An April 4th, 2024 announcement revealed that a Swedish company called Pophouse Entertainment made the purchase, reportedly worth $300 million. "We have a lot of plans for KISS," Pophouse CEO Per Sundin said. "We want to keep to the legacy. We want to extend and amplify it for new generations." Gene Simmons added, "KISS the touring band is over. What Pophouse will do with our images, our music and our personas is unlike anything anyone has ever seen."

For 2025, Gene Simmons was slated to appear as a solo act at select venues in the United States. "I just show up with my guitar pick. That's it. There's no manager, no roadies, no trucks, no equipment. Everything is provided by the promoter: the flights, the hotels, the amplifiers, the drums, everything is rented locally. That's the promoter's cost and whatever six figure or more amount there is, I pocket." The bassist went on to claim that he made far more money performing alone than he ever did as a member of KISS, and didn't have to take hours to put on his famous make-up.

For more, be sure to read Gary James' Interviews with
Gene Simmons
Peter Criss
Paul Stanley
Ace Frehley