Kiss

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Kiss

Rock band

Originally made up of four young men from New York City—Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley—the group Kiss made a name for itself mainly by a dramatic stage show which featured band members in outrageous costumes and make-up. Boasting that they were the loudest rock and roll band in the world, Kiss would take to the stage dressed up as “fantasy characters” and give a high-energy, high-tech, highly theatrical show. With their appearance and raucous, crowd-pleasing concerts, the band soon became a popular success, especially with teenagers.

Their legions of fans joined the Kiss Army, worshiping the band that was never allowed to be photographed without their makeup. Comic books, movies and cartoons were released featuring the Kiss characters. The popularity of the band began to cool down in the early 1980s, around the time that it decided to perform without makeup. Ace Frehley and Peter Criss left the band, and some of the new replacements did not last long. Still, Kiss continued to give a wild stage show,

For the Record…

Group formed in New York City, 1973; original members included lead guitarist Ace Frehley (bom Paul Frehley, April 27, 1951 in Bronx, New York, wife’s name, Jeanette); rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley (born Stanley Eisen, January 20, 1952 in New York City); bass guitarist Gene Simmons (born Gene Klein, August 25, 1949 in Haifa, Israel); and drummer Peter Criss (born Peter Crisscoula, December 20, 1947 in Brooklyn, New York, wife’s name, Lydia). Frehley was replaced by Vinnie Vincent in 1982, who was replaced by Mark St. John in 1984, who was replaced by Bruce Kulick in 1985; Criss was replaced by Eric Carr in 1980.

Awards: Chosen Best Group of the Year by Circus magazine, 1975; voted Most Promising Group in Record World’s 1976 poll; voted Best Group in 1977 Gallup Poll.

Addresses: Office— P.O. Box 840, Westbury, NY 11590.

which attracted new fans, making them an enduring act in rock and roll history.

Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons were the founding force behind Kiss. They met in 1971, when Simmons transferred to Richmond College in Staten Island from an upstate, New York, school. The two formed a loosely organized group called Rainbow, playing music ranging from country to covers of the Beatles. In 1972 Rainbow broke up, but Simmons and Stanley stayed together. They made plans to form the kind of band that would launch them into stardom.

Using basic supply-and-demand philosophy, the two decided that what the rock world needed at the time was a group that could do a really wild, entertaining stage show. Bands that had been successful at that in the past—Alice Cooper, David Bowie, T Rex—had quit performing. Wanting to fill that gap, they decided to form a hard rock band with a theatrical theme. The two spent a lot of time in 1972 and 1973 researching their idea by seeing other groups. One, in particular, influenced them greatly, the New York Dolls. The Dolls were famed for dressing up in drag when they played.

Stanley and Simmons then went about trying to get a drummer and lead guitarist for the band. Peter Criss was found through an ad he had placed in Rolling Stone. Ace Frehley was recruited by an ad placed in the Village Voice. With all the elements in place, the group rehearsed in a Manhattan loft, named themselves Kiss and started experimenting with makeup and theatrics that would become the backbone of their stage show.

Deciding the drag look would not work for them, they hit upon the idea of getting made-up like fantasy characters. Their look, although not intentionally, was similar to Japanese Kabuki Theater. Simmons appeared as a monster with leather bat wings and scaly platform boots, characteristically wagging his 7-inch tongue in and out of his mouth for effect. Stanley was the lover, with pouty lips and a star over his right eye. Criss was a cat, and Frehley a spaceman with silver boots and a leather, spacesuit. To add to the fantasy aspect, they decided none of the Kiss members would be photographed in public without their makeup.

Kiss began playing small clubs around New York, but all the members had their minds set on superstardom. They aggressively publicized the band, sending releases to many important record industry executives. Bill Aucoin, who was working as producer of a television music series, went to see the band play and was instantly impressed. Within a few weeks he had made a deal with Casablanca records to handle Kiss’s records and publicity. Shortly after their signing with Casablanca, the group produced the album Kiss. Choreographer Sean Delaney was brought in to perfect the timing and effects of Kiss’s already dramatic stage appearance. The band’s first major show was on New Year’s Eve, 1973, as an opening act. Kiss stole the show that evening, winning over the crowd with its performance.

In the years 1973 and 1974, Kiss worked hard on tour, playing in such out of the way places as Edmonton, Canada. Despite the group’s popular appeal, critics generally lambasted their music. Steve Pond wrote in the Detroit News that “the music made by Kiss is overbearing, repetitious, simple-minded and derivative.” His comments were indicative of many rock record reviews. Kiss’s philosophy, however, was to give the fan a quality show no matter where it performed. And it was hard to dispute the fact that fans were thronging to their stage shows, entranced by the band’s energy.

By 1975 Kiss was headlining in larger auditoriums around the country. They also released two popular albums, Hotter Than Hell and Dressed to Kill. The single “Rock & Roll All Nite” from the latter album became almost an anthem for the teenage crowd. In 1975, cash flow became a problem when Kiss’s record company, Casablanca, split from Warner Brothers. Because Casablanca was having problems meeting royalty payments, Aucoin had to finance an entire Kiss tour on his American Express card. This situation turned around quickly in 1975 when the double album Alive was released. Recorded in small and medium-sized towns around the U.S., this album truly captured the energy and drive the group put into their live shows and was an instant success, ending the group’s financial problems.

However other problems were to arise. There was backlash from concerned parents and the press that Kiss’s stage show gave children dangerous ideas. For example, Simmons would breathe fire during one of the songs. Several teenagers tried this at home, and a few were seriously burned. There were accusations that the band was made up of devil worshippers and Kiss was actually an acronym for Knights in Satan’s Service.

Despite this negative publicity, the years 1975-79 found Kiss’s popularity with its fans at its peak. The band made a point of playing in small towns as well as larger markets, to build a grass roots following of loyal fans. The band was even invited to perform in Cadillac, Michigan, because the local high school football team had made Kiss their team mascot and broken their losing record. In a publicity coup, Kiss wowed the town and gained much press coverage by playing at Cadillac High School’s prom. With stunts like this, it was not surprising that the band’s fan club, named the Kiss Army, numbered over 100, 000 members.

As further testimony to the band’s popularity during the late 1970s, the Kiss characters also starred in comic books, and the band appeared in an NBC “Movie of the Week,” Kiss Meets the Phantom. Kiss Halloween costumes were sold and a Christmas TV special aired. During this time the band also released the albums Destroyer (1976), Kiss—the Originals and Rock and Roll Over (1976), Love Gun and Alive II (1977), Double Platinum (1978), and Dynasty (1979). Although critics still generally disapproved of the group, Simmons commented in the Detroit News: “It’s OK if Rolling Stone votes us ‘Hype of the Year.’ We still fill 20, 000-seat halls every night. We’ll take it.”

In 1981, Peter Criss left the band, followed soon by Ace Frehley. Despite the turnover in these original group members, Stanley and Simmons kept a guiding hand on the strategy of the band. They recruited new players, kept releasing recordings and continued to give audiences outrageous stage shows. Creatures of the Night (1982), Lick It Up (1983) and Animalize (1984) hit the Billboard lists. Asylum (1985) and Crazy Nights (1987) also became hits. In 1983, the group decided to perform without their makeup, ending years of mystery about their real appearance. Simmons commented in the Detroit News that “When you’ve done everything you can with a form, it’s time to change. I think it may have helped in keeping us a little more level-headed, that after 20 albums and 65 million records sold, we could stand in line and get a hamburger without being recognized.”

Kiss’s longevity is an amazing testimony to its popularity with fans. Even though the band has been around since the early 1970s, their music and live performances still win favor with legions of fans, continuing to attract new audiences in the U.S. and abroad. The reason Kiss has been able to endure is precisely because they stuck to their original philosophy of giving fans what they wanted—high-energy, rock-solid shows in whatever arena they played. They continue to revamp and change their stage show with each tour. Simmons commented in the Detroit News: “We don’t like to rest on our laurels…. Rock ’n’ roll by its very definition means excess. We do it this way because in truth, it’s more fun. Why tour with the same show every year?”