Following the demise of their previous band Wicked Lester, US heavy rock outfit Kiss was formed in 1972 by Paul Stanley (b. Stanley Harvey Eisen, 20 January 1952, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA; rhythm guitar/vocals) and Gene Simmons (b. Chaim Witz, 25 August 1949, Haifa, Israel; bass/vocals). The duo went on to recruit Peter Criss (b. George Peter John Criscoula, 20 December 1945, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA; drums/vocals) and Ace Frehley (b. Paul Daniel Frehley, 27 April 1951, the Bronx, New York City, New York, USA; lead guitar/vocals). 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. In just over a year, Kiss had released their first three albums with a modicum of success. In the summer of 1975 their fortunes changed with the release of Alive!, which spawned their first US hit single, with the reissued live version of ‘Rock And Roll All Nite’ climbing to number 12 in November.
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’. The original quartet all adopted lavish facial make-up and pseudonyms: Simmons (The Demon), Stanley (The Starchild), Criss (The Cat) and Frehley (Space Ace or The Spaceman). This simple piece of stagecraft proved highly effective and resulted in legions of teenage rock fans taking the band to their hearts. Their live reputation engendered a dramatic upsurge in record sales, and Alive! became their first certified platinum album in the USA. The 1976 studio set Destroyer proved just as successful, and also gave Kiss their first US Top 10 single, earning Peter Criss a major songwriting award for the uncharacteristic ballad, ‘Beth’. Subsequent releases, Rock And Roll Over, Love Gun and Alive II, each certified platinum, confirmed the arrival of Kiss as major recording artists.
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, and pinball machines. Marvel Comics produced two super-hero cartoon books, and a full-length science-fiction television movie, Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park, was even produced. The ranks of their fan club, the Kiss Army, swelled to a six-figure number. In September 1978 all four band 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 US 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 number 41 in 1978.
After the release of Dynasty in 1979, which featured the worldwide hit single, ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’, cracks appeared in the Kiss ranks. Peter Criss left to be replaced by session player Anton Fig, who had actually played drums on most of Dynasty in addition to playing on Frehley’s solo album. Fig played drums on the 1980 release Unmasked until a permanent replacement was found in the form of New Yorker Eric ‘The Fox’ Carr (b. 12 July 1950, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA, d. 24 November 1991, New York City, New York, USA), who made his first appearance during the world tour of 1980. A fuller introduction came on Music From The Elder, an album that represented a radical departure from traditional Kiss music and included several ballads, an orchestra and a choir. It was a brave attempt to break new ground but failed to capture the imagination of the record-buying public. Frehley, increasingly disenchanted with the musical direction of the band, finally left in December 1982. The two albums prior to his departure had featured outside musicians. Bob Kulick (b. Robert Kulick, 16 January 1950, Queens, New York City, New York, USA), who had contributed to the studio side of Alive II and played on Stanley’s solo album, supplied the lead work to the four previously unreleased tracks on the Killers compilation of 1982, and Vinnie Vincent (b. Vincent Cusano, 6 August 1952, Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA) was responsible for lead guitar on the 1982 release, Creatures Of The Night.
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 10 years was removed on MTV in the USA. Vinnie Vincent made his first official appearance on Lick It Up, an album that provided Kiss with their first Top 10 hit in the UK and also featured the band posing without make-up for the first time in their career. The resurgence of Kiss continued with Animalize. Vincent had been replaced by Mark St. John (b. Mark Leslie Norton, 7 February 1956, Hollywood, California, USA, d. 5 April 2007, USA), a seasoned session player and guitar tutor. His association with the band was short-lived, however, as he was struck down by Reiters Syndrome. Bruce Kulick (b. 12 December 1953, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA), brother of Bob, was enlisted as a temporary replacement on the 1984 European Tour, and subsequently became a permanent member when it became apparent that St. John would not be able to continue as a band member.
Further commercial success was achieved with Asylum (1985) and Crazy Nights (1987), the latter featuring Kiss’ biggest UK hit single, ‘Crazy Crazy Nights’, which peaked at number 4 in October 1987 and was soon followed by another Top 40 hit single, ‘Reason To Live’. Hot In The Shade succeeded their third compilation album, Smashes, Thrashes & Hits, and included another US hit single, ‘Forever’, which reached number 8 in February 1990. Work on a new Kiss album with producer Bob Ezrin was delayed following Eric Carr’s illness due to complications from cancer. He died on 24 November 1991, in New York, at the age of 41. Despite this setback, Kiss contributed a hit cover version of Argent’s classic ‘God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II’ (UK number 4, January 1992) to the soundtrack of the movie Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey, and brought in replacement drummer Eric Singer (b. Eric Mensinger, 12 May 1958, Cleveland, Ohio, USA; ex-Black Sabbath; Badlands). The album Revenge provided Kiss with their first US Top 10 release since Dynasty reached number 9 in 1979.
The Kiss My Ass tribute album was released in 1994, with contributions from Lenny Kravitz, Stevie Wonder, Garth Brooks, the Lemonheads, Dinosaur Jr, Extreme and others. The interest in Kiss My Ass led to a historic reunion for the original line-up on MTV Unplugged in August 1995. A stable unit with Bruce Kulick (guitar) and Eric Singer (drums), together with Simmons and Stanley, appeared to be on the cards, but Frehley and Criss then returned for a reunion tour. So successful was the tour that Kulick and Singer were naturally somewhat annoyed and both quit. Their irritation was further exacerbated by the fact that a new studio album, Carnival Of Souls, featured both of them.
In 1997 Vinnie Vincent sued the band, alleging that they owed him royalties. A year later Psycho Circus marked the return of the original line-up to the studio, and became the band’s highest charting US album when it debuted at number 3 in October. Criss left for a second time in 2001 and was replaced by the loyal Singer. Frehley was also in and out of the band during this period, with tour manager Tommy Thayer (b. 7 November 1960, Portland, Oregon, USA) taking his place as lead guitarist. Criss returned to the line-up at the end of 2002, this time staying with the band until the start of 2004 before making way for the returning Singer. Stanley released his solo album Live To Win in 2006.
With a history spanning four decades, Kiss’ impact on the consciousness of a generation of music fans, particularly in the USA, remains enormous.
