Kiss (styled
KISS in capitals) is an American
rock band formed in New York City
in January 1973. Easily identified by its
members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to
prominence in the mid-1970s on the basis of their elaborate live
performances, which featured
fire
breathing, blood spitting, smoking guitars, and
pyrotechnics. Kiss has been awarded 24
gold albums to date. The
band has sold over 19 million records in the United States and
their worldwide sales exceeded 80 million albums .
The lineup of
Paul Stanley (
vocals and
rhythm guitar),
Gene
Simmons (vocals and
bass guitar),
Ace Frehley (
lead
guitar and vocals), and
Peter Criss
(
drums,
percussion and vocals) is the most
successful and identifiable. With their makeup and costumes, they
took on the personae of
comic book-style
characters: The Demon (Simmons), Starchild (Stanley), Spaceman
(Frehley), and Catman (Criss). The band explains that the fans were
the ones who ultimately chose their makeup designs. The "Demon"
makeup reflected Simmons's cynicism and dark elements, as well as
his love for comic books. Paul Stanley became the "Starchild" due
to his tendency to be referred to as the "starry-eyed lover" and
"hopeless romantic." Ace Frehley's "Spaceman" makeup was a
reflection of him wanting to go for a ride in a space ship and
supposedly being from another planet. Peter Criss's "Catman" makeup
was in accordance with the belief that Criss had nine lives due to
his rough childhood in Brooklyn. Due to creative differences, both
Criss and Frehley were out of the group by 1982. The band's
commercial fortunes had also waned considerably by that
point.
In 1983, Kiss abandoned its makeup and enjoyed a commercial
resurgence throughout the rest of the decade. Buoyed by a wave of
Kiss
nostalgia in the 1990s, the band
announced a reunion of the original lineup (with makeup) in 1996.
The resulting Kiss Alive/Worldwide/Lost Cities/Reunion Tour was the
top-grossing act of 1996 and 1997. Criss and Frehley have since
left Kiss again and have been replaced by
Eric Singer and
Tommy
Thayer, respectively. The band continues to perform with
makeup, while Stanley and Simmons have remained the only two
constant members.
Kiss was named by
VH1 as 10th on their list of
the '100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock'.
On 23 September 2009,
Kiss was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
, ten years after becoming eligible.
History
Early years and struggles (1971-1975)
Kiss
traces its roots to Wicked Lester, a
New York
City
-based rock and roll band led by co-founders
Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. Wicked Lester, with its
eclectic mixture of musical styles, never achieved any success.
They recorded one album, which was shelved by
Epic Records, and played a handful of live
shows. Simmons and Stanley, feeling that a new musical direction
was needed, abandoned Wicked Lester in 1972 and began forming a new
group.
In late 1972, Simmons and Stanley came across an ad in
Rolling Stone placed by
Peter Criss, a veteran
drummer from the New York club scene, who was
previously in bands called "Lips" and "
Chelsea". Criss auditioned for and
joined the new version of Wicked Lester. The trio focused on a much
harder style of rock than Wicked Lester played. Inspired by the
theatrics of
Alice Cooper and the
New York Dolls, they also began
experimenting with their image by wearing makeup and various
outfits. In November 1972, the trio played a showcase for Epic
Records
A&R director Don Ellis, in an
effort to secure a record deal. Although the performance went well,
Ellis hated the group's image and music. On top of that, as he was
leaving, he was vomited on by Criss's brother.
In early January 1973, the group added
lead
guitarist Ace Frehley. According to
the book
Kiss & Tell by Ace Frehley's former
best-friends, Gordon G.G. Gebert and Bob McAdams (who accompanied
Ace Frehley to the audition) the eccentric Frehley impressed the
group with his first audition, although he showed up wearing two
different sneakers (one red and one orange) and began warming up on
his guitar while another guitarist was being auditioned by the
band. A few weeks after Frehley joined, the Wicked Lester name was
dropped and the band became Kiss.

The Kiss logo
Stanley came up with the name; as he, Simmons, and Criss were
driving around New York City. Criss mentioned that he was in a band
called Lips, so Stanley said something to the effect of "What about
Kiss?" (as reminisced by Simmons on the Kiss video Exposed).
Frehley created the now-iconic logo, making the "SS" look like
lightning bolts, when he went to write the new band name over
Wicked Lester on a poster outside the
club where they were going to play.
The runic
letters happened to look similar to the insignia of the Nazi
SS
, a symbol that is now illegal to display in
Germany. Therefore, to avoid controversy, since 1979 most of
the band's album covers and merchandise in Germany have used a
modified version of the logo, in which the "SS" looks like a
backwards "ZZ." The band's name has been rumored to have many
hidden meanings, among them an
acronym for Knights In Satan's
Service or Keep It Simple Stupid. None of these rumors have any
basis in fact, and the band has consistently denied them.
The first Kiss performance was on January 30, 1973, for an audience
of three at the Popcorn Club (renamed Coventry shortly afterward)
in Queens. In March of that year, the band recorded a five-song
demo tape with producer
Eddie Kramer. Former TV director
Bill Aucoin, who had seen the group at a handful
of showcase concerts in the summer of 1973, offered to become the
band’s manager in mid-October. Kiss agreed, with the condition that
Aucoin get them signed to a recording contract within two weeks. On
November 1, 1973, Kiss became the first act signed to former teen
pop singer and
Buddah Records
executive
Neil Bogart's new label,
Emerald City Records (which was shortly afterward renamed
Casablanca Records).
The band entered Bell Sound Studios in New York City on October 10,
1973 to begin recording their first album.
On December 31 the
band had their official industry premier at the Academy of
Music
in New York City, opening for Blue Öyster Cult. It was at
this concert that Simmons accidentally set his hair (which was
coated in hairspray) ablaze for the first of many times while
performing his inaugural firebreathing stunt.
Kiss's
first tour started on February 5, 1974 in Edmonton
, Alberta
, Canada, at
the Northern Alberta Jubilee
Auditorium
. The band’s self-titled debut album,
Kiss, was released on February
18. Casablanca and Kiss promoted the album heavily throughout the
spring and summer of 1974. On February 19, the band performed
"Nothin' to Lose," "Firehouse," and "Black Diamond" for what would
become their first national television appearance, on
ABC's
Dick Clark's In
Concert (aired March 29). On April 29, the band performed
"Firehouse" on
The Mike
Douglas Show. This broadcast included Simmons's first
televised interview, a conversation with
Douglas in which Simmons declared himself "evil
incarnate," eliciting titters from an uncomfortable and largely
confused studio audience. Fellow guest
Totie Fields remarked that it would be humorous
if, beneath all the make-up, Simmons was "just a nice Jewish boy."
Simmons deftly parried this remark with neither a confirmation nor
denial, by saying simply, "You should only know." To which she
responded, "I do. You can't hide the hook," a reference to
Simmons's nose.
Despite the publicity and constant touring,
Kiss initially
sold just 75,000 copies. Meanwhile, the group and Casablanca
Records were losing money quickly.
The band flew to Los
Angeles
in August 1974 to begin recording their second
album, Hotter Than Hell,
which was released on October 22, 1974. The only single,
"Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll," failed to chart and the album stalled
at No. 100.
With
Hotter Than Hell quickly dropping off the charts,
Kiss was pulled from their tour to quickly record a new album.
Casablanca head Neil Bogart stepped in to produce the next album,
trading in the murky, distorted sound of
Hotter Than Hell
for a cleaner and slightly poppier sound.
Dressed To Kill, released on
March 19, 1975, fared slightly better commercially than
Hotter
Than Hell. It also contained what would later become the
band's trademark song, "
Rock and
Roll All Nite" ( ).
Although Kiss albums had not proved to be big sellers, the band was
quickly gaining a reputation as a top-flight live act. Kiss
concerts featured things such as Simmons spitting "blood"
(primarily yogurt and food coloring) or "breathing fire" (spitting
flammable liquid at a torch); Frehley soloing as his guitar burst
into flames (light and smoke bombs placed inside the guitar);
Criss's elevating drum riser that emitted sparks; Stanley's
Townshend-style guitar smashing; and
pyrotechnics throughout the show.
By late 1975, Casablanca was nearly bankrupt and Kiss was in danger
of losing their record contract. Both parties desperately needed a
commercial breakthrough if they were to survive. That breakthrough
came in an unlikely form - a double live album.
Rise to prominence (1975–1978)
Kiss wanted to express the excitement felt at their concerts (which
their studio albums had so far failed to do), with their first live
album. Released on 10 September 1975,
Alive! achieved
Gold status and spawned
Kiss's first top 40 single, a live version of "Rock And Roll All
Nite." It was the first version of "Rock and Roll All Nite" with a
guitar solo, and this recording has come to represent the
definitive version of the song; supplanting the studio original. In
recent years the band admitted that additional audience noise had
been added to the album, not to deceive fans, but to add more
"excitement and realism" to the show.
The success of
Alive! not only brought Kiss the
breakthrough they had been seeking, but arguably saved Casablanca,
which was close to
bankruptcy. Following
this success, Kiss partnered with producer
Bob
Ezrin, who had previously worked with
Alice Cooper. The result was
Destroyer (released March 15,
1976), Kiss's most musically ambitious studio album to date.
Destroyer, with its rather intricate production (utilizing
an orchestra, choir, and numerous tape effects), was a departure
from the raw sound of the first three studio albums. While the
album sold well initially and became the group's second gold album,
it quickly dropped down the charts. Only when the ballad "
Beth" ( ) was released as a single did the
album's sales rebound. "Beth" was a #7 hit for the band, and its
success revived both the album (which achieved
platinum status by the end of 1976) and
ticket sales for Kiss.
In October 1976, Kiss appeared on the
The Paul Lynde Halloween
Special,
lip-synching "
Detroit Rock City", "Beth", and
"King of the Night Time World". For many teenagers, this was their
first exposure to Kiss's dramatic appearance. The show was
co-produced by Bill Aucoin. In addition to the three performances,
Kiss was the subject of a brief comedic "interview" conducted by
Paul Lynde himself. This included Lynde
noting, when hearing the member's first names, "Oh, I love a good
religious group."
Two more highly successful studio albums were released in less than
a year—
Rock and Roll
Over (November 11, 1976) and
Love
Gun (June 30, 1977). A second live album,
Alive II, was released on October 14, 1977.
All three albums were certified platinum upon or soon after their
release. Between 1976 and 1978, Kiss earned $17.7 million from
record royalties and music publishing. A 1977
Gallup poll named Kiss the most popular band in
America.
In Japan, Kiss performed five sold-out shows
at Budokan
Hall
, breaking the previous record of four held by
The Beatles.
In May 1977, Kiss made their first of many comic appearances in
Howard The Duck issue 12 published
by
Marvel. This served as a precursor
to many more
Kiss-related comics
initially published by Marvel.
The first of what is now many Kiss
greatest hits albums,
Double Platinum, was issued on
April 2, 1978. This double album included many remixed versions of
their hits, as well as "Strutter '78," a re-recorded version of one
of the group's signature songs. At Neil Bogart's request, the song
was played in a style similar to the then-popular
disco music.
During this period, Kiss merchandise became a substantial source of
income for the group. Some of the products released included a pair
of
comic books issued by Marvel (the
first one of which contained ink mixed with actual blood donated by
the group), a
pinball machine, Kiss dolls,
"Kiss Your Face Makeup" kits,
Halloween
masks, board games, and many other pieces of memorabilia.
Membership in the
Kiss Army, the band's
fan club, was in the six figures. Between 1977 and 1979, worldwide
merchandise sales (in-store and on tour) reached an estimated $100
million.
Going solo (1978)
Kiss were at their commercial peak by 1978—
Alive II was
the band's fourth platinum album in just under two years, and the
ensuing tour had the highest average attendance (13,550) in the
group's history. In addition, Kiss's gross income for 1977 was
US$10.2 million. The group, along with creative manager Bill
Aucoin, sought to take the band to the next level of popularity. To
that end, an ambitious, two-pronged strategy was devised for
1978.
The first part involved the simultaneous release of four solo
albums from the members of Kiss. Although Kiss has claimed that the
solo albums were intended to ease rising tensions within the band,
their 1976 record contract did in fact call for four solo records,
with each of them counting as half an album toward the group's
five-record commitment. While each album was very much a solo
effort (none of the group appeared on another's album), they were
all released and marketed as Kiss albums (with similar cover art
and poster inserts). It was the first time that all current members
of a rock band had released solo albums on the same day.
For the band members, it was a chance to showcase their individual
musical styles and tastes outside of Kiss, and in some cases to
collaborate with contemporary artists. Stanley's and Frehley's
albums stuck pretty closely to the successful hard rock style that
Kiss had utilized, while Criss's album featured an
R&B style and was loaded with ballads. Simmons's
was the most eclectic of the four. It featured hard rock, ballads,
Beatles-influenced pop, and ended with a
straight
cover of "
When You Wish upon a Star" (from
the movie
Pinocchio).
Simmons's many collaborators included
Aerosmith's
Joe
Perry,
Cheap Trick's
Rick Nielsen, the
Doobie Brothers'
Jeff
"Skunk" Baxter, disco diva
Donna
Summer,
Janis Ian,
Helen Reddy,
Bob Seger,
and then-girlfriend
Cher.
The Kiss solo albums were released on 18 September 1978. The
marketing blitz behind the albums was unprecedented. Casablanca
announced it was shipping five million total copies of the albums
(guaranteeing instant platinum status), and they spent US$2.5
million marketing them. All four solo albums made it into the Top
50 of the
Billboard
album chart. However, the massive preorder for these albums was
soon followed by an equally enormous attempt to ship them back to
the record company, followed by the subsequent discounting of these
albums once sales had (very quickly) peaked. The albums were also
the first Kiss albums to be seen in the "bargain bins." All four
solo albums combined sold about as many copies as
Love Gun
alone. Of the four, Frehley's album was the most successful
(although not by a huge margin) and spawned the only radio top 20
hit (
Russ Ballard's composition
"
New York Groove", originally
performed by
Hello).
The second part of Kiss's and Aucoin's plan called for the band to
appear in a movie that would cement their image as larger than life
superheroes. Filming for the movie commenced in the spring of 1978.
Although the project was proposed to the band as a cross between
A Hard Day's
Night and
Star Wars, the final
results fell far short of those expectations. The script underwent
numerous rewrites, and the band (particularly Criss and Frehley)
grew increasingly frustrated with the film making process. It has
been reported that Criss refused to take part in post-production,
and hence a vocal actor had to be hired to re-dub all his lines.
(Criss denies those reports, and claims he was present for the
entire post-production process.)
The final product, entitled
Kiss Meets the Phantom of the
Park debuted on
NBC on October 28, 1978
(just before
Halloween). Despite scathing
reviews, it was one of the highest-rated TV movies of the year. It
was released theatrically, after many changes, outside the U.S. in
1979 under the title
Attack of the Phantoms. While later
interviews with band members would have them talk about their movie
making experience with a mix of humorous embarrassment and regret
as to the finished product, they were unhappy with the final
product. They felt that the movie ended up portraying them more as
clowns than superheroes. The artistic failure of the movie led to a
rift between the band and Aucoin. It has been only sporadically
available on home video: currently, a version of the film is
available on a compilation
DVD entitled
Kissology Volume
Two: 1978-1991.
Late makeup years and decline (1978–1983)
The band's first album of new material in two years,
Dynasty (May 22, 1979), continued their
platinum streak. The disco-flavored "
I Was Made For Lovin' You" became
the band's biggest hit single to date. Session drummer
Anton Fig did almost all the percussion on the
album due to Criss recovering from an auto accident. Criss did play
the drums on the song "Dirty Livin'," on which he also sang the
lead.
Billed as "The Return of Kiss," the
Dynasty
Tour was expected by Kiss and their management to build on the
success of previous tours. Plans were drawn up for a Kiss-themed
traveling
amusement park, called Kiss
World but were abandoned due to the immense costs involved.
However, "The Return of Kiss" saw a marked decline in
attendance.
The crowds on this tour were much younger than previous audiences
had been, with many pre-adolescent children in Kiss makeup with
their mothers and fathers (who were sometimes wearing the makeup
themselves) in tow at most concerts. Kiss themselves did little to
dissuade this new fan base, donning colorful costumes that
reinforced a cartoonish image for these younger fans.
The fans were unaware of the dissension within the band. One very
public indication of the heightened friction within the group was
an infamous October 31, 1979 interview on
Tom
Snyder's late-night
The
Tomorrow Show. During the episode, a visibly irritated
Simmons and Stanley try to contain the bombastic (and
inebriated) Frehley, whose non-stop laughter and
joking overshadowed the content and conversation that takes place
between Snyder and the rest of the band. Criss made repeated
references to his large gun collection, to the chagrin of
Simmons.
By the end of the
Dynasty tour in December 1979, tensions
between Criss and the rest of the band were at an all-time high.
His drumming skills had noticeably eroded, and he even
intentionally slowed down or stopped playing altogether during some
concerts. The final show of the tour (December 16, 1979) was the
last time Criss performed with the group (until the original
foursome reunited in 1996), although he remained an official member
for nearly six more months.
Fig also played all the drums on the next album
Unmasked, although he was uncredited and Criss
appeared on the cover art. Showcasing a slick, contemporary pop
sound,
Unmasked (May 20, 1980) had
the dubious distinction of being the first Kiss album since
Dressed to Kill to fail to achieve platinum sales. Soon
after the album's release, Criss's departure was officially
announced.
The band auditioned dozens of replacements for Criss in June 1980,
settling on a little-known drummer-guitarist-singer from Brooklyn
named Paul Caravello (July 12, 1950), who was given the stage name
Eric Carr. He was Kiss's first replacement
member. In his "Fox" makeup, he was introduced on ABC's
Kids Are People Too!
and debuted with the group on July 25, 1980 at the
Palladium Theatre in New York City. This
was Kiss's only U.S. show in support of the album. The band's
1980 tour of Australia and New
Zealand, on the other hand, was one of the biggest in their
history, as they played to sold-out crowds and received
overwhelmingly positive press coverage.
For their next album, the band worked with producer
Bob Ezrin, with whom Kiss had found success on
Destroyer. Early press reports indicated that the new
album would be a return to the hard rock style that had originally
brought the band success. What was released instead was 1981's
Music from "The Elder", a
concept album featuring medieval
horns, strings,
harps, and
synthesizers.
The album was presented as a soundtrack to a film that was never
made, making it difficult (if not impossible) to follow the
storyline. To make matters worse, having received negative feedback
following their record company's preview of the album, Kiss altered
the record's track sequence in most countries to emphasize
potential singles "The Oath" and "A World Without Heroes," which
all but guaranteed the inability of listeners to understand the
already muddled storyline. Once released, fan reaction to
The
Elder was harsh; it failed to achieve gold status and peaked
at #75 on the Billboard Album Chart.
The band made only two appearances in support of the new album,
both in January 1982. One was a performance on the
ABC late-night variety program
Fridays, while the second was a lip-synched performance
that was broadcast via satellite during Italy's Sanremo Festival.
Kiss also performed "I", and "A World Without Heroes" on Solid
Gold.
Absent from the second performance was Ace Frehley, who had become
increasingly frustrated with Kiss's new musical direction. Upset
with the band's decision to record a concept album (
Music from
"The Elder"), he did not actively participate in the album's
creation, only providing lead vocals to one track, "Dark Light".
He
recorded his guitar parts at his home studio in Wilton,
Connecticut
and mailed them to Ezrin. Another source of
frustration for Frehley was that with the departure of Peter Criss,
and with Carr not being an equal partner in the band, he was often
outvoted 2-to-1 on group decisions. In June 1982, Frehley's
departure from the band was negotiated, although he did not
officially leave until December, and remained a business partner
with Simmons and Stanley until 1985.
Simmons stated in his autobiography
Kiss and Make-Up that
Eddie Van Halen wanted to fill
Frehley's spot. Simmons convinced Eddie to remain with
Van Halen. (Eddie was anxious to break up Van
Halen due to rising tensions with lead singer
David Lee Roth, who left the band soon
thereafter.)
Soon after, Kiss made major changes to their business dealings –
chief among them was severing ties with their manager of nine
years, Bill Aucoin, and cutting back on their unwieldy
organizational tree. Although Frehley had already decided to leave
the band, he was pictured on the covers of 1982's
Killers and
Creatures of the Night, although
he did not participate in the recording of either album.
Creatures of the Night (October 13, 1982) was Kiss's
heaviest album to date, and although it fared better than
Music
from "The Elder", it peaked at #45 on the charts and was not
certified gold until 1994. In Frehley's absence, Kiss utilized a
number of guitarists for the recording of the album, including
Vinnie Vincent (born Vincent John
Cusano on August 6, 1952).
Frehley's last appearance with the band (until the original
foursome reunited in 1996) was on the video for the single
"
I Love It Loud," which was cowritten
by Vincent. Frehley also appeared on the cover of the original
Creatures Of The Night album artwork. (When the album was
re-mixed and re-released in 1985 with a non-makeup cover and a
slightly different song order, to reflect the band's roster change
and abandonment of their make-up and costuming, Vincent was again
absent from the album cover as then-current lead guitarist,
Bruce Kulick, appeared there instead.
The liner notes accompanying the re-mixed LP, however, have
credited both Ace Frehley and Vinnie Vincent with lead guitar
performances on the
Creatures
of the Night album.)
Vincent officially replaced Frehley as lead guitarist in December
1982, as the band embarked on its 10th Anniversary Tour.
Vincent originally wanted to use his birth name in the band but
this was vetoed by
Gene Simmons on the
grounds that it sounded "too ethnic": specifically, according to
Simmons, "it sounded like a fruit vendor"; Simmons went on to note
that "fairly or unfairly, rock and roll is about image". Vincent
then suggested the name "Mick Fury" but this was also vetoed.
Simmons later suggested the name change to
Vinnie Vincent.
Vincent started actively pushing to join Kiss as a full member.
Despite the misgivings that both Simmons and Stanley harbored about
his personality, Vincent was taken into the band. Stanley designed
a character, "The Wiz", and makeup centered around an Egyptian
ankh, for Vincent.
From 1982-1983, the new lineup of Kiss became Simmons (the Demon),
Stanley (the Starchild),
Eric Carr (the
Foxman), and Vincent (the Wiz). This incarnation of Kiss was to be
the last incarnation of the original make-up era. At the end of the
Creatures Of The Night tour, the band removed their
make-up.
Vincent does appear on the cover of
Lick
It Up and he was credited as the lead guitarist. Except
for "Fits Like A Glove" and "Dance All Over Your Face", written
solely by Simmons, Vincent was co-writer in 8 of the 10 songs on
the album. It is rumored that Vincent recorded every lead for the
album's songs in their entirety and that Simmons went on to choose
the parts of those leads that he liked best to fit the songs,
stifling Vincent's creative abilities. Apparently, Simmons wanted
more of a melodic sound and feel which Kiss fans had always heard
and were accustomed to in Frehley's guitar solos. Additionally,
Vincent would get "cut off" during his guitar solos live because
both Stanley and Simmons felt that Vincent's leads went on too
long.
Vincent's personality did not mesh well with either Stanley or
Simmons and he was dismissed from Kiss at the end of the
Creatures tour. He was re-hired before recording started
for
Lick It Up because Simmons
and Stanley could not find a new lead guitarist on such short
notice. Personality issues arose once again and Vincent was fired
following the
Lick It Up tour and was replaced by
Mark St. John (birth name Mark Norton).
Vincent's work on
Creatures of the Night was not
officially recognized until the album was remastered in 1997.
Vincent was later utilized by Kiss as a songwriter on the 1992
album
Revenge,
contributing to the songs "Unholy", "Heart Of Chrome" and "I Just
Wanna". Before long however, Vincent, Simmons and Stanley fell out
with each other for a third time, and permanently severed their
musical ties.
Persistent rumors have circulated for years amongst Kiss fan
circles regarding the true reason for Vincent's dismissals from
Kiss with at least one band member refusing to comment except to
say that legally it wasn't up for discussion. Simmons stated in an
interview several years later that Vincent's firing was for
"unethical behavior" but he did not elaborate by going into any
great detail.
"I named Vincent Cusano, "Vinnie Vincent." That's the
only gift he's allowed. It's interesting that Vinnie
hasn't changed his name back to Vinnie Cusano. Vinnie, for
the record, was fired for unethical behavior, not because of lack
of talent. The guy is very talented. He was
unethical. He was fired."-Gene Simmons
Unmasking and rebound (1983–1996)
Sensing it was time for a change, Kiss made the decision to abandon
their trademark makeup and costumes. They officially appeared in
public without makeup for the first time on a September 18, 1983
appearance on
MTV, which coincided with the
release of the band's
glam metal new
album,
Lick It Up. The tour
showing off the new album and the unmasked band members started off
at Lisbon, Portugal, on the 11th of October, 1983, at Pavilhão
Dramático de Cascais, their first concert ever without
makeup.
Lick It Up became Kiss's first gold record in three years,
but the tour was even more sparsely attended than the one for
Creatures of the Night. Vincent did not get along with
Simmons and Stanley, and he left the band at the conclusion of the
tour in March 1984.
Vincent's replacement was Mark St. John (born Mark Norton on February 7,
1956 in Hollywood
, California
), a session player and guitar tutor.
With St. John on board, Kiss released the
glam metal album
Animalize on 13 September 1984.
Animalize followed the success of
Lick It Up, and
with the video for "
Heaven's on
Fire" being played often on
MTV,
Animalize was the band's best-selling record in America
during the decade. With the success of the album and subsequent
tour, Kiss had recaptured some of their earlier glory (though not
to the level of their '70s heyday). St. John, however, was soon
taken ill with
reactive arthritis
during tour rehearsals, and only performed at a handful of shows.
St. John was fired from Kiss in December 1984 and was replaced by
Bruce Kulick (born December 12, 1953 in
Brooklyn). Kulick was Kiss's fourth lead guitarist in less than
three years, but he stayed with the band for twelve years. Kulick
was one of the band's longest-running members, with the longest
continuous tenure of anyone other than Simmons and Stanley, but he
never wore the band's iconic makeup.
One of
the first concerts Kulick played was in Detroit, Michigan's
Cobo
Hall
. It was filmed for the MTV special
Animalize Live. This was
later released as the band's first home video (
Animalize Live:
Uncensored).
The lineup of Stanley, Simmons, Carr, and Kulick turned out to be
the most stable since the original, and for the rest of the 1980s
Kiss released a series of platinum albums—1985's
Asylum, 1987's
Crazy Nights and the 1988 greatest hits
compilation
Smashes,
Thrashes & Hits.
Crazy Nights, in particular,
was one of Kiss's most successful albums overseas. The single
"Crazy, Crazy Nights" ( ) reached #4 on the singles chart in
Britain, the highest showing to date for a Kiss song.
Kiss ended the '80s with the 1989 release
Hot in the Shade. Although the album
failed to achieve platinum status, it spawned the early 1990 hit
ballad "
Forever," co-written by
Michael Bolton. Peaking at #8, it was
the group's highest-charting single since "Beth" and was the band's
second Top 10 single.
During these non-makeup years, Kiss struggled with their identity
and fan base. Simmons, arguably the dominating force in Kiss during
the '70s, became less involved with the group in the '80s as he
pursued outside interests; most notably, a film career. After the
band's unmasking, he struggled with the loss of the Demon persona.
During this time, Stanley became the driving force in Kiss, as well
as their most prominent member.
The band decided to once again enlist Bob Ezrin to produce their
first album of the 1990s. Before recording could begin in earnest,
however, tragedy struck. In March 1991, it was discovered that Eric
Carr had a
tumor on his heart. It was
successfully removed in an April surgery, but more tumors were soon
discovered in his lungs. Carr received
chemotherapy and was pronounced cancer-free in
July. Hoewever, in September he suffered the first of two
cerebral hemorrhages. He died on
November 24, 1991 at the age of 41 (the same day as
Freddie Mercury).
Though
devastated, Kiss continued, bringing in veteran drummer Eric Singer (born Eric Mensinger on May 12, 1958
in Cleveland
, Ohio
).
Singer had played with Paul Stanley previously, as part of
Stanley's backing band during a 1989 solo tour. Singer also played
with performers such as
Black Sabbath,
Lita Ford,
Badlands and
Alice Cooper.
Kiss released
Revenge
on May 19, 1992. It featured a leaner, harder-edged sound, as
indicated by the first single, "Unholy" ( ). In a surprise move,
Kiss enlisted the aid of Vinnie Vincent for songwriting duties. The
album debuted in the Top 10 and went gold. Kiss embarked on a brief
club tour of the U.S. in the spring of 1992, before beginning an
American arena tour in September 1992. Kiss followed with the
release of
Alive III (May 14,
1993), which was recorded during the
Revenge tour. Four
days later, Kiss was inducted into the RockWalk of Fame in
Hollywood.
During this period, Kiss nostalgia started to pick up steam. June
1994 saw the release of
Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss
Regrooved, a compilation album featuring popular artists
of the era putting their own spin on Kiss songs. The result was an
eclectic mix, featuring
Lenny
Kravitz's funky version of "Deuce" (with
Stevie Wonder on
harmonica), a
ska punk
version of "Detroit Rock City" by the
Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and
Garth Brooks' straightforward take on
"Hard Luck Woman," with Kiss as his backup band.
In 1995, the group released
Kisstory, a 440-page,
nine-pound, detailed chronicle of the group's history to that
point. That same year, the band embarked on a unique and
well-received Worldwide Kiss Convention Tour. The conventions were
all-day events, featuring displays of vintage Kiss stage outfits,
instruments, and memorabilia, performances by Kiss cover bands, and
dealers selling Kiss merchandise from every stage of the band's
career. Kiss appeared live at the conventions, conducted question
and answer sessions, signed autographs and performed a two-hour
acoustic set composed mostly of spontaneous fan requests. On the
first U.S. date (June 17, 1995) Peter Criss appeared onstage with
Kiss to sing "Hard Luck Woman" and "Nothin' to Lose." It was the
first time Criss had performed publicly with the band in nearly 16
years.
On August 9, 1995, Kiss joined the long line of musicians to
perform on
MTV Unplugged. The
band contacted Criss and Frehley and invited them to participate in
the event. Both joined Kiss on stage for several songs at the end
of the set–"Beth," "2000 Man," "Nothin' to Lose," and "Rock and
Roll All Nite." The
Unplugged appearance set off months of
speculation that a possible reunion of the original Kiss lineup was
in the works. In the weeks following the
Unplugged
concert, however, the band (with Kulick and Singer), returned to
the studio for the first time in three years to record a followup
to
Revenge.
Carnival of Souls: The
Final Sessions was completed in February 1996, but its
release was delayed for almost two years.
Bootleg copies of the album circulated
widely among fans.
While Kiss continued to exist publicly as Simmons, Stanley, Kulick,
and Singer, arrangements for a reunion of the original lineup were
in the works. These efforts culminated with a public event as
dramatic as any the band had staged since their 1983 unmasking on
MTV.
Reunion (1996–2000)
With that statement on February 28, 1996,
Tupac Shakur introduced the original Kiss
lineup (in full makeup and
Love Gun-era stage outfits), to
a rousing ovation at the 38th Annual
Grammy Awards. On April 16, the band held a
press conference aboard the in New York, where they announced their
plans for a full-fledged reunion tour, with the help of new manager
Doc McGhee. The conference, emceed by
Conan O'Brien, was simulcast to 58
countries. On April 20, nearly 40,000 tickets for the tour's first
show sold out in 47 minutes.
The first
public concert featuring the newly reunited Kiss was an hour-long
warm up show on June 15 for the annual KROQ Weenie Roast in Irvine,
California
, during which the band nearly ignited the stage of
the Irvine Meadows Amphitheater. On June 28, the Kiss
Alive/Worldwide Tour began at
Tiger
Stadium
in Detroit, Michigan
in front of a sold-out crowd of 39,867 fans.
The tour lasted for 192 shows over eleven months and earned $43.6
million, making Kiss the top-drawing concert act of 1996. The
average attendance of 13,737 is the highest in the group's
history.
In September 1998, the reunited group issued
Psycho Circus. Despite its appearance as
the first album with the original lineup since 1980's
Unmasked (even though Criss didn't play on the
album), the contributions of Frehley and Criss were minimal. While
the images of Frehley and Criss are featured prominently on the
album, most of the lead guitar work was later revealed to have been
performed by future band member
Tommy
Thayer and former member Bruce Kulick. Most drum duties were
handled by session musician Kevin Valentine. Despite the
controversy, the album achieved a #3 chart debut, the highest ever
position for a Kiss album. The
title track received a Grammy
nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance.
The Psycho Circus Tour opened at Dodger
Stadium
in Los
Angeles, California
on Halloween night 1998, and was simulcast on FM
radio across the U.S. It proved to be another success, and
was historic for being the first to ever incorporate
3-D visuals into a stage show.
On August
11, 1999, Kiss was inducted into the Hollywood
Walk of Fame
, in the "Recording Industry" category.
August 13 saw the nationwide premiere of a Kiss-themed
motion picture, titled
Detroit Rock City. The movie
takes place in 1978, and focuses on four teenagers (featuring
Edward Furlong) willing to do
anything to score tickets for a sold-out Kiss show in
Detroit.
The next month, the group worked in collaboration with
World Championship Wrestling to
produce a Kiss-themed wrestler known as
The
Kiss Demon whose face was painted to resemble Simmons. The
group performed "God of Thunder" live on
WCW Monday Nitro to debut the
character. The band got $500,000 for the one-night, one-song
performance. The character was short-lived, as all ties to Kiss
were cut by WCW when its head,
Eric
Bischoff was relieved of his duties in September of that
year.
Kiss announced in early 2000 that they would be launching a U.S.
Farewell Tour in the summer,
which was to be the band's last, although it was last for the
original line up; the tour kicked off on March 12, 2000. The group
quickly added dates to the tour, which ran through April 2001. 2001
also saw the release of a computer game,
Kiss: Psycho Circus:
The Nightmare Child.
Post-reunion (2001–2008)
On the eve of the Japanese and Australian leg of the Farewell tour
on January 31, 2001, Criss suddenly left the band once again,
reportedly unhappy with his salary. Taking his place was previous
Kiss drummer
Eric Singer who, in a move
that was controversial among longtime fans, assumed Criss's Cat Man
persona as the Farewell Tour continued. Simmons and Stanley own
Criss's makeup designs (as well as Frehley's), so there was no way
for Criss or Frehley to prevent this.
With the band scheduled to call it a day supposedly by early 2001,
a career-encompassing collection entitled
The Box Set (94 tracks on five CDs)
was released in November of that year, while the summer saw perhaps
the most outrageous item of Kiss merchandise yet – the
Kiss Kasket. In introducing the Kiss Kasket,
Simmons quipped, "I love livin', but this makes the alternative
look pretty damn good."
On December 4, 2001, Kiss was one of the honorees at the National
Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences ("The Recording Academy")
Heroes Award ceremony, at the NARAS New York Chapter. NARAS has 12
chapters throughout the United States, hence 12 ceremonies
throughout the year, with the honorees each being honored by the
chapter closest to their residence. By receiving this honor, which
NARAS has renamed the "Recording Academy Honors," Kiss effectively
received NARAS' second-highest career honor, right behind the
Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award.
Kiss was relatively quiet through the rest of the year, but 2002
started with some controversy as Simmons took part in a
controversial interview on
National Public Radio, where he
criticized NPR and berated host
Terry
Gross with sexual comments and condescending answers.
In
February 2002, Kiss (with Singer on drums and Frehley on lead
guitar) performed during the Closing Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake
City, Utah
. This was Frehley's last performance with
Kiss to date.
On March
6, 2002, Kiss performed a private concert at a resort in Trelawny,
Jamaica
. Frehley, who was no longer under contract,
did not play with the group. He was replaced by Tommy Thayer, who
donned Frehley's Spaceman makeup and costume for his first live
appearance with Kiss. That month, the band (with Thayer) taped an
appearance on the American
sitcom
That '70s Show. The episode,
"That '70s Kiss Show," aired in August 2002. Thayer again performed
with the group in April 2002, when Kiss performed "Detroit Rock
City" (with pre-recorded music and live vocals) for an appearance
on
Dick Clark's American Bandstand 50th Anniversary show,
which aired on May 3.
In
February 2003, Kiss traveled to Australia and recorded Kiss Symphony: Alive IV with
the Melbourne Symphony
Orchestra at Etihad
Stadium
(formerly known as Telstra Dome) in Melbourne
. Thayer once again replaced Frehley, while
Peter Criss returned to the group. This album was the first
released on
Sanctuary Records,
which has since been sold to
Universal Music Group - owners of the
rest of Kiss's catalog.
Despite claims made prior to the Farewell Tour that it would be the
group's last, Kiss announced a
co-headlining tour with Aerosmith in
2003. Frehley announced that his departure from the band was
permanent, stating that he believed the Farewell Tour would be
Kiss's last, and that he did not want to open for Aerosmith, a band
who in the past had opened for Kiss. He was permanently replaced by
Thayer, as Kiss moved into a post-reunion phase that saw the band
easing into a new line-up, permanently featuring Thayer as "Space
Ace" and Singer as "the Catman". On this tour, still featuring
Peter Criss, the group introduced the "Platinum" tickets package,
with the most expensive packages costing USD $1,000. This package
included a seat in the first five rows, a meet-and-greet with Kiss
after their performance, and a photograph with the band. The tour
earned more than US$64 million in 2003, which ranked #7 for the
year.
Simmons and Stanley did not renew Criss's contract when it expired
in March 2004. Criss, on his website, stated that "No one, again no
one has called me, or my attorney about an extension for future
touring. As a founding member I find this to be disrespectful to
me, and to the fans that have made us one of the biggest bands in
the world." Criss stated in a radio interview in 2004 with
Eddie Trunk that Simmons and Stanley were going
to start a new Kiss, and thought he was getting too old to play for
two hours (even though Criss is only 4 years older than Simmons).
Criss was permanently replaced by Singer at this point.
During the summer of 2004, Kiss headlined the Rock the Nation 2004
World Tour, with
Poison as the opening
act.
The
tour ended in August with a sold-out show in Mexico City
. Selected dates on the tour were filmed for
the
Rock the Nation Live! concert DVD, released on
December 13, 2005. Stanley, who had been experiencing increasing
difficulty with his
hip, had his
mobility limited during the tour. He has already had two hip
surgeries performed, with more likely in the future.

Kiss in concert at the Chumash Casino
Resort in Santa Ynez, California, on July 26, 2006.
After the conclusion of the Rock the Nation Tour, Kiss performed
only sporadically for a number of years. The group played two shows
in 2005, and another six in 2006. Four of the 2006 shows were July
concerts in Japan, including two dates (July 22 and 23) as a
headlining act at the 2006 Udo Music Festival. Kiss performed four
July 2007 concerts, three of which were dubbed the Hit 'N Run Tour.
Prior to the final show on July 27, Stanley was hospitalized with
an extremely rapid heartbeat. In his absence, Kiss performed in
concert as a trio for the first time ever. This was the first Kiss
concert Stanley had missed during his then 34-year tenure with the
group.
Kiss
(along with Queen, Def Leppard, and Judas
Priest) were honored at the first annual "VH1 Rock Honors"
event, held May 25, 2006 in Las Vegas
. On April 9, 2006, the
Associated Press announced the event by
saying "the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame looks to be getting some
competition." A tribute band, consisting of
Rob Zombie (vocals),
Slash (guitar),
Scott
Ian (bass), and
Supernova bandmates
Tommy Lee (drums) and
Gilby Clarke (guitar), performed "God of
Thunder" with Ace Frehley.
In June
2006, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley attended the opening of the
Kiss Coffeehouse in Myrtle
Beach, South Carolina
. On October 15, 2006, Simmons, Stanley, and
Criss were inaugural inductees into the
Long Island Music Hall of
Fame, along with performers such as
Neil Diamond,
Billy
Joel,
Louis Armstrong,
The Ramones and
Tony
Bennett.
Stanley released his second solo album,
Live to Win, on October 24 2006, and
undertook a brief solo tour in support. On October 31 the same
year, the group released
Kissology Volume One:
1974–1977, the first of ten possible DVD sets featuring
complete concert footage, interviews, and never-before-seen clips.
As of January 2007, the set is certified quintuple platinum in the
United States. A
second volume was
released on August 14, 2007. It was certified 6X Platinum by the
R.I.A.A. on October 24. What seemed to be the final entry,
Kissology
Volume Three: 1992–2000, was released on December 18,
2007. Stanley insisted that there are more volumes forthcoming in
an interview with Norwegian broadcasting in the summer of 2008, but
no details have been given.
In April 2007, tragedy struck Kiss again. Their former guitarist,
Mark St. John, died from an apparent
cerebral hemorrhage at age 51. After being fired from Kiss in 1984,
St. John formed the short-lived glam metal group
White Tiger. In 1990 he briefly
collaborated with Peter Criss in a band called The Keep, which only
performed once and released no recordings. St. John largely dropped
out of public view in later years, but did make occasional
appearances at Kiss fan conventions.
Though
Kiss has been eligible for enshrinement in the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame
(whose rules state that an act is eligible 25 years
after its first release) since 1999/2000, they were not nominated
until 2009. While this snub displeases some fans, Stanley
and Simmons maintain that it is meaningless to them.
Nevertheless, a group
of about 200 Kiss fans held a protest rally in front of the Hall of
Fame in Cleveland,
Ohio
on August 5, 2006. It was the first known
organized demonstration seeking the induction of a band into the
Hall.
In 2007, a new comic book series featuring the band was released by
the Kiss Comics Group in association with
Platinum Studios. Entitled "Kiss 4K:
Legends Never Die," the first issue came out in a regular size and
a giant 1.5' x 2.5' size, dubbed the Destroyer edition. Kiss were
scheduled to play in Whistler in mid September, but the concert
plans were cancelled late August due to passport problems.
2008 saw the band picking up the pace, doing their first proper
tour of Europe for nearly a decade. On January 30, 2008,
guitarist and
vocalist
Paul Stanley confirmed that Kiss would
launch the
Kiss Alive/35 World
Tour, playing arena and stadium shows in Europe, Australia and
New Zealand.
On March 16, 2008, Kiss closed the Formula 1
ING Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne
Grand Prix Circuit
- Melbourne, Australia
as well as performing in Brisbane
and Sydney
as part of
this tour. Kiss played at the Rock2Wgtn two-day
festival held in Wellington
, New Zealand on March 22 and 23rd 2008; a festival
which also featured Ozzy Osbourne,
Whitesnake, Poison, Alice
Cooper, Lordi, Sonic Altar and Symphony of Screams with special effects
provided by WETA Workshop of Lord of the Rings and
King Kong fame.
Throughout the summer of 2008, Kiss headlined festivals as well as
their own shows and played to a record audience of about 400 000
people. As part of this tour Kiss headlined the
Download Festival in Donington, England,
on June 13. Three days later they headlined the
Arrow Rock Festival in Nijmegen,
Netherlands.
On June 28, Kiss headlined the Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel
, Belgium
. It was the last show in the European leg of
the 'Alive 35' tour. Monday, Aug. 4th, Kiss played at Rockin' The
Rally at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally as part of the tour. South
Dakota Governor Mike Rounds proclaimed August 4, 2008, to be "Kiss
Rock and Roll Day" in South Dakota. In September 2008, both Gene
Simmons and Paul Stanley confirmed rumors that the Kiss Alive/35
Tour would continue with a big tour of North America in 2009.
Sonic Boom (2008-present)
Late 2008 saw the band take another unexpected turn. Over ten years
after their last studio album, and following years of denials about
ever wanting to do a new album, Stanley and Simmons changed their
minds. In November 2008, Paul Stanley stated to rock photographer
Ross Halfin that a new Kiss album was in
the works. Stanley himself would be the producer, and the album
would have a "real 70's Kiss sound" to it. Later that month,
Simmons and Stanley both publicly confirmed the information about a
new Kiss album.
The band appeared on
American Idol in May 2009 performing
with
Adam Lambert singing "
Detroit Rock City" and "
Rock and Roll All Nite".
In July 2009 Paul Stanley announced a release date of
October 6, 2009 for the new album
Sonic Boom.It included a CD of
new material, re-recorded versions of famous Kiss hits (previously
released as Jigoku-Retsuden, a Japanese exclusive album in 2008)
and a live DVD. In support of the new album, Kiss appeared live on
the
Late Show with David
Letterman on 6 October 2009 and on
Jimmy Kimmel Live! on 7 October
2009.
On 25 September 2009, the Kiss Alive/35 North American Tour kicked
off at Cobo Arena in Detroit, MI; both nights were filmed for
future DVD release. These were the band's final performances there
due to the venue's closing in 2010. The tour was originally
scheduled to conclude on December 6, 2009, at the American Airlines
Centre in Dallas, TX, however, several additional shows have been
added and the last performance is now scheduled for December 15 in
Sault Ste. Marie.
Kiss headlined Voodoo Fest 2009 held at City Park in New Orleans,
Louisiana on Halloween Night.
During
their performance at the MTS Centre
on 9 November 2009 in Winnipeg
, Manitoba
, one of the lighting trusses caught on fire due to
a pyro cue. The truss had to be lowered in to have the fire
put out. During the 5 or so minutes it took to extinguish the fire,
the band broke into the song "
Firehouse". No one was hurt and the
show continued on.
Kiss will be starting the European leg of the Sonic Boom tour
during May 2010 by the name "
Sonic Boom Over Europe: From The
Beginning To The Boom." The tour will include their first UK
arena show in eleven years, their first visit to Slovakia and their
first concert in Scotland since 1992.
Band members
Current members
Former members
- Ace Frehley – lead
guitar, vocals (1972–1982, 1996–2002)
- Peter Criss –
drums, percussion, vocals (1972–1980, 1996–2001, 2002-2004)
- Bruce Kulick –
lead guitar, vocals (1984–1996)
- Eric Carr – drums,
percussion, vocals (1980–1991)
- Vinnie Vincent –
lead guitar, backing vocals (1982–1984)
- Mark St. John –
lead guitar (1984)
Makeup
Image:KISS starchild face.svg|The Starchild -
Paul StanleyImage:KISS devil face.svg|The Demon
-
Gene SimmonsImage:KISS space ace
face.svg|The Spaceman -
Ace Frehley and
Tommy ThayerImage:KISS cat face.svg|The
Catman -
Peter Criss and
Eric SingerImage:KISS fox face.svg|The Fox -
Eric CarrImage:KISS ankh warrior
face.svg|The Ankh Warrior -
Vinnie
Vincent
Discography and filmography
See Kiss discography and
Kiss filmography.
Awards and nominations
References in popular culture
Kiss, its members, and look-alike parodies of the band have
appeared in popular media of many types:
- *Role Models; the main
characters start a new country, soldiered by the band members,
called 'Kiss-My-Anthia' in a live action role-playing
game.
- *Detroit Rock
City; the plot is about four guys going to a Kiss concert
in Detroit, 1978. Kiss appears as themselves in the end of the
movie.
- *The Comedy Central show
Chocolate News presents a
"former, all-black" fictional band from New Orleans called
Kiss.
- *Fairly Odd Parents
movie "Wishology" as themselves; Simmons and Stanley are credited
as guest voices.
- *The Powerpuff
Girls episode "Nuthin' Special", in which Gene Simmons
makes a cameo as one of the people of Townsville trying to curl
their tongue after Buttercup is able to.
- *Family Guy episodes
"A Very
Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas" and "Road to Europe" star the band as
themselves.
- *What's New,
Scooby-Doo? episode "A Scooby-Doo Halloween", Kiss plays a
concert in the fictional town of Banning Junction during the towns
Halloween Celebration. They play "Shout It Out Loud" in the
episode, the song serving as the chase theme.
- *Erfworld; Lord Stanley the Tool dons
the face-paint of Paul Stanley and quotes of a line from "Shock Me": "Your lightning's all I
need."
- *Punk rock group The Squids' very
last recording (2005) is entitled Weeeee!! A Kiss
Concert!!. The song depicts the band members drinking enough
alcohol to genuinely believe that a Kiss concert was taking place
in an urban apartment setting. The Squids' keyboardist LaTour takes on the persona of Paul Stanley, and
vocalist Joey Spatafora plays the role of Gene Simmons.
- *Kiss, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss are mentioned in Weezer's song "In the
Garage".
- *Cheap Trick, in the original
recording of the 1978 song "Surrender" (from the album
Heaven Tonight), sing the
lyric: "Rockin' and Rollin' with my Kiss records out",
although in recent years, they have changed the lyric in live
performances to: "with my KID'S records out."
Additional reading
- Gebert, Gordon G.G. and McAdams, Bob (1997). Kiss &
Tell. Pitbull Publishing LLC. ISBN 0-9658794-0-2.
- Gebert, Gordon G.G. (1999). Kiss & Tell More!.
Pitbull Publishing LLC. ISBN 0-9658794-1-0.
- Gill, Julian (2005). The Kiss Album Focus (3rd Edition),
Volume 2. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 1-59926-358-0.
- Gill, Julian (2005). The Kiss & Related Recordings
Focus: Music! the Songs, the Demo, the Lyrics And Stories!.
Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 1-59926-360-2.
- Gill, Julian (2006). The Kiss Album Focus (3rd Edition),
Volume 3. Booksurge Publishing. ISBN 0-97222-535-8.
- Lendt, C.K. (1997). Kiss and Sell: The Making of a
Supergroup. Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-7551-6.
- Sherman, Dale (1997). Black Diamond: The Unauthorized
Biography of Kiss. Collectors Guide Publishing Inc. ISBN
1-896522-35-1.
- Simmons, Gene, Paul Stanley, and Waring Abbott (2002).
Kiss: The Early Years. Three Rivers Press. ISBN
0-609-81028-6.
- Tomarkin, Peggy (1980). Kiss: The Real Story,
Authorized. Delacorte Press. ISBN 0-440-04834-6.
- Moore, Wendy (2004). Into the Void... With Ace
Frehley. Pitbull Publishing LLC. ISBN 0-9658794-4-5.
Notes
See also
References
External links
Official Kiss Links
Other Kiss Links