The legendary American rock band Kiss got its start in New York City in 1973. The original lineup featured Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss. The group became famous for its spectacular live shows and the members’ signature makeup. Their concerts were a full-blown spectacle, featuring fire-breathing, smoking guitars, a moving drum kit, and mind-blowing pyrotechnics. Have a closer look on newyorkski.info at the music and extravagance of Kiss.
Formation: Members, Name, and Logo
The story of what would become Kiss began with Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. The two twenty-something musicians were playing together in a New York band called Wicked Lester. In 1972, they decided to leave that project behind and try something new.
They were both interested in the harder rock sound that was gaining popularity at the time. They soon met drummer Peter Criss, who was a few years older but shared their vision and musical ideas. In early 1973, guitarist Ace Frehley joined the group. He impressed them not only with his guitar skills but also with his eccentricity. Frehley showed up to his audition wearing two different colored shoes.
The name Kiss was Paul Stanley’s idea. He came up with it after Criss mentioned he had played in a band called Lips. Stanley paused, then said, “What if we call ourselves Kiss?” The other members immediately agreed.
Ace Frehley designed the band’s logo, drawing the two S’s to look like lightning bolts—an idea he borrowed from Wicked Lester. Over the years, some people claimed the logo resembled the insignia of Nazi Germany and that the band members were Nazi sympathizers. These accusations were baseless, given that Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and guitarist and keyboardist Bruce Kulick were all Jewish.
The Lineup and Its Evolution
The original band’s lineup of Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss began their journey by not only creating music but also crafting their vivid stage personas. This was a key part of their plan to make it big.
Each member took on a spectacular character:
- Gene Simmons became the Demon.
- Peter Criss transformed into the Catman.
- Ace Frehley was the Spaceman.
- Paul Stanley took on the persona of the Starchild.
In the early 1980s, Eric Carr and Vinnie Vincent joined the band, adopting the personas of the Fox and the Ankh Warrior, respectively.
It’s worth noting that from 1983 to 1995, the band performed without their signature makeup. They appeared unmasked in their famous music video for “Unholy,” for example. This was a move to boost their declining commercial popularity and get more regular airplay on MTV. Eventually, however, nostalgia brought the band back to their iconic looks.
Over the years, the lineup changed, with the band breaking up and reuniting several times. The band gradually transitioned into a legacy act, and their fans grew older with them, but their music became timeless.
The Sound of Kiss
The band’s musical style can be described as a mix of glam rock, hard rock, pop, and disco. The goal, especially during live shows, was to make the audience forget their daily lives and completely immerse themselves in the world of rock. To achieve this, they always put on an incredible show: spitting “blood” and fire, smashing guitars, and even flying high above the stage. All of this was done while performing their songs. One of their albums is even titled Psycho Circus, a name that perfectly sums up their brand.
The band’s first album was self-titled, and its most successful single was “Strutter.” The band went on a US tour and started getting TV appearances, but they didn’t achieve commercial success at this stage, selling only 75,000 records.
Their second album, Hotter Than Hell, also failed to bring the expected success. The band decided to incorporate a more pop-oriented sound into their next works. The song “Rock and Roll All Nite” from their third album, Dressed to Kill, became the group’s anthem and earned them widespread recognition.
The band’s first live album, Alive!, brought them real success, earning a gold certification. Their subsequent albums went gold and platinum, and their songs regularly made it into the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. At this point, the quality of their music also significantly improved. For the album Destroyer, for example, the band collaborated with an orchestra and a choir and added many audio effects.
During their prime, Kiss band was incredibly productive:
- They released one successful album after another (Rock and Roll Over, Love Gun, Alive II, and others).
- Their earnings reached tens of millions of dollars.
- They launched a line of branded merchandise, and their fanbase grew exponentially.
In 1977, the band became the most popular in the US. In Japan, they broke a Beatles record by performing five consecutive sold-out shows.
Over the next decade, the band’s lineup periodically changed. The original members reunited for the 38th Grammy Awards ceremony. In 1996, they went on a reunion tour together and then got back together again from 2000 to 2001. After that, they continued to release new songs and tour.
In the fall of 2018, the band’s largest-ever farewell tour, “End of the Road,” began. Sometimes concerts had to be canceled due to the members’ health, such as in New Zealand and Australia. Other times, the start of the show was delayed by a few hours. But once they hit the stage, these rock veterans put on a show just as electrifying as they did in their prime. Photos from the tour spread across social media, sparking even more interest in the band’s career.
Brand Promotion: Films and Animation
The band members’ iconic and unusual looks became the basis for a vast amount of merchandise that brought them significant wealth. Additionally, the musicians starred in the movie Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park, which was released in 1978 and shown in theaters and on NBC.
This first venture was a commercial failure, but in 2016, Stanley and Simmons played themselves in the family comedy Why Him? Before that, they participated in voicing the animated mystery movie Scooby-Doo! and Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery, which featured many of their greatest hits.
The famous musicians also made appearances on television shows, which helped them stay popular and successful for half a century.
The End of an Era
The Kiss farewell tour concluded in 2023 with a grand final concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City at the end of the year. The finale featured digital avatars of Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer, and Tommy Thayer. The official announcement of the band’s retirement was made at the same time, though there were also discussions about future concerts by the digital version of the band and the creation of a documentary about them.
In 2024, the band sold the rights to their music, name, and likeness to the Swedish company Pophouse for an estimated $300 million.
That was the incredible story of Kiss. Their first concert drew barely ten listeners, while their biggest record-breaking show brought in a quarter of a million people. The musicians made a significant contribution to the development of rock and will forever remain in the hearts of their fans.