Kiss (band)

Kiss performing in 2019 Kiss Background information Born Birthname Birthplace Died Deathplace Also known as Occupation(s) Origin New York City, U.S. Genres Hard rock heavy metal shock rock glam metal Member of Formerly of Members * Paul Stanley Gene Simmons Eric Singer Tommy Thayer Past members * Ace Frehley Peter Criss Eric Carr Vinnie Vincent Mark St. John Bruce Kulick Years active 1973–present Spouse(s) Partner(s) Background Labels Casablanca Mercury Roadrunner Kiss Universal Instruments Associated acts Notable Instruments

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Kiss (stylized as KIϟϟ) is an American rock band formed in New York City in 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss. Known for its members' face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid-1970s with shock rock-style live performances, which featured fire-breathing, blood-spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits, and pyrotechnics. The band has gone through several lineup changes, with Stanley and Simmons the only consistent members. The original and best-known lineup consisted of Stanley (vocals and rhythm guitar), Simmons (vocals and bass), Frehley (lead guitar and vocals), and Criss (drums and vocals).

With their makeup and costumes, the band members took on the personae of comic book-style characters: the Starchild (Stanley), the Demon (Simmons), the Spaceman or Space Ace (Frehley), and the Catman (Criss). Due to creative differences, Criss departed the band in 1980 and Frehley in 1982, though both would return later.

In 1983, Kiss began performing without makeup and costumes, marking the beginning of the band's "unmasked" era that would last for over a decade. The band experienced a commercial resurgence during this era, with the Platinum-certified album Lick It Up successfully introducing them to a new generation of fans, and its music videos receiving regular airplay on MTV. Eric Carr, who had replaced Criss in 1980, died in 1991 of heart cancer and was replaced by Eric Singer. In response to a wave of Kiss nostalgia in the mid-1990s, the original lineup reunited in 1996, which also saw the return of its makeup and stage costumes. The resulting reunion tour was highly successful, grossing $143.7 million, making it the band's most successful tour to date. Criss and Frehley subsequently left the band again, and have been replaced by Singer and Tommy Thayer, respectively. The band has continued with its original stage makeup, with Singer and Thayer using the original Catman and Spaceman makeup, respectively. In September 2018, Kiss announced that, after 45 years of recording and performing, it would embark on its final tour, the End of the Road World Tour, which started in January 2019 and is currently set to conclude in 2023.

Kiss is regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of all time, as well as one of the bestselling bands of all time, claiming to have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, including 21 million RIAA-certified albums. Kiss has also earned 30 Gold albums, the most of any band from the United States. Kiss has 14 Platinum albums, three of which earned multi-Platinum. On April 10, 2014, the four original members of Kiss were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Kiss was ranked by MTV as the ninth "Greatest Metal Band of All Time", and placed tenth on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" list, as well as being ranked as the third "Best Metal and Hard Rock Live Band of All Time" by Loudwire magazine.

Artistry

Musical style

Kiss has typically been classified under the genres of hard rock, heavy metal,, shock rock, glam metal, and glam rock. Most of its 1970s albums, particularly the first six released between 1974 and 1977 as well as 1982's Creatures of the Night and 1984's Animalize, featured a hard rock or traditional heavy metal style. 1979's Dynasty and 1980's Unmasked featured a more disco/pop rock sound, and 1981's Music from "The Elder" found the band dabbling in progressive rock. In 1983, starting with Lick It Up and the removal of its trademark makeup, the band began incorporating glam metal into its sound and visual image. Later, in the early 1990s, its sound grew heavier and abandoned the glam metal sound. In the mid-1990s, the band returned to its original sound.

Its music is described as "a commercially potent mix of anthemic, fist-pounding hard rock, driven by sleek hooks and ballads powered by loud guitars, cloying melodies, and sweeping strings. It was a sound that laid the groundwork for both arena rock and the pop-metal that dominated rock in the late 1980s." The first review of Kiss by Rolling Stone, in 1973, described the band as "an American Black Sabbath". The same magazine's review of Hotter than Hell stated that "with twin guitars hammering out catchy mondo-distorto riffs and bass and drums amiably bringing up the rear, Kiss spews forth a deceptively controlled type of thunderous hysteria." At the same time, Bennington Banner from Rock Music magazine said, "With its members' bizarre, Kabuki-like makeup, studded black leather costumes and arsenal of on-stage firepower – both musical and literal – Kiss represents the most extreme form of hard rock in 1974."

Makeup designs

The band is famous for its iconic makeup designs, each of which represents a different character or persona. The current lineup consists of the original four designs: the "Starchild", the "Demon", the "Spaceman" and the "Catman". The band formerly included a practice of giving any new members a new persona, such as "the Fox" for Carr and "the Ankh Warrior" for Vincent; this practice was ended after Singer and Thayer took up Frehley's "Spaceman" and Criss's "Catman" personas. When asked on the matter, Simmons stated "Why wouldn't we use the classic makeup? We own it". Criss relinquished his rights to his makeup when he left the band in 2004, which he later regretted, saying "I'm pissed at myself that my makeup slipped through my hands"; while Frehley claims he licensed his design to the band and would get it back, a notion which Stanley has called "a fantasy".

During 1973–74, Stanley occasionally used an alternative makeup design called the "Bandit" for select photo-shoots and live shows after Neil Bogart, head of Casablanca Records, suggested to him that he use a design that was symmetrical like those of the rest of the band. During this time, he was also still using the Starchild makeup—sometimes even using both designs at the same photo-shoots. In 1974, he stopped using the Bandit design permanently. On the cover of the band's debut album, Criss used a drastically different variation of his Catman makeup (dubbed the "Pantomime Cat") after he allowed the makeup artist at the shoot to use their own ideas instead of following the usual design. Carr was originally going to be the "Hawk", a design which Simmons recalled in his autobiography looked like Big Bird from Sesame Street. One photo of Carr wearing this proposed design exists today, and also one of a mannequin Stanley set up wearing the proposed makeup and outfit. Unlike the Bandit and Pantomime Cat, this alternative design was never used in any official capacity. The Hawk design was also considered for Vincent and Singer.

St. John and Kulick were members of Kiss only during the non-makeup period. Kulick stated that had he ever worn makeup in the band, he would have liked to have been the "Dog": "I figure that since there's already a cat in the band, I should probably be the dog. I'd have a big circle around one eye and I'd look like Petey from the Little Rascals. I've actually seen one or two fan renditions of what that might look like, so yeah, I'd be the dog." The four original makeup designs have been registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, with ownership and licensing rights held by Simmons and Stanley.

The Starchild
Paul Stanley
(1973–1983, 1989, 1996–present)

The Demon
Gene Simmons
(1973–1983, 1989, 1996–present)

The Spaceman
Ace Frehley ("Space Ace")
(1973–1982, 1996–2002)
Tommy Thayer
(2002–present)

The Catman
Peter Criss
(1973–1980, 1996–2000, 2002–2003)
Eric Singer
(2001–2002, 2004–present)

The Fox
Eric Carr
(1980–1983)

The Ankh Warrior
Vinnie Vincent
(1982–1983)

Influences

British glam rock band Slade (pictured in 1973) was among the band's influences.

Kiss was strongly influenced by Alice Cooper and New York Dolls, while Gene Simmons has stated that the band's "musical heart and soul lies in England". The Beatles and the Yardbirds' trio of rock guitarists Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck were among the British acts he praised, with Simmons stating, "I've ripped off so many English riffs, if the British influence wasn't there, we wouldn't be here. 'Rock and Roll All Nite' is a direct bastard child of Slade's 'Mama Weer All Crazee Now'". In his book, Kiss and Make-Up, Simmons wrote of the glam rock group Slade, "... we liked the way they connected with the crowd and the way they wrote anthems ... we wanted that same energy, that same irresistible simplicity".

The world of concert touring was changed by Kiss's practice of erecting uniquely designed stage sets. Tours got larger, carrying more personnel and equipment, including sets, costumes, sound and lighting gear, and pyrotechnics, all requiring more trucking and the total cost increasing by millions of dollars. Kiss also innovated with a significant expansion of concert merchandising, selling non-musical Kiss-branded goods to concertgoers. The sales of merchandise helped pay for the concert expenses and bring a profit to the band as well as give them more of a presence without relying solely on radio. Other bands copied Kiss by selling their own branded goods at concerts, a practice which became more of a necessity in the 1980s with increasing costs of touring. In addition to concert merchandising, Kiss has extended its influence to include a full Kiss-themed mini-golf course at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Band members

Further information: List of Kiss members

Current

• Paul Stanley – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar (1973–present)
• Gene Simmons – lead and backing vocals, bass (1973–present)
• Eric Singer – drums, backing and lead vocals (1991–1996, 2001−2002, 2004–present)
• Tommy Thayer – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals (2002–present)

Former

• Ace Frehley – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals (1973–1982, 1996–2002)
• Peter Criss – drums, backing and lead vocals (1973–1980, 1996–2001, 2002–2004)
• Eric Carr – drums, backing and lead vocals (1980–1991; his death)
• Vinnie Vincent – lead guitar, backing vocals (1982–1984)
• Mark St. John – lead guitar, backing vocals (1984; died 2007)
• Bruce Kulick – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals (1984–1996)

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Kiss

Discography

Main articles: Kiss discography and songs

Studio albums

• Kiss (1974)
• Hotter than Hell (1974)
• Dressed to Kill (1975)
• Destroyer (1976)
• Rock and Roll Over (1976)
• Love Gun (1977)
• Paul Stanley (1978)
• Gene Simmons (1978)
• Ace Frehley (1978)
• Peter Criss (1978)
• Dynasty (1979)
• Unmasked (1980)
• Music from "The Elder" (1981)
• Creatures of the Night (1982)
• Lick It Up (1983)
• Animalize (1984)
• Asylum (1985)
• Crazy Nights (1987)
• Hot in the Shade (1989)
• Revenge (1992)
• Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions (1997)
• Psycho Circus (1998)
• Sonic Boom (2009)
• Monster (2012)

Tours

• Club Tour (1973)
• Kiss Tour (1974)
• Hotter than Hell Tour (1974–1975)
• Dressed to Kill Tour (1975)
• Alive! Tour (1975–1976)
• Destroyer Tour (1976)
• Rock & Roll Over Tour (1976–1977)
• Love Gun Tour (1977)
• Alive II Tour (1977–1978)
• Dynasty Tour (1979)
• Unmasked Tour (1980)
• Creatures of the Night Tour/10th Anniversary Tour (1982–1983)
• Lick It Up World Tour (1983–1984)
• Animalize World Tour (1984–1985)
• Asylum Tour (1985–1986)
• Crazy Nights World Tour (1987–1988)
• Hot in the Shade Tour (1990)
• Revenge Tour (1992)
• Kiss My Ass Tour (1994–1995)
• Alive/Worldwide Tour (1996–1997)
• Psycho Circus World Tour (1998–1999)
• The Farewell Tour (2000–2001)
• World Domination Tour (2003)
• Rock the Nation World Tour (2004)
• Rising Sun Tour (2006)
• Hit 'n Run Tour (2007)
• Alive 35 World Tour (2008–2010)
• Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour (2010)
• The Hottest Show on Earth Tour (2010–2011)
• The Tour (2012)
• Monster World Tour (2012–2013)
• Kiss 40th Anniversary World Tour (2014–2015)
• Freedom to Rock Tour (2016)
• KISSWORLD Tour (2017–2018)
• End of the Road World Tour (2019–present)

See also

• Album era
• Kiss videography
• List of songs recorded by Kiss
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart
• List of bestselling music artists

References

General bibliography

• Criss, Lydia (2006). Sealed with a Kiss. Lydia Criss Publishing. .
• Galbraith, Richard (2009). Richard Galbraith Photography Presents KISS. Richard Galbraith. .
• Gebert, Gordon G. G. and McAdams, Bob (1997). Kiss & Tell. Pitbull Publishing LLC. .
• Gebert, Gordon G. G. (1999). Kiss & Tell More!. Pitbull Publishing LLC. .
• Gooch, Curt; Suhs, Jeff (2002). Kiss Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History. New York: Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-8322-5. 
• Leaf, David; Sharp, Ken (2003). Kiss: Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography. New York: Warner Books. ISBN 0-446-53073-5. 
• Lendt, C.K. (1997). Kiss and Sell: The Making of a Supergroup. New York: Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-7551-6. 
• Moore, Wendy (2004). Into the Void ... With Ace Frehley. Pitbull Publishing LLC. .
• Prato, Greg (2011). The Eric Carr Story. Createspace. .
• Prato, Greg (2019). Take It Off! Kiss Truly Unmasked. Jawbone Press. .
• Sherman, Dale (1997). Black Diamond: The Unauthorized Biography of Kiss. Collectors Guide Publishing Inc. .
• Simmons, Gene (2001). Kiss and Make-Up. New York: Crown. ISBN 0-609-60855-X. https://archive.org/details/kissmakeup00simm. 
• Simmons, Gene, Paul Stanley, and Waring Abbott (2002). Kiss: The Early Years. Three Rivers Press. .
• Tomarkin, Peggy (1980). Kiss: The Real Story, Authorized. Delacorte Press. .
• Lefcowitz, Eric; Preiss, Byron (1997). The Rhino History of Rock 'n Roll the 70s. Pocket Books. ISBN 9780671011758. 
• Kerekes, David; Slater, David (1995). Critical Vision: Random Essays & Tracts Concerning Sex, Religion, Death. Critical Vision. ISBN 9780952328803. 
• Sharp, Ken (2014) (in en). Nothin' to Lose: The Making of Kiss (1972-1975). HarperCollins. ISBN 9780062131744. 
• Weiss, Brett (2016). Encyclopedia of Kiss: Music, Personnel, Events and Related Subjects. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc.. ISBN 9781476625409. 
• Brod, Doug (2020) (in en). They Just Seem A Little Weird: How Kiss, Cheap Trick, Aerosmith, and Starz Remade Rock and Roll (First ed.). New York, New York: Hachette Books. ISBN 978-0-306-84519-2. https://www.google.ca/books/edition/They_Just_Seem_a_Little_Weird/iWHbDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0. 

Further reading

• Hoffmann, Jim (2020). My Search for 'Shock Me': Ace Frehley's Signature Song (A Scholarly Analysis). Susquehanna Road Publishing. ISBN 9798664267723. 

External links

• Official website
• Kiss at Curlie
• FBI Records: The Vault - Kiss at fbi.gov
• Kiss on Spotify

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