name	Kiss
landscape	yes
background	group_or_band
genre	Hard rock, heavy metal, glam metal
origin	New York City, United States
years active	1973–present
label	Casablanca, Mercury, Roadrunner, Kiss Records
associated acts	E.S.P., Frehley's Comet, Union, Vinnie Vincent Invasion, Wicked Lester, White Tiger, Black 'n Blue, Badlands, Grand Funk Railroad
website
current members	Paul StanleyGene SimmonsEric SingerTommy Thayer
past members	Ace FrehleyPeter CrissEric CarrVinnie VincentMark St. JohnBruce Kulick

Kiss 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 to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits and pyrotechnics. Kiss has been awarded 24 gold albums to date, the most of any American rock band. The band has sold more than 40 million albums in the United States, of which 19 million have been certified by the RIAA, and their worldwide sales exceeds 100 million albums.

The 1973–'80 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 personas of comic book-style characters: Starchild (Stanley), The Demon (Simmons), Spaceman or Space Ace (Frehley), and Catman (Criss). The band explains that the fans were the ones who ultimately chose their makeup designs. Paul Stanley became the "Starchild" because of his tendency to be referred to as the "starry-eyed lover" and "hopeless romantic." The "Demon" makeup reflected Simmons's cynicism and dark sense of humor, as well as his affection for comic books. Ace Frehley's "Spaceman" makeup was a reflection of his fondness for science fiction and supposedly being from another planet. Peter Criss' "Catman" makeup was in accordance with the belief that Criss had nine lives because of his rough childhood in Brooklyn. Because of 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. 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, but Kiss continues with 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 has been named to many "Top" lists. They include Number 10 on VH1's '100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock', 9th on 'The Greatest Metal Bands' list by MTV, #1 on Hit Paraders's "Top 100 Live Bands", 56th on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists Of All Time", 2nd on Digital Dream Door's "Best Hair Metal Bands", and 26th on Gibson's "50 Greatest American Rock Bands".

Kiss was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, ten years after becoming eligible. However, on December 15, 2009, it was announced that Kiss did not make it in.

History

Early years and struggles (1971–1975)

Kiss traces their 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 the East Coast version of ''Rolling Stone'' placed by Peter Criss, a veteran drummer from the New York 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. Frehley impressed the group with his first audition, although he showed up wearing two different sneakers, one red and one orange. A few weeks after Frehley joined, the Wicked Lester name was dropped and the band became Kiss. 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?" 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 instead, with the SS represented by two backwards Zs.

The band's name – which is often spelled in all capital letters – has been rumored to have many secret meanings, among them an acronym for "Knights In Satan's Service" and "Kids In Satan's Service" but has been shown to be false.

The first Kiss performance was on January 30, 1973, for an audience of three at the Popcorn Club (renamed Coventry shortly afterward) in Queens. For the first three gigs, January 30 – February 1, they wore little to no makeup; the iconic makeup designs associated with Kiss made their debut during the March 9–10 shows at The Daisy in Amityville, NY. On March 13 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 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' 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 the Jewish 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 (while touring) stopped in 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 later became 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 almost 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 September 10, 1975, ''Alive!'' achieved Gold status and spawned Kiss' 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 (the live version is the basis of most covers, such as the cover by Poison in 1987). 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. Album art was designed by Ken Kelly, who had drawn Tarzan, Conan the Barbarian and who also worked with acts such as Rainbow and Manowar. 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 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' 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.

Four solo albums on the same day (1978)

Kiss was 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' gross income for 1977 was $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' 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 film ''Pinocchio''). Simmons' 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 September 18, 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 $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 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' and Aucoin's plan called for the band to appear in a film that would cement their image as larger than life superheroes. Filming 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 filmmaking process.

The final product, entitled ''Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park'', debuted on NBC on October 28, 1978. Despite scathing reviews, it was one of the highest-viewed TV films 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 filmmaking 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 film ended up portraying them more as clowns than superheroes. The artistic failure of the film 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)

Kiss' 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 one of the band's biggest hit singles to date. Session drummer Anton Fig did almost all the percussion on the album while Criss recovered 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 because of 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 ''Destroyer'' 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 (born July 12, 1950), who was given the stage name Eric Carr. He was Kiss' 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 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 Music Festival. Kiss also performed "I", and "A World Without Heroes" on ''Solid Gold''.

Absent from the satellite performance was Frehley, who had become increasingly frustrated with Kiss' 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 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 and Eddie's brother Alex convinced Eddie to remain with Van Halen. (Eddie was anxious to break up Van Halen because of 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 co-written 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 disallowed. 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" also known as "The Egyptian Warrior", and makeup centered around an Egyptian ankh, for Vincent. According to Gene Simmons's autobiography ''Kiss and Make-Up'', Vincent's Kiss persona was solely "The Wiz". A persona as "The Ankh Warrior" or the like, is not mentioned in the book at all.

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 new album, ''Lick It Up''. The tour showing off the new album and the unmasked band members started off at Lisbon, Portugal, on October 11, 1983, at Pavilhão Dramático de Cascais, their first concert ever without makeup since early 1973.

''Lick It Up'' became Kiss' 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 September 13, 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' 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' 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 October 1989 release ''Hot in the Shade''. Although the album failed to achieve platinum status, it spawned the February 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.

In February 1991, 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. However, 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, Gary Moore, 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 were 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 the book ''Kisstory'', a 440-page, , 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."

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 (1996–2001)

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 11 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. 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 film 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 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. 2000 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.

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 with host Terry Gross. 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 final performance with Kiss.

On March 6, 2002, Kiss performed a private concert at a resort in Trelawny, Jamaica. Frehley, who was no longer under contract, did not perform 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 (then 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' 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. 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 $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 $64 million in 2003, which ranked #7 for the year.

Simmons and Stanley did not renew Criss' 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.

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 inaugural "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 10 possible DVD sets featuring complete concert footage, interviews, and never-before-seen clips. As of January 2007, the set is certified 5X 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 and has been certified 8X Platinum by the R.I.A.A. 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. On December 15, 2009, it was announced that Kiss would not be among the Hall's 2010 inductees.

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 because of passport problems.

Then, in 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 23, 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. 4, 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 the beginning of 2009, a big tour in South America, when Kiss played in April 5 in Argentina, April 7 and 8 in Brazil, April 14 in Peru (first Kiss show ever in Peru) and other concerts in Venezuela (first Kiss show ever in Venezuela) and Chile, in the mid-end of the 2009 year Kiss came back to North America to continue the Alive/35 tour, starting at July 18 in Halifax, NS.

''Sonic Boom'' and ''Monster'' (2008–present)

More than 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 70s 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 Buenos Aires, Argentina. "Modern Day Delilah" was announced and released as the lead single off of ''Sonic Boom'' on August 19, 2009 to radio. The song was Kiss' first single release in 11 years, the song's predecessor being "You Wanted the Best" which was released in 1998 off the band's ''Psycho Circus'' album. Due to early previews of the album, the song has gained positive feedback from both critics and fans, and has been compared to the band's '70s work. In support of the new album, Kiss appeared live on ''Late Show with David Letterman'' on October 6, 2009 and on ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' on October 7, 2009. ''Sonic Boom'' debuted at Number 2 on the Billboard 200, selling 108,000 copies in its first week of release.

On September 25, 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, as the venue was scheduled to be closed, however it is still holding events to this day (such as the Carnage Tour with Slayer & Megadeth, in August 2010). The tour was originally scheduled to conclude on December 6, 2009, at the American Airlines Center 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 November 9, 2009 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, one of the lighting trusses caught on fire from a pyro cue. The truss had to be lowered in to have the fire put out. During the five 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 started the European leg of the Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour in May 2010. Tragedy struck Kiss for a third time, when their former manager Bill Aucoin died of cancer on June 28, 2010 at the age of 66. Stanley and Simmons said he was like the fifth member of Kiss. The tour included their first UK arena shows in 11 years and their first visit to Slovakia. Kiss later played at two dates in US cities Cheyenne, Wyoming and The North Dakota State Fair in Minot, North Dakota in July 2010. They also played at the Indiana state fair in August and the Minnesota State Fair in September. They also made a brief appearance at S.P.A.C. (Saratoga Performing Arts Center) in Saratoga, New York on August 17, 2010. On July 23, Kiss started The Hottest Show on Earth Tour in the United States. The tour saw the band play numerous shows throughout the US, Canada and Mexico.

On April 13, 2011, Kiss began recording a new album due for release later in the year. Gene Simmons stated, the album "is gonna be the next step to ''Sonic Boom''. Very similar — straight rock songs, no ballads, no keyboards, no nothing, just rock."

In March 2011, while visiting Israel, Simmons announced that he had plans to bring Kiss to Israel. In May 2011, Kiss announced the first ever KISS Kruise to set sail in October 2011. The cruise will feature many activities such as the Kiss Halloween Party, Kiss Q&A; on the Lido Deck and two Kiss shows (one of which is an acoustic show with no make-up), along with other artists.

Originally set for release in the fall of 2011, the follow up to ''Sonic Boom'' was rescheduled for a January 2012 release, according to Simmons and Stanley during an online chat with fans via Ortsbo. Also, the long awaited ''Kissology: Volume Four'' DVD will be released at the same time the new album hits shelves. In addition, Stanley revealed that the cover of the new album will be similar to that of ''Destroyer'' but painted by another artist.

Kiss spent the summer of 2011 playing venues in the United States and Canada, visiting cities to which they have not been in a while. They have dubbed this the "Lost Cities Tour." According to www.kissonline.com, the tour ends in Verona, New York.

On August 15, 2011, Kiss was added to the roster to perform at the Michael Jackson tribute concert. On August 17, 2011, after controversy surrounding past negative comments about Michael Jackson made by Simmons, the band was removed from the lineup.

On August 21, 2011, it was announced on the Kiss website that the next album would be called ''Monster''.

Musical style

Because of the ambiguity in the distinction between "hard rock" and "heavy metal", Kiss' music has always been labeled one or the other. But shortly after the band's formation, critics called them "thunderockers". They also experimented in the disco (''Dynasty''), pop rock (''Unmasked''), art rock/progressive rock (''Music from "The Elder"'') and grunge (''Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions'') styles. Their music is described by Allmusic 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 '80s." Its first critical review described Kiss as "an American Black Sabbath" in ''Rolling Stone''. "With twin guitars hammering out catchy mondo-distorto riffs and bass and drums amiably bringing up the rear," said ''RS'' of ''Hotter Than Hell'', "Kiss spews forth a deceptively controlled type of thunderous hysteria, closely akin to the sound once popularized by the German Panzer tank division." 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."

Band members

;Current members

Paul Stanley – vocals, rhythm guitar (1973–present)

Gene Simmons – vocals, bass (1973–present)

Eric Singer – drums, percussion, vocals (1991–1996, 2001–2002, 2004–present)

Tommy Thayer – lead guitar, vocals (2002–present)

;Former members

Ace Frehley – lead guitar, vocals (1973–1982, 1996–2002)

Peter Criss – drums, percussion, vocals (1973–1980, 1996–2001, 2002–2004)

Eric Carr – drums, percussion, vocals (1980–1991)

Vinnie Vincent – lead guitar, vocals (1982–1984)

Mark St. John – lead guitar (1984)

Bruce Kulick – lead guitar, vocals (1984–1996)

Makeup designs

or The Wiz

Discography and filmography

Awards and nominations

See also

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart

List of best-selling music artists

References

Literature

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 0-9722253-5-8.

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.

External links

Category:Kiss (band) Category:American hard rock musical groups Category:Bands with fictional stage personas Category:Glam metal musical groups Category:Heavy metal musical groups from New York Category:Musical groups established in 1973 Category:Musical groups from New York City Category:Musical quartets

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name	Eric Carr
background	solo_singer
birth name	Paul Charles Caravello
alias	"The Fox"
born	July 12, 1950Brooklyn, New York, USA
died	November 24, 1991New York, New York, USA
genre	Hard rock, heavy metal, glam metal
occupation	Musician, songwriter
instrument	Drums, percussion, vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, piano
years active	1965–1991
label	Casablanca, Mercury
associated acts	The Cellarmen, Salt & Pepper, Creation, Mother Nature/Father Time, Bionic Boogie, Lightning, Flasher, Frehley's Comet, Kiss
website
Notable instruments	Ludwig drumsPaiste cymbals }}

Paul Charles Caravello (July 12, 1950 – November 24, 1991), also known as Eric Carr, was an American musician, best known as drummer for the rock band Kiss. Caravello was selected as the new Kiss drummer after Peter Criss left in 1980. He remained a band member until his final illness, which claimed his life in 1991, aged 41.

Early music career

Caravello played with a string of bands mostly performing covers of well-known songs before joining Kiss. The first band, "The Cellarmen", was formed in 1965 by him and a couple of friends. They started playing local clubs in Brooklyn and Queens. Only a handful of recordings were made, released on the "Jody" label, a small Brooklyn recording studio. Caravello then joined a band called "Things That Go Bump In The Night" and later "Smack", the latter of which consisted mostly of members from "The Cellarmen", who disbanded in 1968.

"Salt & Pepper" was Caravello's next cover band, playing music from multiple genres. He would go on with this band for nine years. It enjoyed some success, performing as opening act for established names such as Stevie Wonder and Nina Simone. Changing name to "Creation" in 1973, the band was now performing disco music. Tragedy struck when a fire broke out during a discothèque gig in Port Chester, New York, killing dozens of people including the band's keyboardist and lead singer. Caravello escaped and was credited with saving another person. It was determined that the fire had been started by a thief in an adjacent building hoping to cover his tracks. The band continued for some time, sometimes using the name "Bionic Boogie".

In December 1979, Caravello successfully auditioned for a rock 'n' roll cover band called "Flasher". At this point he had become skeptical about his musical future after so many years trying to make it without a break, and considered settling down with a non-musical career. Flasher played the club circuit in New York City and Long Island. The band continued on after the firing of its keyboardist Paul Turino, and bookings diminished. Caravello handed in his resignation in May 1980. Shortly afterwards, he had a chance meeting with Turino in a club in Queens. Turino told Caravello about Peter Criss's departure from Kiss and urged Caravello to audition to become Kiss's drummer.

Audition for Kiss and stage persona

Following two and a falling-out with Peter Criss over his substance abuse problems and unreliability, Kiss held open auditions for a new drummer. Criss had not recorded an entire studio album with Kiss since 1977's ''Love Gun''.

Audition

Caravello was working for his father as an oven repair man for Jamaica Stove in Brooklyn while playing drums in "Flasher" when Kiss dismissed Criss. Caravello, who had played in cover bands throughout the 1970s, was told by former Flasher keyboardist Paul Turino that he should audition for Kiss. Along with the application, Caravello submitted a cassette tape of Kiss's current single "Shandi" but with his vocals over the music instead of Paul Stanley's. "It sounded great!" he enthused years later in a fanzine interview. The application was put into a bright orange folder to make it stand out visually.

While sitting outside the actual room used for the audition, Caravello watched the three members of Kiss, Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons, and Paul Stanley, walk by to enter the room. He was one of the few people outside of the band's circle of friends, family, and music business partners, to see Kiss without make-up. "Paul, I knew right away", he told a fanzine in 1990 while interviewed on Kiss' tour bus. "The others I wasn't sure about."

Caravello was the last drummer to audition for the band and actually asked Stanley, Simmons and Frehley to autograph the list of Kiss songs he was to play with the band, in case he never saw them again. "But I knew I had it", he told a fanzine in 1990. According to Caravello, his audition was videotaped. He was also immediately comfortable, feeling the songs he had to play "...were a snap." He knew the arrangements better than the band did, from learning the recorded versions off Kiss' albums. "They had been on tour, and changed little things around," he said. He wasn't impressed with Kiss's performance at the audition. "They were awful!" he emphasized, "I had to remind them, "'No, I sing this harmony, you sing that one', stuff like that. It was great! Right away we were working together. I know it impressed them."

A significant advantage for Caravello may have been his relative anonymity, as it was important for the band to maintain the mystique surrounding the members. Said Paul Stanley, "It was really important to us that we got somebody who was unknown... We didn't want somebody who last week was in Rod Stewarts's band or in Rainbow." In fact, the press release announcing the induction of Caravello into Kiss deducted two years from his actual age in order to confuse those seeking information about his true identity.

Character and stage persona

thumb|left|120px|The Fox After Caravello passed the audition, the time constricted band had some trouble coming up with a character persona and a stage name for him. Caravello originally considered going by the name "Rusty Blade", until he decided on ''Eric Carr'', knowing that Criss' name was two syllables followed by a single syllable, the inverse of the other three band members' names. He decided to make his stage name sound the same rhythmically as Peter Criss' when people said all four names together. Carr was shortened from his birth name Caravello, and he chose Eric from a list of first names his girlfriend at the time had given him. Paul Caravello remained his legal name.

For his Kiss persona, Carr initially tried "The Hawk"; this concept was apparently very difficult to realize - a suitable make-up design was never created, and the "Hawk" costume was a "bright ORANGE-YELLOW!". With the band on deadline (only two weeks before Carr's stage debut), Carr came up with the make-up design for the persona of "The Fox"; Simmons liked it and thus the character was born. The original design was modified within days of Carr's initial photo sessions and for a single concert—his first as a member of Kiss. Carr was introduced to the public on an episode of ''Kids Are People Too!'' filmed in late July, 1980 and aired in September 1980, and his first public performance was with the band in New York City's "The Palladium" venue on July 25, 1980. His parents, warned to not tell ''anyone'' their son was now in Kiss (to maintain the mystique that no one knew what the new guy looked like), attended the concert — and were recognized by a friend who actually worked with Paul Caravello at the repair shop and had no idea the new KISS member behind the kit was his co-worker. "'What are you doing here?'", Carr's father, Albert Caravello related in the ''Tale Of The Fox'' DVD, "'You like Kiss?' I said, "Yeah!'" Carr also, immediately after joining KISS, still did a few stove repair jobs. For Christmas in 1980, the KISS organization bought Eric a Porsche—so their new drummer would ride around in appropiate rock star-style. Ironically, the car broke down often, and caused Carr quite a bit of grief. ("Tale of the Fox" DVD).

His persona remained consistent for three years until the band's well-publicized removal of their stage makeup in September 1983, live on MTV network. "I thought the band was ending, and they weren't telling me", he told a fanzine editor in June, 1990. Kiss slowly turned their career descent into a rebound, and the band thrived. Carr earned a reputation amongst fans for being unusually friendly and approachable. He answered more mail than other band members, and often added messages to his autographs. Despite being a replacement member, his popularity soared among fans based on this personal decency and well-honed percussion skills.

Music career with Kiss

Carr's first album with Kiss was 1981's ''Music from "The Elder"'', which marked a departure for the band toward a mystical art-rock direction. One of Carr's contributions to the album, "Under the Rose", featured a Gregorian chant-style chorus. Later, he would also have co-writer credits on "All Hell's Breakin' Loose", "Under the Gun", and "No, No, No", amongst others. Carr said he found writing lyrics harder than writing music.

Besides drumming, Carr also played guitar, bass guitar, and piano and sang background vocals. Occasionally he sang lead vocals, such as "Black Diamond" and "Young and Wasted" live with Kiss. His first lead vocal in the studio was a re-recording of "Beth" (a song originally sung by Peter Criss) for the 1988 compilation album ''Smashes, Thrashes & Hits''. Carr recorded his version of the song in the same room in the Record Plant where the song was originally recorded, using the same backing track as Criss. Carr would later claim that he regretted having to overdub what he felt was the definitive performance by Criss, but that he was so desperate to finally sing on an album that (against his better judgment) he agreed to do it.

In 1989 he recorded a demo with Kiss's lead guitarist Bruce Kulick. Carr wrote the music, played bass and drums, while Kulick played guitar. As Carr was not a proficient lyricist, he presented the demo to Simmons with the words to Marvin Gaye's 1965 classic "Ain't That Peculiar". Simmons wrote new lyrics, which Carr recorded for the subsequent ''Hot in the Shade'' release. Song was released as "Little Caesar". He performed the song a few times, but it wasn't performed beyond the first month of the tour. Carr's last live performance with Kiss was November 9, 1990 in New York City, at Madison Square Garden.

Carr's last recording with Kiss was for the song "God Gave Rock 'N Roll To You II", which featured him on backing vocals. The last time Carr worked with Kiss was in July 1991 when Kiss filmed the video for "God Gave Rock 'N Roll To You" with Carr playing drums. Carr's last public appearance with the band was at the MTV Video Music Awards in September 1991.

Influences and style

Carr was a powerful hard-hitting drummer and one of the first drummers to adopt the classic 1980s snare drum sound : a highly reverberated and low-tuned sound.

In his 1980 resume sent to Kiss, Carr stated that his drumming style ranged from heavy metal and hard rock to pop and new wave claiming that "I can adapt to most situations easily." Furthermore he listed drummers John Bonham, Keith Moon, and Lenny White as influences.

In addition, Carr was an avid fan of The Beatles and the band's drummer Ringo Starr. In an interview he recalled, "I was caught up in the whole Beatlemania thing. I guess I was attracted to the drums because of the feeling of the rhythm and how it moved you, just sitting in your seat. I loved the way Ringo moved. I identified with him at the time ..." Photographs of Eric during his high school years show him wearing his hair like Starr did. To get his naturally curly locks to lay down like The Beatles' hair, he would soak it in "Dippy-Do" cream, and wear a stocking over his head while sleeping each night. His parents never said a thing to him as he'd retire each night. "I was a good kid, and they weren't gonna pick on me for a small thing like that. They're real good, hardworking Italian parents. I owe them everything".

Carr's interest in double bass drumming came from his admiration of Ginger Baker and John Bonham, once telling 16 Magazine, "I just loved the way John Bonham played drums". Eric also had a love of all types of music; songwriter Adam Mitchell once described Carr as knowing a lot about folk, R&B; and other non-rock styles. In a 1983 interview, Carr told USA Channel interviewer Al Bandero that he listened to "a lot" of Neil Young, and liked many different types of music.

Simmons has stated that Carr's harder drumming style pushed Kiss into becoming a heavier band than it had been when jazz-inspired Criss was the band's drummer.

Death

In February 1991, just one month into recording of Revenge, Carr began feeling ill, coughing up blood and feeling heaviness in the chest. Medical tests revealed what at first appeared to be manageable problems with his health.

However, he was diagnosed with an unexpectedly serious and extremely rare type of cancer - heart cancer. In April 1991, Carr underwent a series of surgeries to remove tumors in his right atrium and lungs in an effort to restore heart function and prevent the cancer's growth. He recovered sufficiently to fly to Los Angeles in July 1991 to be with the band to play drums for their music video "God Gave Rock n' Roll To You." His health had deteriorated to the point where he was unable to play drums for the recording session, and Eric Singer (who had played previously in Paul Stanley's solo band) was brought in. After filming the video, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Bruce Kulick told him to go home and get well. After aggressive treatment, the cancer went into remission and Carr's health appeared to improve.

Carr's last public appearance with Kiss was at the MTV Video Music Awards in September 1991. Not long afterwards he suffered from an aneurysm and was rushed to a hospital. He survived this episode, but it was only a matter of days before he suffered a brain hemorrhage caused by cancer cells transported in his bloodstream to the head, and never regained consciousness. On November 24, 1991, Carr died, aged 41, on the same day Freddie Mercury also died.

In keeping with Carr's accessibility to his fans, his family decided to open his funeral service to the public, while reserving the interment as a private event. The funeral procession to the cemetery was very long, with New York State troopers making sure fans did not enter the cemetery for the interment.

Carr is interred in Cedar Hill Cemetery in the Town of Newburgh, New York.

Rockology and Rockheads

Former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick, along with Carr's family, released Carr's first and only solo album in 1999 titled ''Rockology'', which featured many demos that Kulick and Carr worked on together (along with songwriter and friend Adam Mitchell). The CD features several songs with Carr on lead vocals as well as on bass guitar, along with Kulick on guitars and Mitchell assisting Carr with many of the background vocals. This album includes "Somebody's Waiting" and "Tiara", a song that he originally wrote for his planned children's cartoon show called ''Rockheads'', a rock band parody featuring four characters (Slider, Clive, Scruffy and Punky) with different characteristics and personalities.

Tributes

As a tribute, the group's 1992 release ''Revenge'' featured what is said to be the only drum solo Carr ever recorded with the band, entitled "Carr Jam 1981", a jam session recorded for the ''Music From "The Elder"'' sessions (former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley's original guitar part was overdubbed by Bruce Kulick). Much of the soloing was seasoned during Kiss' 1980 Unmasked Tour of Europe and Australia, and put down during The Elder sessions, since that album was recorded following that tour. Sadly enough, Carr had for years been trying to get his hands on a copy of the solo for his personal collection, but his request was always rebuffed by Bob Ezrin with the excuse that he did not know where the masters for the session were. Once Carr died, however, the solo surfaced as "Carr Jam 1981".

The ''Revenge'' album was dedicated to Carr. He was also homaged on the Kiss My Ass video, as well as Kissology 2. However, the band declined a tribute concert that was requested by a circle of fans the year after his passing. Simmons stated, "We didn't want to do a tribute concert. We are dedicating the album to his name, but no concerts in his name. It's not our style."

A further tribute was produced in 1992, called ''Eric Carr: The Memorial Tribute''. It was first broadcast live on 88.1 FM / WCWP, where Carr had been interviewed 3 years earlier while doing press for the ''Hot in the Shade'' album. Running for approximately 3 hours, the tribute featured a re-broadcast of the interview, interspersed with biographical information and details of Carr's extracurricular projects, along with all the officially-released songs Carr had written or co-written. Though broadcast just once, ''Eric Carr: The Memorial Tribute'' was released several years later (seemingly in an unofficial capacity) as a 2-tape box set, designed to resemble the Kiss solo albums. It featured a newly-commissioned painting of Carr in his fox makeup, patterned after the rarely-seen original by Eraldo Carugati (the artist who did the paintings for the original four Kiss solo album covers, plus one of Carr that was never officially released).

Fifteen years to the day of Carr's Kiss debut, he was posthumously inducted into the ''Rock Walk Hall of Fame'' at Guitar Center in Hollywood, CA. Carr's parents, Albert and Connie Caravello, accepted a plaque in Carr's honor. Former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley was inducted in the "Rock Walk" during the same ceremony. Frehley's handprint was not added to the Kiss display. Carr's acknowledgment was a bronze plaque with his name, autograph and a separate icon of the Fox makeup he wore. Both were added to the Kiss display. Also, on numerous solo tours since Carr's death, Ace Frehley would play "Breakout" (with lyrics written by Carr and Frehley and later re-recorded as "Carr Jam '81" on Kiss' ''Revenge'' album) and dedicate it to Carr, whom Frehley hopes is "checking out the show up there". Frehley also dedicated his 2009 solo album ''Anomaly'' to Carr.

In July 2005, Carr was voted in tenth place for the world's best drummer by Planet Radio Rock. No other member of Kiss was given the distinction of making the top 10 in the categories of vocalist, bassist or guitarist. Carr was only the second American drummer to make the list, with all others being either British or Canadian.

There is a hidden 'easter egg' in the 2007 Kissology II DVD collection (on disc three at the end of the production credits) showing a family videotape made of Eric, on his hospital bed, speaking into the camera thanking his fans for their cards, letters, and concern about his health. Dressed in white, Carr then exits the bed, and begins walking away only to return and moon the camera in rock n' roll style.

In 2011, to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of Eric's passing, a tribute concert was held in Atlanta, GA called Night of the Fox: The ERIC CARR Tribute Concert. The main act, going under the name Little Caesar, played a 90-minute set of songs related to Eric Carr. Made up mostly KISS songs from Eric's time in the band, the show also featured a song from Rockology ("Eyes of Love") plus songs written or co-written by Carr but recorded by other artists.

Discography

With Kiss

Music from "The Elder" (1981)

Killers|*| (1982)

Creatures of the Night (1982)

Lick It Up (1983)

Animalize (1984)

Asylum (1985)

Crazy Nights (1987)

Chikara (1988)

Smashes, Thrashes & Hits[•] (1988)

Hot in the Shade (1989)

Revenge[¤] (1992)

You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!![‡] (1996)

The Box Set (2001)

The Very Best of Kiss (2002)

The Best of Kiss, Volume 2: The Millennium Collection (2004)

Gold (2005)

|*|non-U.S. compilation featuring four newly recorded tracks

[¤]backing vocals on "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll to You II" & drums on "Carr Jam 1981"

[•]vocals on remake of "Beth" and drum overdubs

Greatest Hits with 2 newly recorded songs

[‡]Japanese version & U.S. Vinyl,drums on New York Groove

Kiss Video Albums

Animalize Live Uncensored (1985)

Exposed (1987)

Crazy Nights (video) (1988)

Kiss My Ass: The Video (1994)

Kissology Volume Two: 1978–1991 (2007)

Solo

The Rockheads (1999, Rock Hard Records) - EP with all four songs co-written by Carr. He also played drums on all tracks, sang lead vocal and backing vocals

''Rockology'' (April 2000)

Other albums

Lightning: "Lightning" (1979, Casablanca Records) - As Paul Caravello, played drums and performed backing vocals on all tracks

Bryan Adams: ''Cuts Like a Knife'' (1983, A&M; Records) - Co-wrote "Don't Leave Me Lonely"

Wendy O. Williams: ''W.O.W.'' (1984, JEM/Passport Records) - Drums on "Legends Never Die" and co-wrote "Ain't None of Your Business"

Frehley's Comet (1987, Atlanic / Megaforce Records), Ace Frehley: ''Frehley's Comet'', ''Greatest Hits Live'' - Co-wrote "Breakout"

Garbo Talks (1998, MTM Music) - Drums on "Game of Love"

Prophecy: A Tribute to Eric Carr (2000, Lunar Moth Records) - Radio ID and performed "Your Turn to Cry"

Faith Circus: "Faith Circus" (2008, Kivel Records) - Co-wrote "Can You Feel It"

Unreleased recordings

Carr's family announced in 2006 that they would release material written and recorded by Carr between 1980–1991, including the following songs:

"Elephant Man"

"Dial L for Love"

"Midnight Stranger"

"Tiara" (demo)

"The Troubles Inside You"

Though stated by Carr's family that the recordings would be released in 2006, they remain unreleased as of 2011.

References

External links

The Official Eric Carr Website

Introducing the Rockheads

Eric Carr Photo Gallery & Information Centre

Category:1950 births Category:1991 deaths Category:American heavy metal drummers Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Cancer deaths in New York Category:Deaths from heart cancer Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:Kiss (band) members Category:Musicians from New York City Category:People from Brooklyn

bg:Ерик Кар cs:Eric Carr de:Eric Carr es:Eric Carr fr:Eric Carr hr:Eric Carr it:Eric Carr hu:Eric Carr mk:Ерик Кар nl:Eric Carr ja:エリック・カー (ミュージシャン) no:Eric Carr pl:Eric Carr pt:Eric Carr ru:Эрик Карр simple:Eric Carr sk:Eric Carr fi:Eric Carr sv:Eric Carr

name	Paul Stanley
background	solo_singer
birth name	Stanley Harvey Eisen
alias	"The Starchild"
born	January 20, 1952Manhattan, New York, United States
origin	Queens, New York, United States
instrument	Vocals, guitar, bass
genre	Hard rock, heavy metal
occupation	Musician, songwriter, producer, painter, actor
years active	1970–present
label	New Door Records/Universal Music Group
associated acts	Kiss, Wicked Lester
website	Official websiteKISS Online
notable instruments	Ibanez PS10 and Destroyer (late 70's and early 80's, Mid 90's)Washburn Signature Models (Mid-late 90's and present)Silvertone Signature Models (Mid-2000's) BC Rich Guitars (80's and Early 90's) Gibson Flying V(mid 70's), Gibson Explorer(late 70's) Randall Amplifiers (1990's – 2010) Engl Amplifiers (Since 2010) }}

Stanley Harvey Eisen (born January 20, 1952), better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and one of two primary lead vocalists of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's highest-charting hits. Stanley established the "Starchild" character for his Kiss persona.

Career

Kiss

Before Kiss, Paul Stanley was in a local band, Rainbow (not to be confused with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow) and was also a member of Uncle Joe and Post War Baby Boom. Through a mutual friend of Gene Simmons', Stanley joined Simmons' band Wicked Lester in the early 1970s. The band recorded an album in 1972, but as of 2010 it has not been officially released (although songs from the album appeared on Kiss's 2001 box set). Wicked Lester soon fell apart and Stanley and Simmons placed ads for a drummer and a guitarist in various New York papers. This resulted in Peter Criss and Ace Frehley joining the group, and they named themselves Kiss. Kiss released their self-titled debut album in February 1974.

thumb|left|120px|The Starchild Stanley's persona in Kiss was "The Starchild" utilizing one star over his right eye. For a brief time, Stanley changed his make-up character to "The Bandit", with a "Lone Ranger" style mask design make-up pattern. This make-up design would only be used during a few mid-1973 shows, soon to be replaced by the now famous "The Starchild" make-up design and persona. In his book ''Sex Money Kiss'', Gene Simmons admits that Stanley was the driving force for Kiss during the makeup-free 1980s, while Simmons was feeling lost without his demon makeup and was distanced from the band while attempting to launch a film career.

In 2006, Stanley resumed his association with Washburn Guitars and using the Washburn PS2000. Previously, he has had four signature guitars made by Silvertone, and tweaked the Ibanez Iceman to his specifications, calling it the PS10.

In 2007 (prior to the final show of the Hit 'N Run Tour on July 27), Stanley was hospitalized with tachycardia. In his absence, Kiss performed live as a trio for the first time in decades. Previously, Kiss performed as a trio at Studio 54 in New York City for an international satellite broadcast on January 28, 1982, lip-syncing the song "I" from Music from "The Elder" for the Italian Festival della canzone italiana, also known as the San Remo Festival, when Ace Frehley failed to show for the performance due to what was described at the time as a "mystery illness". The July 27, 2007 concert is the first Kiss concert Stanley has missed during his 34 year tenure with the group.

In September 2007, Stanley took part in Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp as a guest star for his second time in New York City. In 2009 Paul Stanley recorded 3 voice ads for the charity KARS4KIDS. Stanley continues to tour with Kiss; the KISS 2010 The Hottest Show on Earth Tour (a continuation of the Sonic Boom Over Europe Tour which was itself a continuation of the Kiss Alive/35 World Tour) which started March 2010 and ended at Guadalajara, Mexico in October.

Solo career

Stanley has very rarely recorded or performed outside of Kiss. He wrote and recorded material for a solo album in 1987–88, which was shelved in favor of the Kiss compilation, ''Smashes, Thrashes & Hits''. While never officially released, songs such as "Don't Let Go" and "When Two Hearts Collide" have circulated as bootleg recordings. One song from the project, "Time Traveler," was released as part of the Kiss's 2001 box set.

In 1989, he embarked on a brief club tour. His touring band included guitarist Bob Kulick and future Kiss drummer Eric Singer. Also in 1989, Stanley loaned his voice to the title track for the soundtrack of the Wes Craven horror flick "Shocker".

In 2005, a bootleg CD began circulating entitled ''People, Let Me Get This Off My Chest: The Very Best of Paul Stanley's On Stage Banter''. The fan-made disc compiled 70 tracks worth of Stanley's distinctive song introductions and on-stage banter.

Twenty-eight years after releasing his first solo album (as part of the four simultaneously released Kiss solo albums), Stanley released a second album, ''Live to Win'', on October 24, 2006. The title song of his solo album, "Live to Win", appeared on the ''South Park'' episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft". In October and November 2006, Stanley embarked on a theater tour in support of ''Live to Win''. His touring band was the house band from the CBS TV show, ''Rock Star''. The band appeared on both seasons of the show – ''Rock Star: INXS'' and ''Rock Star: Supernova''. The band was composed of Paul Mirkovich (keyboards), Jim McGorman (guitar), Rafael Moreira (lead guitar), Nate Morton (drums), and Sasha Krivtsov (bass). In April 2007, Stanley extended the tour to include Australia, playing in Coolangatta, Wollongong, Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide. Portions of the tour were filmed for a documentary titled ''Paul Stanley: Live to Dream'' by the Chicago-based Film Foetus. The band's performance at the House of Blues in Chicago was captured on film and released in 2008 on DVD and digital audio download formats as ''One Live Kiss''.

In 2008, Stanley sang a duet with Sarah Brightman, "I Will Be with You", on her ''Symphony'' album.

Other projects

In 1999, Stanley starred in a Toronto production of ''The Phantom of the Opera'', in which he played the role of The Phantom. He appeared in the musical from May 25 to August 1, and again that year from September 30 to October 31, 1999.

Stanley made his debut as a painter in 2006, exhibiting and selling original works of art.

Stanley collaborated with Boston-based power pop group Click Five on their hit single, "Angel To You (Devil To Me)".

Personal life

Stanley was born in Manhattan, New York and moved to Queens as a teenager. He is Jewish. He attended The High School of Music & Art in New York City and graduated in 1970.

Stanley has microtia. His ears have a deformity of the pinna (outer ear). He is an ambassador for the charitable organization AboutFace, an organization that provides support and information to individuals with facial differences and has appeared at fundraising events and in videos to raise awareness.

In 2001, Stanley's wife, Dallas native Pamela Bowen, filed for divorce. They have one son, Evan Shane Stanley, born June 6, 1994. On November 19, 2005, Paul Stanley married longtime girlfriend Erin Sutton at The Ritz-Carlton, Huntington in Pasadena, California. They had their first child, Colin Michael Stanley, on September 6, 2006. The couple had their second child, Sarah Brianna, on January 28, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. On August 9, 2011, the couple had their third child, Emily Grace.

Stanley has had two hip replacement surgeries: one after the "Rock the Nation" tour in October 2004, and a second in December 2004 after complications arose from the first surgery. He has announced that he will require a third hip surgery in the future. Stanley regards the degeneration of his left hip as partly the product of thousands of shows performed in Platform Boots since the early 1970s.

Award

Stanley was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006

Stanley got the Showman Of The Year award of the Classic Rock Awards for 2008

Stanley received the Classic Gold Telly Award for his concert film ''One Live Kiss'' in 2009.

Discography

Kiss

Solo career

''Paul Stanley'' (1978)

''Live to Win'' (2006)

''One Live Kiss'' (2008) – DVD and digital download from Amazon.com and iTunes

References

External links

Paul Stanley official website

Kiss official website

Interview with Paul Stanley

Interview with Paul Stanley from 1999

Category:1952 births Category:American heavy metal guitarists Category:American heavy metal singers Category:American painters Category:American record producers Category:American rock guitarists Category:American rock singers Category:American tenors Category:Jewish American musicians Category:Living people Category:Kiss (band) members Category:People from Queens Category:Musicians from New York City Category:Rhythm guitarists Category:American Jews

bg:Пол Стенли ca:Paul Stanley cs:Paul Stanley da:Paul Stanley de:Paul Stanley es:Paul Stanley eu:Paul Stanley fa:پال استنلی fr:Paul Stanley (artiste) hr:Paul Stanley id:Paul Stanley it:Paul Stanley hu:Paul Stanley mk:Пол Стенли nl:Paul Stanley ja:ポール・スタンレー no:Paul Stanley pl:Paul Stanley pt:Paul Stanley ru:Стэнли, Пол simple:Paul Stanley sk:Paul Stanley sh:Paul Stanley fi:Paul Stanley sv:Paul Stanley

name	Gene Simmons
birth name	Chaim Weitz (; ‏)
alias	"The Demon"
born	August 25, 1949Tirat HaCarmel, Israel
background	solo_singer
occupation	Musician, songwriter, producer, actor, businessman
genre	Heavy metal, hard rock, glam metal
instrument	Bass, vocals, guitar, piano
associated acts	Kiss, Wicked Lester
years active	1963–present
website
notable instruments	Cort Signature GS-1Gene Simmons Signature model }}

Gene Simmons (born Chaim Weitz ; August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American rock bassist, singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and businessman. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.

Simmons was ranked number 12 in Roadrunner's list of 50 Best Frontmen in Metal History.

Early life

Chaim Weitz (later Gene Simmons) was born at the Rambam Hospital in Haifa, Israel in 1949. Mother and children emigrated to Jackson Heights, Queens in New York City when he was eight years old. His mother Flóra Klein was born in Jánd, Hungary. The German name Klein (means: small) translates to Hungarian as ''Kiss'', that gave the rock band's name. Florence and her brother, Larry Klein, were the only members of the family to survive the Holocaust. Simmons' father, Feri Witz, also Hungarian-born, remained in Israel. Simmons says the family was "dirt poor," scraping by on bread and milk. In the United States, Simmons changed his name to Eugene Klein (later Gene Klein), adopting his mother's maiden name. He attended Yeshiva Torah Vodaath in Williamsburg, Brooklyn as a child, from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Music career

Simmons became involved with his first band, Lynx, then renamed The Missing Links, when he was a teenager. Eventually, he disbanded The Missing Links to form The Long Island Sounds, the name being a play on words relating to the estuary separating Long Island from Westchester County, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. While he played in these bands, he kept up odd jobs on the side to make more money, including trading used comic books. Simmons attended Sullivan County Community College in Loch Sheldrake, New York. He then joined a new band, Bullfrog Bheer, and the band recorded a demo, "Leeta"; this was later included on the Kiss box set.

thumb|left|120px|The Demon Simmons formed the rock band Wicked Lester in the early 1970s with Stanley Harvey Eisen (now known as Paul Stanley) and recorded one album, which was never released. Dissatisfied with Wicked Lester's sound and look, Simmons and Stanley attempted to fire their band members; they were met with resistance, and they quit Wicked Lester, walking away from their record deal with Epic Records. They decided to form the ultimate rock band, and started looking for a drummer. Simmons and Stanley found an ad placed by Peter Criscoula, known as Peter Criss, who was playing clubs in Brooklyn at the time; they joined and started out as a trio. Paul Frehley, better known as Ace Frehley, responded to an ad they put in ''The Village Voice'' for a lead guitar player, and soon joined them. Kiss released its self-titled debut album in February 1974. Stanley quickly took on the role of lead performer on stage, while Simmons became the driving force behind what became an extensive Kiss merchandising franchise. The eye section of his "Demon" makeup with KISS came from the wing design of comic book character Black Bolt. In 1983, while Kiss' fame was waning, the members took off their trademark make-up and enjoyed a resurgence in popularity that continued into the 1990s. The band hosted their own fan conventions throughout 1995, and fan feedback about the original Kiss members reunion influenced the highly successful 1996–1997 Alive Worldwide reunion tour. In 1998, the band released ''Psycho Circus'',. Since then, the original line-up has once again dissolved, with Tommy Thayer replacing Ace Frehley on lead guitar and Eric Singer (who performed with Kiss from 1992 up through 1996) replacing Peter Criss on drums.

Instruments

Gene Simmons has used various bass guitars during his career including:

Axe Bass (Kramer, jackson, b.c. rich and now Cort)

Punisher Bass (B.C.Rich, Now made by Cort)

Spector Gene Simmons Signature

Pedulla Basses (mainly in the 1980s and early 1990s)

Gibson Grabber (mainly in Kiss' early years)

Gibson Ripper (mainly in Kiss' early years)

Custom lebau bass (wicked lester, very early kiss circa 73-74)

Cort Guitars Signature GS-1 Bass

He uses Ampeg SVT CL Series amps with 8x10 cabinets. He uses Silver Herco Flex .75 Nylon Flat Guitar Picks. In 2010 Gene Simmons collaborated with Cort Guitars to make his own signature bass line called the GS-AXE-2.

Film and television career

Simmons has been the creative force behind such television projects as:

''My Dad the Rock Star'', a cartoon by the Canadian animation company Nelvana, about the mild mannered son of a Gene Simmons-like rock star;

''Mr. Romance'', a show created and hosted by Simmons on the Oxygen cable television channel;

''Rock School'', a reality show in which Simmons tries to make a rock band out of a group of students of Christ's Hospital School in the first season, and in the second, a group of kids from a comprehensive school in Lowestoft;

''Gene Simmons Family Jewels'', a reality show documenting the personal lives of Simmons, his girlfriend, his son and daughter

On March 9, 2011, Simmons and Kiss co-founder Paul Stanley and E! Entertainment announced that they have finalized a production and development deal to create an as-yet-untitled comedic half-hour kids' television series.

Simmons appeared as a psychic working at the Mystic Journey Bookstore in Venice, California on the American hidden camera prank TV series ''I Get That a Lot''.

Political views

While a self-described social liberal, Simmons was a supporter of the foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration. He supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq, writing on his website: "I'm ashamed to be surrounded by people calling themselves liberal who are, in my opinion, spitting on the graves of brave American soldiers who gave their life to fight a war that wasn't theirs...in a country they've never been to... simply to liberate the people therein". In a follow-up, Simmons explained his position and wrote about his love and support for the United States: "I wasn't born here. But I have a love for this country and its people that knows no bounds. I will forever be grateful to America for going into World War II, when it had nothing to gain, in a country that was far away... and rescued my mother from the Nazi German concentration camps. She is alive and I am alive because of America. And, if you have a problem with America, you have a problem with me".

During the 2006 Lebanon War between Israel and Lebanon, Simmons sent a televised message of support (in both English and Hebrew) to an Israeli soldier seriously wounded in fighting in Lebanon, calling him his "hero".

In 2010, Simmons said he regretted voting for Barack Obama and criticized the 2009 health care reforms. Following Obama's 2011 Mideast speech, in which the President called on Israel and the Palestinians to negotiate a settlement "based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps," Simmons told ''CNBC'' that Obama was gravely misguided. "If you have never been to the moon, you can't issue policy about the moon. For the president to be sitting in Washington D.C. and saying, 'Go back to your '67 borders in Israel' – how about you live there and try to defend an indefensible border – nine miles wide?" Simmons also accused the United Nations of being "the most pathetic body on the face of the earth."

During his visit to Israel in 2011, he stated that the artists refusing to perform in Israel for political reasons are "stupid," referring to artists who canceled planned concerts in Israel.

Personal life

He became a science fiction fan and published several science fiction fanzines, among them ''Sirruish'', ''Id'', ''Cosmos'' (which eventually merged with ''Stilletto'' to become ''Cosmos-Stilletto'' and then ''Faun''), ''Tinderbox'', ''Sci-Fi Showcase'', ''Mantis'' and ''Adventure''. He also contributed to other fanzines, among them ''BeABohema''.

In the late 1960s, he changed his name to Gene Simmons, after legendary rockabilly performer Jumpin' Gene Simmons. Simmons' legal name after arriving from Israel is Gene Klein.

Simmons lives in Beverly Hills, California along with his fiancée, former Playboy Playmate and actress Shannon Tweed. They have two children: a son, Nick (born January 22, 1989), and a daughter, Sophie, (born July 7, 1992). He formerly had live-in relationships with Cher and Diana Ross. Simmons can speak English, German, Hungarian and Hebrew.e

Homecoming visit to Israel

In March 2011, Simmons had a homecoming visit to Israel where he was born. He described the trip as a "life changing experience". He talked about how he still feels that he is an Israeli – "I'm Israeli. I'm a stranger in America. I'm an outsider". While there, Gene met his half brother Kobi, and half sisters Drora, Sharon and Ogenia, the latter two being twins. Simmons has plans to bring his band, KISS, to Israel. He has always said that he is an ardent supporter of Israel. At a press conference in Israel, he spoke both Hebrew and English.

Controversy

In February 2002, Simmons was interviewed on the NPR radio show ''Fresh Air'' and asked about his claim of having had sex with 4,600 women. He told Terry Gross: "If you want to welcome me with open arms, I'm afraid you're also going to have to welcome me with open legs," paraphrasing a lyric from The Who's 1981 hit song "You Better You Bet". Gross replied: "That's a really obnoxious thing to say." At the time, Simmons refused to grant permission to NPR to make the interview available online. However, it appears in print in Gross's book ''All I Did Was Ask'' (ISBN 1-4013-0010-3) and unauthorized transcripts are available. NPR re-broadcast part of the interview in August 2007. Simmons' bandmate Paul Stanley has frequently used the phrase "... welcomed us with open arms and open legs" in onstage patter during Kiss concerts. In 2004, during an interview in Melbourne, Australia, while talking about Islamic extremists, Simmons described Islam as a "vile culture", saying that Muslim women had to walk behind their husbands, weren't allowed to be educated or to own houses. He said: "They want to come and live right where you live and they think that you're evil." Amongst ensuing criticism, Australian Muslim of the Year Susan Carland argued that Simmons' stereotyping of Muslims was inaccurate. Simmons later clarified his comments on his website, saying he had been talking specifically about Muslim extremists. In 2005, Simmons was sued by a former girlfriend, Georgeann Walsh Ward, who said she had been "defamed" in the VH1 documentary ''When Kiss Ruled the World'' and portrayed as an "unchaste woman". A settlement was reached in June 2006. In 2011, Kiss was removed from the lineup for Michael Jackson's tribute concert because of Simmons' allegations and negative comments regarding Jackson's personal life and legal issues.

Awards and recognition

On January 28 in 2011, Simmons was presented the key to the city in Dallas, Texas and a street, Gene Simmons Boulevard, was named for him. On June 15 of the same year he was given the key to the city by Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Filmography

! Year	! Film	! Role	! Bandmates	! Miscellaneous
1978	''Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park''	The Demon	Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley	TV movie
1984		Dr. Charles Luther
1986		Nuke (radio DJ)
1986	''Never Too Young to Die''	Carruthers / Velvet Von Ragner
1987		Malak Al Rahim
1988	''The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years''	Himself	Paul Stanley	Documentary
1989	''Red Surf''	Doc
1999		Himself	Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley	Simmons also produced
2002	''The New Guy''	Reverend
2002	''Wish You Were Dead''	Vinny
2008	''Detroit Metal City''	Jack lll Dark		Japanese movie
2009		Joe Adler
2010	''Expecting Mary''	Taylor
2010	''Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage	Himself		Documentary

Television appearances

! Year	! Show	! Episode	! Role	! Bandmates	! Miscellaneous
1974	''The Mike Douglas Show''	June 11, 1974	Himself	Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley	Kiss' first national television appearance, performed "Firehouse"
1976	''The Paul Lynde Halloween Special''	October 29, 1976	Himself	Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley	The band performed "Detroit Rock City (song)
1985	''[[Miami Vice''	"Prodigal Son"	Newton Blade
1997	''Action League Now!''	"Rock-A-Big-Baby"	Toy version of himself	Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley	Performed "Rock and Roll All Nite"
1998	''MADtv''	October 31, 1998 (#406)	Himself	Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley.	Halloween special; performed in five sketches
2001	''Family Guy''	"A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas"	Animated version of himself	Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley
2001		May 27, 2001	Himself		Won $500,000 for a charity
2001	''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''	June 12, 2001	Himself		Almost licked Jon Stewart's face in response to Jon being unable to explain the difference between pleasure and joy to a man with a 'twelve-inch tongue'
2002	''Family Guy''	"Road to Europe"	Animated version of himself	Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley
2002		September 6, 2002	Himself
2003	''King of the Hill''	"Reborn to Be Wild"	Jessie
2004	''Third Watch''	"Higher Calling"	Donald Mann
2004	''Third Watch''	"Monsters"	Donald Mann
2004	''Third Watch''	"More Monsters"	Donald Mann
2005	''American Idol''	"Auditions: New Orleans"	Himself- guest judge
2005	''Family Guy''		Animated version of himself/ Prisoner #3
2005	''Mind of Mencia''	Episode #1.7	Himself
2006		August 1, 2006	Himself		Gene Simmons Family Jewels
2007	''SpongeBob SquarePants''	"20,000 Patties Under the Sea"	Sea Monster
2007		"Gene Simmons"	Himself		UK's More4 show
2008	''Entertainment Tonight''	January 2, 2008	Himself
2008	''Jimmy Kimmel Live!''	January 18, 2008	Himself
2008		March 11, 2008	Himself
2008	''Criss Angel Mindfreak''	"Mindfreaking with the Stars"	Himself
2008	''Ugly Betty''	"The Kids Are Alright"	Himself
2008	''Ugly Betty''	"A Thousand Words by Friday"	Himself
2008		Episode #3.9	Himself		Won $500,000 for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation charity
2008		First three episodes	Himself		Fired in the third episode
2008	''Jingles''		Celebrity judge		Mark Burnett reality show
2009	''Glenn Martin DDS''	Glenn Gary, Glenn Martin	himself
2009	''American Idol''	Season Finale	Himself	Eric Singer, Tommy Thayer, Paul Stanley	Performed medley of 3 songs with contestant Adam Lambert
2009	''The Fairly OddParents''		Animated version of himself	Eric Singer, Tommy Thayer, Paul Stanley
2009	''The Fairly OddParents''		Animated version of himself	Eric Singer, Tommy Thayer, Paul Stanley
2010	''I Get That a Lot''	Episode 2	As Himself		Simmons appeared as a psychic working at the Mystic Journey Bookstore in Venice, California
2010	''Extreme Makeover: Home Edition''	Episode 160	As Himself		The band Kiss made a personal appearance during the Wagstaff family's vacation in Disneyland and honored them as special guests at one of their concerts. Kiss also made a personal appearance at a local school where a donation of new musical instruments was made in the Wagstaff family's name.
2010	''I'm in a Rock 'n' Roll Band!''	Episode 1 And 5	As Himself		Discussing the requirements of being in a rock band.
2011		To Love and Die in LA	As Himself

Video appearances

In 2007, he appeared alongside other celebrities, as well as regular people, in the music video for "Rockstar" by Nickelback.

Video game appearances

Gene Simmons is a playable character in ''Tony Hawk's Underground'', unlocked when completing the story mode on Normal difficulty, and also appears with his Kiss bandmates in the Hotter Than Hell level to play one of three songs upon collecting the four K-I-S-S letters.

Gene Simmons' Kiss character, The Demon, is a playable character in ''Kiss: Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child''.

Simmons also has a large role in the 2010 music video game ''Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock''. In addition to narrating the main storyline and doing advertising for the game, the Kiss song "Love Gun" is playable.

Discography

Kiss

Solo

''Gene Simmons'' (1978)

''Sex Money Kiss'' (audiobook CD), 2003)

''Asshole'' (2004)

''Speaking in Tongues'' (spoken word CD, 2004)

Publishing career

In 2002, Simmons launched ''Gene Simmons' Tongue'', a men's lifestyle magazine. The magazine lasted five issues before being discontinued.

Published works

''Kiss and Make-Up'', Gene Simmons (ISBN 0-609-81002-2)

''Sex Money Kiss'', Gene Simmons (ISBN 1-893224-86-4)

''Kiss: The Early Years'', Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley (ISBN 0-609-81028-6)

''Kiss: Behind the Mask'', David Leaf and Ken Sharp (ISBN 0-446-96524-6)

''Ladies of the Night: A Historical and Personal Perspective on the Oldest Profession in the World'', Gene Simmons (ISBN 1-59777-501-0)

References

External links

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name	Randy Rogers Band
background	group_or_band
origin	Cleburne, Texas, USA
genre	Texas Country, Red Dirt, Country
years active	2000-present
label	Mercury NashvilleMCA Nashville
associated acts	Cross Canadian RagweedRadney FosterWade Bowen
website	http://randyrogersband.com
current members	Brady BlackGeoffrey HillLes LawlessJon RichardsonRandy Rogers }}

The Randy Rogers Band is an American Texas Country group from the state of Texas. The band is composed of Randy Rogers (lead vocals), Geoffrey Hill (guitar), Jon Richardson (bass guitar), Brady Black (fiddle), and Les Lawless (drums). They have recorded four studio albums and two live albums, and have charted six singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts. Their highest-charting single, "Tonight's Not the Night (For Goodbye)", reached #43 in 2005.

Biography

Randy Rogers was born in Cleburne, Texas. When he was six years old, he learned to play the piano from his grandmother and later learned to play the guitar.

The Randy Rogers Band recorded its debut album, ''Live at Cheatham Street Warehouse'', at a music hall of the same name in San Marcos, Texas. By 2002, the band was signed to the independent Downtime record label, on which they released the album ''Like It Used to Be''. It was around this time that the band began performing outside of San Marcos, primarily at Nutty Brown Cafe and Amphitheatre in nearby Dripping Springs, Texas. Two years later, the album ''Rollercoaster'' was released, producing two minor entries on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts in early 2005. Rogers also co-wrote "Somebody Take Me Home", a song recorded by Kenny Chesney, on his 2005 album, ''The Road and the Radio''. Several of the songs on ''Rollercoaster'' were co-written by Radney Foster, who also co-produced the album. ''Just a Matter of Time'', the band's first major-label album, was released on Mercury Nashville Records in 2006. The band also released their self-titled album on September 23, 2008, also on Mercury Nashville Records. The first single "In My Arms Instead", was released in August.

The band's current album, ''Burning the Day,'' was released on August 24, 2010 on MCA Nashville. The album's first single was "Too Late for Goodbye." It debuted at #55 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart and after four weeks on the chart, it peaked at #47, becoming their highest charting single since 2006 when "Kiss Me in the Dark" peaked at #45.

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chartpositions
		! width="40"	! width="40"
''Like It Used to Be''		* Release date: June 25, 2002	* Label: Downtime Records	Compact disc>CD	—	—
! scope="row"		* Release date: August 24, 2004	* Label: Smith Music Group	* Formats: CD, music download	—	—
! scope="row"		* Release date: September 12, 2006	Universal Music Group Nashville>Mercury Nashville	* Formats: CD, music download	8	61
! scope="row"		* Release date: September 23, 2008	* Label: Mercury Nashville	* Formats: CD, music download	3	29
''Burning the Day''		* Release date: August 24, 2010	* Label: MCA Nashville	* Formats: CD, music download	2	8

Live albums

Title	Album details	Peak positions
		! width="40"
''Live at Cheatham Street Warehouse''		* Release date: 2000	* Label: Smith Music Group	Compact cassette>cassette	—
! scope="row"		* Release date: August 16, 2005	* Label: Smith Music Group	* Formats: CD, music download	62

Singles

Year	Single	Peak positions	Album
		! width="40"
	"Tonight's Not the Night (For Goodbye)"	43
"Down and Out"	48
	"Somebody Take Me Home"	—
"Kiss Me in the Dark"	43
2007	"One More Goodbye"	53
2008	"In My Arms Instead"	52
2009	"Buy Myself a Chance"	—
	"Too Late for Goodbye"	47
"Steal You Away"	—

Music videos

! Year	Video	! Director
2006	"Kiss Me in the Dark"	Shaun Silva
2007	"One More Goodbye"	The Brads
2008	"In My Arms Instead"	Andy Wherspann
2010	"Interstate"	Stephen Shepherd

References

External links

Official website

Randy Rogers Band on MySpace

Official UMG Nashville Artist Page

Category:American country music groups Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Musical groups established in 2000 Category:Musical groups from Texas Category:Texas country music groups Category:MCA Records artists