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One of The Wives, the backing vocalists for English singer Ebony Bones

A backing vocalist or backing singer (or, especially in the U.S., backup singer or sometimes background singer or harmony vocalist) is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. In some cases, a backing singer may sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or a counter-melody. While some bands use performers whose sole on-stage role is performing backing vocals, it is common for backup singers to have other roles. In many rock and metal bands, the musicians doing backup vocals also play instruments, such as guitar, electric bass, drums, or keyboards. In Latin or Afro-Cuban groups, backup singers may play percussion instruments or shakers while singing. In some pop and hip-hop groups and in musical theater, the backup singers may be required to perform elaborately-choreographed dance routines while they sing through headset microphones.

Band members who sing backup vocals[link]

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The two most notable examples of band members who sang back-up are The Beach Boys and The Beatles. The Beach Boys were well known for their close vocal harmonies, occasionally with all five members singing at once such as "In My Room" and "Surfer Girl". All five members would sing lead, although most often Brian Wilson or Mike Love would sing lead with guitarists Carl Wilson and Al Jardine and drummer Dennis Wilson singing background harmonies. The Beatles were also known for their close style of vocal harmonies^[opinion] - it should also be noted that all Beatles members sang both lead and backup vocals at some point, especially John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who frequently supported each other with harmonies, often with fellow Beatle George Harrison joining in. Ringo Starr, while not as prominent in the role of backup singer as his three bandmates, can be heard singing backing vocals in such tracks as "Hello, Goodbye" and "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill". Examples of three-part harmonies by Lennon, McCartney and Harrison include "Nowhere Man", "Because", "Day Tripper", and "This Boy" The members of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Bee Gees all each wrote songs and sang back-up or lead vocals and played various instruments on their albums and various collaborations with each other.

Former guitarist John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers sang all backing vocals (few songs were recorded without backing vocals) often singing some parts without accompaniment from lead vocalist Anthony Kiedis. Frusciante usually sang a song by himself during concerts. Another example is "No Frontiers" by The Corrs, which is sung by Sharon and Caroline. Other backing vocalists include Sebastien Lefebvre (rhythm guitarist at the same time) and David Desrosiers ( Bass guitarist, also at the same time ) for pop /punk band Simple Plan.

Lead singers who record backup vocals[link]

In the recording studio, some lead singers record their own backing vocals by overdubbing, because the sound of their own harmonies will blend well with their main vocal. Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, Wednesday 13, in his own band, and as the lead and backing vocalist of Murderdolls, also Ian Gillan of Deep Purple and Brad Delp of Boston recorded lead and backing vocals for their albums.

With the exception of a few songs on each album, David Bowie and Richard Marx sing all of the background vocals for their songs. Robert Smith of The Cure not only sings his own backing vocals in the studio, but also doesn't perform with backing vocalists when playing live.

Many metalcore and some post-hardcore bands, such as As I Lay Dying, Alexisonfire, Haste the Day and Silverstein feature a main vocalist who does the lead singing/screaming, whilst the backing vocalist sings harmonies during choruses to create a contrast. Some bands, such as Hawthorne Heights and Finch have the backup singers do harsh screaming to highlight specific lyrics.

Pop and R&B vocalists such as Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Beyonce Knowles, Brandy, Faith Evans, D'Angelo, and Amerie have become known specifically for not only recording their own backing vocals, but for arranging their own multi-tracked vocals and even contriving highly complex harmonies and arrangements.

Unusual backing vocal styles[link]

Some bands use backing vocals in order to contrast with the lead singer who may be performing an unusual vocal technique. For example, Brian "Head" Welch, the former lead guitarist of the band KoRn, performed backing vocals on several songs, and notably on the song "Ball Tongue", he screams the chorus while lead vocalist Jonathan Davis sings incomprehensible scat vocals. Similarly, the Canadian deathcore group Despised Icon uses two vocalists, one performing screams and another performing low, growling death grunts who alternate, and sometimes sing in unison to highlight certain lyrics. In rap music, a background rapper who chants and rhymes to support the main artist is often referred to as hype man. The Corrs are also known for the good usage of backing vocalists.

Career paths[link]

Working as a backup singer can give a vocalist the onstage experience and vocal training they need to develop into a lead vocalist. A number of lead vocalists such as Ace Frehley, Richard Marx, Mariah Carey, Cher, Gwen Stefani, Pink, Whitney Houston, Phil Collins, Sheryl Crow, Dave Grohl, Jerry Only, Jerry Cantrell, and Elton John, learned their craft as backup singers.

See also[link]

• Nebenstimme
• VOCALOID
• Uncredited background singer

External links[link]

• R.E.S.P.E.C.T - The Art of Backing Vocals (BBC Radio 4 programme)

Bombay Bicycle Club
Bombay Bicycle Club playing at Nottingham University.
Background information
Origin	Crouch End, London, England
Genres	Indie rock, Indie folk, Twee pop
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Island Records A&M/Octone Records
Website	bombaybicycleclubmusic.com
Members
Jack Steadman Jamie MacColl Suren de Saram Ed Nash

Bombay Bicycle Club are an English indie rock band from Crouch End, London. The band is composed of Jack Steadman (lead vocals, guitar), Jamie MacColl (guitar), Ed Nash (bass) and Suren de Saram (drums).

The band were asked to play the opening performance of 2006's V Festival after winning Channel 4's "Road to V" competition. Following the release of two EPs and their debut single "Evening/Morning", the band recorded their debut album, I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose. The album was released on 6 July 2009.

History[link]

Beginnings[link]

Steadman, MacColl, de Saram met at age 15 began playing under the name The Canals after performing together in a school assembly. They switched between various aliases until they picked Bombay Bicycle Club, named after a chain of Indian restaurants in Britain. The line-up changed regularly until summer 2006, when Ed Nash joined the band after they met him at a funeral. Initially they played gigs at small London venues such as The Old Blue Last, Lark in the Park and Jacksons Lane (as well as winning Exeter's Got Talent 2009).

The band were entered into Virgin Mobile's "Road to V" competition on Channel 4 in 2006.^[1] They were announced as one of two winners of the competition on 16 August 2006, beating competition from fellow London band - and favourites to win the competition - The Holloways in the final round of fourteen bands.^[2] Previous participants include The Young Knives, who were winners of the inaugural competition one year before. They were given the opening slot of the 2006 V Festival, playing on the Channel 4 Stage in Chelmsford on 19 August, before opening the Staffordshire site the following day.

Progression[link]

On 16 May 2007, NME published an article naming Bombay Bicycle Club "...the hottest band to come from North London for quite some time".^[3] Bombay Bicycle Club released their debut EP, The Boy I Used to Be, on 12 February 2007. The band released it on their own independent record label, Mmm... Records.^[4][5] The EP was produced by Jim Abbiss at his own personal request, and was recorded and mixed by Ewan Davies at Lincolnshire's Chapel Studios. To support the release of the EP they played a headline show at the Dingwalls in Camden as well as supporting fellow "Road to V" winners The Young Knives across some of their UK Tour.^[6] The band also played the Carling Stage at Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2007.

The band's second EP, How We Are, was released on 22 October 2007, again through Mmm... Records.^[4][5] The EP was produced by Jim Abbiss and was recorded and mixed by Richard Wilkinson at Konk Studios. The band headlined their first UK tour^[5] in support of this release and the EP debuted at #2 on the UK Indie Singles Chart 5 November 2007.^[7]

At the beginning of 2008, Bombay Bicycle Club appeared at the third annual Artrocker Festival,^[8] the Camden Crawl,^[9] and The Great Escape Festival in Brighton.^[10] The band also played the Shockwaves NME Awards Show at London's KOKO where they were main support for The Hold Steady.^[11]

[edit] I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose

In June 2008, the band officially finished higher secondary school education, which meant that the band could commit full time to music instead of having to juggle being in a band with studies. The band also headlined the first Club NME in Paris at La Fleche D'or venue, they were supported by Bitchee Bitchee Ya Ya Ya, with DJ sets coming from South Central, Shitdisco and Vicarious Bliss.

The band's first single, "Evening/Morning", was released on 4 August 2008 through Young and Lost Club.^[12] The single was produced by Jim Abbiss and was recorded and mixed by Richard Wilkinson at The Garden, London. The band embarked on a 23 date UK tour throughout July and August; this included festival appearances at the 2008 Reading and Leeds Festivals, the 2008 T in the Park Festival, The Edge Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland and the second Underage Festival.^[12]

In September 2008, Bombay Bicycle Club took part in the Levi's Ones to Watch 5 Night Revue at The Macbeth in London.^[13] The band headlined the first night with support from Sky Larkin and an interview and highlights from the show were broadcast on Channel 4 on 9 October 2008.^[13]

Bombay Bicycle Club's debut album was recorded between late October and late November 2008 at Konk Studios in London. The album was produced by Jim Abbiss. The band also played the Levi's Ones To Watch tour at the end of October, which included dates in Brighton, London, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Glasgow.

At the end of 2008 Bombay Bicycle Club signed a deal with Island Records to release future singles and albums with the record label. All releases will be published through the Mmm...Records/Island Records offprint, the first release being the single "Always Like This". The single was released in April 2009 and reached #97 on the UK Singles Chart.^[14] The band toured throughout April in support of the release.^[15]

Bombay Bicycle Club won the Best New Band award at the 2010 NME Awards on February 24, up against nominees such as The xx, The Big Pink, La Roux, The Olivers and Mumford & Sons. In June 2010 their song "How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep" was included as a bonus track on The Twilight Saga: Eclipse soundtrack.

[edit] Flaws

On 9 May 2010, Bombay Bicycle Club released the track "Ivy & Gold" in the United Kingdom as a digital download. The single, which was released as a double A-part with the track "Flaws" served as the lead single from the upcoming second studio album; which was later confirmed to be entitled Flaws. Having been added to BBC Radio 1's A Playlist, the single debuted on the singles chart at number 97, climbing to number 56 the following week; marking the band's most successful single to date.

The band released their second studio album Flaws in the United Kingdom on 12 July 2010; where it debuted on the UK Albums Chart at number 8;^[14] beating the debut's peak of number 46. The album included 11 acoustically recorded tracks, including "Swansea"; a cover of the Joanna Newsom song that appears on her album The Milk-Eyed Mender and "Fairytale Lullaby"; a cover of the John Martyn song that appears on the album London Conversation. On 10 December, the album was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry for selling over 60,000 copies.^[16]

On 20 September, the band released the second single "Rinse Me Down" as a music download and 7" vinyl alongside a track entitled "Dorcas", which served as the second A-side.^[17] The single managed to reach Radio 1's B Playlist, although failed to chart in the UK.

On 19 April 2011 it was announced that 'Flaws' has been nominated for the 2011 Ivor Novello award for best album^[18]

[edit] A Different Kind of Fix

In September 2010, the band announced that they had begun working on their third studio album,^[19] once again returning to electric guitars following acoustic recordings for "Flaws". On 7 June 2011 Zane Lowe revealed on BBC Radio 1 that their new album would be called A Different Kind Of Fix. He also said that he would be playing a new song from the album titled "Shuffle" on 22 June before its release as a single the following day. The single reached #69 in the charts. The album was released on 29 August 2011 and includes 12 tracks.^[20]. The band have announced that Beg will round off the album as its final release on 9 July 2012. The track failed to make the original 'physical' version of the album but was available as a bonus track on the digital version ^[21]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Notes

EPs[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

James "The Rev" Sullivan
James "The Rev" Sullivan in 2007
Background information
Birth name	James Owen Sullivan
Also known as	The Rev, Rat Head,The Reverend Tholomew Plague
Born	(1981-02-09)February 9, 1981 Huntington Beach, California, United States
Died	December 28, 2009(2009-12-28) (aged 28) Huntington Beach, California, United States
Genres	Hard rock, heavy metal, progressive metal, metalcore, avant-garde metal
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Drums, guitar, bass, piano, vocals
Years active	1999-2009
Labels	Warner Bros., Good Life, Hopeless,Bucktan
Associated acts	Avenged Sevenfold, Pinkly Smooth, Suburban Legends

James Owen Sullivan (February 9, 1981 – December 28, 2009),^[1] more commonly known by his stage name The Reverend Tholomew Plague, generally shortened to The Rev, was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. He was also the lead vocalist/pianist in Pinkly Smooth, a side project where he was known by the name Rat Head, with fellow Avenged Sevenfold member, guitarist Synyster Gates, and the drummer for Suburban Legends from 1998 to 1999.

Career[link]

Sullivan grew up and lived in Huntington Beach California.^[2] He got his first pair of drum sticks at the age of four and received his own drum set at the age of ten.^[3] In high school, he started playing in bands. Before leaving to join Avenged Sevenfold as one of the band's founding members, Sullivan was the drummer for the third wave ska band Suburban Legends. At the age of eighteen he recorded his first album with Avenged Sevenfold titled Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. His early influences included Frank Zappa and King Crimson. The Rev said in a Modern Drummer Magazine interview that "I was raised on that stuff as much as rock and metal."^[3]

Later in life he was influenced by drummers Vinnie Paul, Mike Portnoy, Dave Lombardo, Lars Ulrich, and Terry Bozzio.^[4] He even had a "visual influence", Tommy Lee, on which he commented that "I never thought I'd have one of those."^[3] Sullivan's signature ability which he called " double-ride , just for lack of a better definition, because no one does it,"^[5]is a technique that can be heard on tracks such as "Almost Easy", "Critical Acclaim", and "Crossroads" in which Sullivan doubles up at a fast tempo between the double bass and ride cymbals.

Sullivan spoke to DRUM! Magazine about recording "Crossroads": “The second fill that goes into the verse, and the fill that goes into the chorus, just happened in the studio. We knew there’s a break right before the first verse starts and the guitar’s doing an open chord, so there obviously needed to be a fill there to keep the energy there, and I just came up with a little tom-over-double-bass fill. That was just spur of the moment. And right before the solo, there’s another fill that’s kind of similar to the intro fill, and that was written out. But everything else is pretty much spontaneous"

The Rev was also a vocalist, songwriter, and pianist for Avenged Sevenfold. His piano-playing can be heard on the tracks "Seize the Day", "Fiction" and "Save Me". His vocals are featured in Avenged Sevenfold's "A Little Piece of Heaven", "Brompton Cocktail", "Critical Acclaim", "Crossroads", "Gunslinger", "Lost", "Scream", "Afterlife", "Save Me", "Eternal Rest", "Flash Of The Blade", "Bat Country", "Almost Easy", and "Fiction". He also wrote the songs "Almost Easy", "A Little Piece of Heaven", "Afterlife", "Brompton Cocktail", "Welcome to the Family, "Save Me", "Demons", "Fiction", and more.

Avenged Sevenfold also announced that they will be releasing a demo version of "Nightmare" including The Rev on an electric drumset and his vocals.

At the second annual Revolver Golden God Awards, The Rev won the award for Best Drummer. His family members and Avenged Sevenfold received the honor on his behalf.^[6]

Death[link]

The Rev was found dead in his home on December 28, 2009. Police ruled out foul play and noted his death appeared to be from natural causes. An autopsy performed on December 30, 2009 was inconclusive, However toxicology results revealed to the public in June revealed he died from acute polydrug intoxication due to the combined effects of Oxycodone ^[1](Percocet), oxymorphone (a metabolite of oxycodone), diazepam (Valium), nordiazepam (a metabolite of diazepam) and alcohol. The coroner noted Cardiomegaly (enlarged heart) as a "significant condition" that may have played a role in Sullivan's death.^[7]

On January 6, 2010, a private funeral was held for Sullivan,^[8] and a day later he was buried in Huntington Beach, California.^[9] Shortly after his death, Good Charlotte dedicated their single, "The River", to him^{[citation needed]}, and Avenged Sevenfold dedicated their song "So Far Away" to him.

Discography[link]

With Suburban Legends[link]

• Origin Edition (1999)

With Pinkly Smooth[link]

• Unfortunate Snort (2001)

With Avenged Sevenfold[link]

• 1999 Demo (1999)
• 2000 Demo (2000)
• Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (2001)
• Warmness on the Soul (2001)
• Waking the Fallen (2003)
• City of Evil (2005)
• All Excess (2007)
• Avenged Sevenfold (2007)
• Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough (2008)
• Nightmare (2010) (Posthumous)
• Welcome to the Family (2010) (Posthumous)

References[link]

External links[link]

Paul Stanley
Background information
Birth name	Stanley Eisen
Also known as	"The Starchild"
Born	(1952-01-20) January 20, 1952 (age 60) Manhattan, New York, United States
Origin	Queens, New York, United States
Genres	Hard rock, heavy metal
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer, painter, actor
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass
Years active	1970–present
Labels	New Door, Universal Music Group
Associated acts	Kiss, Wicked Lester
Website	www.paulstanley.com
Notable instruments
Ibanez PS10 and Destroyer (late 1970s and early 1980s, Mid 1990s) Washburn Signature Models (Mid-late 1990s and present) Silvertone Signature Models (Mid-2000s) BC Rich Guitars (1980s and Early 1990s) Gibson Flying V(mid 1970s), Gibson Explorer(late 1970s) Randall Amplifiers (1990s – 2010) Engl Amplifiers (Since 2010)

Stanley 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 primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. Also known for his wailing vocals and high-energy on-stage antics. He is of Hungarian and Austrian ancestry.

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. Hit Parader ranked him 18th on their list of Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time. Gibson.com Readers Poll also named him 13th on their list of Top 25 Frontmen.

Biography[link]

Kiss[link]

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.

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.^[1]

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[link]

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.^[2]

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.^[3] 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.

Voice[link]

It features a standard soft and gentle but powerful bass treble. Stanley tends to sing especially in the high register of his vocal range, although the term "record" Kiss sang even more serious in the records (I Was Made for Lovin 'You, Shandi). In Music from "The Elder" has also experimented with falsetto (Just a Boy, The Oath).

Other projects[link]

Stanley while showing some of his paintings in San Diego, September 2007

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)". In the past, Stanley has been asked to produce albums for Poison but he was never able to commit due to his work on Kiss projects. However, Stanley did in fact produce a debut album for an up and coming band called New England. The first single from that album in 1978 was called "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya" and went on to become a Top-40 hit in 1979.^[4]

Personal life[link]

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.^[5] Stanley has microtia, a deformity of the pinna (outer ear).^[6] 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.^[7] On August 9, 2011, the couple had their third child, Emily Grace.^[8]

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.

In October 2011 Stanley had vocal chords surgery.He said "I hold myself to a higher standard than others do, With that in mind, I wanted to remedy a few minor issues that come with 40 years of preaching rock 'n' roll."

Awards[link]

• 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.
• Stanley received the Sound Partners Lifetime Achievement Award from the House Research Institute^[9]

Discography[link]

Kiss[link]

Solo career[link]

• Paul Stanley (1978)
• Live to Win (2006)
• One Live Kiss (2008) – DVD and digital download from Amazon.com and iTunes

References[link]