KISS is an American rock band formed in New York City in December of 1972. The original lineup of KISS was Paul Stanley, who sang vocals and played rhythm guitar, Gene Simmons who sang lead vocals and played bass guitar, Ace Frehley who played lead guitar and sang back-up vocals, and Peter Criss who handled the drums and percussion.

Intro (Edit)

KISS is an American rock band formed in New York City in December of 1972. The band is known for its trademark face paint and stage outfits.

The original lineup of KISS was Paul Stanley, who sang vocals and played rhythm guitar, Gene Simmons who sang lead vocals and played bass guitar, Ace Frehley who played lead guitar and sang back-up vocals, and Peter Criss who handled the drums and percussion.

In 1983, KISS abandoned its makeup for the rest of the decade. However, in 1996, the band announced a reunion tour of the original lineup, with the famous KISS make-up. The tour was the top-grossing act of 1996 and 1997. Criss and Frehley have  left KISS again. They have been replaced by Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer.

KISS traces its roots to Wicked Lester. Wicked Lester is a rock and roll band from New York. Wicked Lester never achieved any success. They recorded one album and played a handful of live shows.

Stanley came up with the name KISS. Simmons and Criss were driving around New York City, when Criss mentioned that he was in a band called Lips, so Stanley suggested the name KISS. Frehley created the now-iconic logo.

The band’s name has been rumored to have many hidden meanings. Some of them include Knights In Satan’s Service or Keep It Simple Stupid. None of these rumors have any basis in fact. Each acronym has been denied by the band.

In March of 1973, the band recorded a five-song demo tape. Bill Aucoin, former TV director, offered to become the band’s manager in mid-October. The band agreed, with the condition that Aucoin get them signed to a label within two weeks. On November 1, 1973, KISS became the first act signed to Emerald City Records.

KISS’ first tour started on February 5, 1974. The band’s self-titled debut album, Kiss, was released on February 18. KISS and their label promoted the album heavily throughout spring and summer of 1974.

KISS flew to Los Angeles in August of 1974 to begin the recording of their second album, Hotter Than Hell. It was released on October 22, 1974. The only single, “Let Me Go, Rock ‘n’ Roll,” failed to chart.

KISS was pulled off of the tour promoting Hotter Than Hell because the band and the label were losing money quickly. The label’s head, Neil Bogart, stepped in to produce the next album.

Bogart quickly took the distorted guitar sound from Hotter Than Hell and replaced it with a more commercial pop type of sound. Dressed To Kill was released on March 19, 1975. It only did a little bit better than the previous two albums, but it contained the bands trademark song, “Rock And Roll All Nite.”

KISS wanted to express the excitement felt at their concerts, which their studio albums failed to do. So they decided to release their first live album.  “Alive!” was released on September 10, 1975. The album achieved Gold status.

Following the success that the live album gave the band, KISS partnered with producer Bob Ezrin. The result was Destroyer, which was released on March 15, 1976. Destroyer was a departure from the raw sound of the first three studio albums. The album featured an orchestra, choir, and numerous tape effects. The album sold well initially and became the group’s second gold album, but then it quickly dropped down the charts. When the ballad “Beth” was released as a single, the album’s sales rebounded. “Beth” was a #7 hit for the band. Due to the success of the song “Beth”, the album went Platinum by the end of 1976.

Between 1976 and 1977, two more albums were released and quickly went platinum. These were “Rock And Roll Over”, released in 1976 and Love Gun which was released in 1977.

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A second live album, called “Alive II”, was released on October 14, 1977. All three albums were certified platinum quickly after their release dates.

KISS and their manager Aucoin decided to cement their status as superheroes. They decided to film a movie starring the band. The filming started in the spring of 1978. The final product was KISS Meets The Phantom of The Park. The film was produced by Hanna-Barbera, and aired on NBC in 1978.

The band’s next album was released on May 22 of 1979. The album was called, Dynasty. It continued their platinum streak. The album contained what was the bands biggest single so far, “I Was Made For Lovin’ You.”

KISS’ next album showcased a slick, contemporary pop sound. The album was called Unmasked and it was released on May 20, 1980. It was the first KISS album since, Dressed to Kill, to fail to achieve platinum sales. Soon after the albums release, Criss’ departure was officially announced.

For their next album, the band once again approached Bob Ezrin. “Music From The Elder” was released in 1981. It was a concept album featuring medieval horns, strings, harps, and synthesizers.

KISS’ following album was called “Creatures of the Night”. It was releaed on October 13, 1982. It was KISS’ heaviest album to date. Since Frehley had left the band, Vinnie Vincent filled in on the recording. Later he got the full time job of guitarist for the band.

The band sensed that it was time for a change. The band made the decision to abandon their trademark makeup and costumes. They appeared in public for the first time without make-up on a September 18, 1983. Their following album called Lick It Up, also had the members without make-up. The album was KISS’ first gold album in three years.

KISS’ following album was released in 1984. It was called Animalize. The video for Heaven’s On Fire was in constant circulation on MTV.

Throughout the rest of the the 1980’s, the band released a series of platinum albums. 1985’s Asylum, 1987’s Crazy Nights and the compilation called Smashes, Thrashes, & Hits, which was released in 1988.

KISS finished up the 1980’s with their 1989 album called Hot In The Shade. The album went gold, but it failed to go platinum.

On November 24, 1991, tragedy struck. Eric Carr had died after surviving numerous tumors and suffering two cerebral hemmorrhages. He was replaced by Eric Singer.

KISS released Revenge on May 19, 1992. The album had a leaner, more hard-edged sound. The album went gold in the US.

KISS followed Revenge with the release of Alive III, on May 14, 1993. It was recorded on the arena part of the Revenge Tour.

In September 1998, the reunited group released Psycho Circus. Despite the album featuring prominent pictures of Frehley and Criss, they contributed minimal towards the album. Most of the drumming duties and lead guitar work was not even done by Criss and Frehley.

After 10 years since their last release, and after many years of denials of wanting to record a new album, Simmons and Stanley have seemed to change their mind. Simmons and Stanley said the band will be returning to the studio and that the album will have to 1970’s KISS sound.

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