KISS's BiographyDebut album KISS (1974)
January 31, 1981(Memphis, Tennessee, USA)
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Rooted in the campy theatrics of Alice Cooper and the sleazy hard rock of
glam rockers the New York Dolls, Kiss became a favorite of American teenagers in
the '70s. Most kids were infatuated with the look of Kiss, not their music.
Decked out in outrageously flamboyant costumes and makeup, the band fashioned a
captivating stage show featuring dry ice, smoke bombs, elaborate lighting, blood
spitting, and fire breathing that captured the imaginations of thousands of
kids. But Kiss' music shouldn't be dismissed -- it was 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. Kiss was the brainchild of Gene Simmons (bass, vocals) and Paul
Stanley (rhythm guitar, vocals), former members of the New York-based hard rock
band Wicked Lester; the duo brought in drummer Peter Criss through his ad in
Rolling Stone and guitarist Ace Frehley responded to an advertisement in The
Village Voice. Even at their first Manhattan concert in 1973, the group's
approach was quite theatrical; Flipside producer Bill Aucoin offered the band a
management deal after the show. Two weeks later, the band was signed to Neil
Bogart's fledgling record label, Casablanca. Kiss released their self-titled
debut in February of 1974; it peaked at number 87 on the U.S. charts. By April
of 1975, the group had released three albums and had toured America constantly,
building up a sizable fan base. Culled from those numerous concerts, Alive!
(released in the fall of 1975) made the band rock & roll superstars; it climbed
into the Top Ten and its accompanying single, "Rock 'N' Roll All Nite," made it
to number 12. Their follow-up, Destroyer, was released in March of 1976 and
became the group's first platinum album; it also featured their first Top Ten
single, Peter Criss' power ballad "Beth." A 1977 Gallup poll named Kiss the most
popular band in America. Kiss mania was in full swing and thousands of pieces of
merchandise hit the marketplace. The group had two comic books released by
Marvel, pinball machines, makeup and masks, board games, and a live-action TV
movie, Kiss Meet the Phantom of the Park. The group was never seen in public
without wearing their makeup and their popularity was growing by leaps and
bounds; the membership of the Kiss Army, the band's fan club, was now in the six
figures. Even such enormous popularity had its limits, and the band reached them
in 1978, when all four members released solo albums on the same day in October.
Simmons' record was the most successful, reaching number 22 on the charts, yet
all of them made it into the Top 50. Dynasty, released in 1979, continued their
streak of platinum albums, yet it was their last recorded with the original
lineup -- Criss left in 1980. Kiss Unmasked, released in the summer of 1980, was
recorded with session drummer Anton Fig; Criss' permanent replacement, Eric
Carr, joined the band in time for their 1980 world tour. Kiss Unmasked was their
first record since Destroyer to fail to go platinum, and 1981's Music From the
Elder, their first album recorded with Carr, didn't even go gold -- it couldn't
even climb past number 75 on the charts. Ace Frehley left the band after its
release; he was replaced by Vinnie Vincent in 1982. Vincent's first album with
the group, 1982's Creatures of the Night, fared better than Music From the
Elder, yet it couldn't make it past number 45 on the charts. Sensing it was time
for a change, Kiss dispensed with their makeup for 1983's Lick It Up. The
publicity worked, as the album became their first platinum record in four years.
Animalize, released the following year, was just as successful, and the group
had recaptured their niche. Vincent left after Animalize and was replaced by
Mark St. John; St. John was soon taken ill with Reiter's Syndrome and left the
band. Bruce Kulick became Kiss' new lead guitarist in 1984. For the rest of the
decade, Kiss turned out a series of best-selling albums, culminating in the
early 1990 hit ballad "Forever," which was their biggest single since "Beth."
Kiss was scheduled to record a new album with their old producer, Bob Ezrin, in
1990 when Eric Carr became severely ill with cancer; he died in November of 1991
at the age of 41. Kiss replaced him with Eric Singer and recorded Revenge
(1992), their first album since 1989; it was a Top Ten hit and went gold. Kiss
followed it with the release of Alive III the following year; it performed
respectably, but not up to the standards of their two previous live records. In
1996, the original lineup of Kiss -- featuring Simmons, Stanley, Frehley, and
Criss -- reunited to perform an international tour, complete with their
notorious makeup and special effects. The tour was one of the most successful of
1996, and in 1998 the reunited group issued Psycho Circus. While the ensuing
tour in support of Psycho Circus was a success, sales of Kiss' reunion album
weren't as stellar as anticipated. Reminiscent of the band's late-'70s unfocused
period, few tracks on Psycho Circus featured all four members playing together
(most tracks were supplemented with session musicians), as the band seemed more
interested in flooding the marketplace with merchandise yet again instead of
making the music their top priority. With rumors running rampant that the Psycho
Circus Tour would be their last, the quartet announced in the spring of 2000
that they would be launching a U.S. farewell tour in the summer, which became
one of the year's top concert draws. But on the eve of a Japanese and Australian
tour in early 2001, Peter Criss suddenly left the band once again, supposedly
discontent with his salary. Taking his place was previous Kiss drummer Eric
Singer, who in a controversial move among some longtime fans, donned Criss'
cat-man makeup (since Simmons and Stanley own both Frehley and Criss' makeup
designs, there was no threat of a lawsuit) as the farewell tour continued. With
the band scheduled to call it a day supposedly by late 2001, a mammoth
career-encompassing box set was set for later in the year, while the summer saw
perhaps the most over-the-top piece of Kiss merchandise yet -- the "Kiss Kasket."
The group was relatively quiet through the rest of the year, but 2002 started
with a bang as Gene Simmons turned in an entertaining and controversial
interview on NPR where he criticized the organization and berated host Terry
Gross with sexual comments and condescending answers. He was promoting his
autobiography at the time, which also caused dissent in the Kiss camp because of
the inflammatory remarks made towards Ace Frehley. Frehley was quite angry at
the situation, leading to his no-showing of an American Bandstand anniversary
show. His place was taken by a wig-wearing Tommy Thayer, but no one was fooled
and the band looked especially awful while pretending to play their instruments
during the pre-recorded track. The appearance was an embarrassment for the group
and for their fans, but Simmons was quick to dismiss the performance as another
in a long series of money-oriented decisions. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg
Prato, All Music Guide
Source: vh1.com
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