Mr Nice GuyKISS
May 11th 2009 01:45
Regarded as one of the most influential rock and roll bands of all-time KISS holds honors as one of America’s top gold record champions, recording 36 albums over 32 years selling over 75 million albums worldwide.
Performing at everything from the Super Bowl to the 2002 Winter Olympics , the KISS legacy continues to grow, generation after generation, transcending both age and cringeworthy crtics.
The unparalleled devotion and loyalty of the KISS is an incredible testament to the band’s unbreakable bond with its fans.
The original 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 outlandish makeup and costumes, they took on the personae of comic book-style characters of The Demon, The Starchild, The Spaceman and The Catman.
Their rise to fame is of course well doumented as is their fall from grace during the 80’s and their ‘unmasked’ period.
Due to creative differences, both Criss and Frehley were out of the group by 1982 – which by no small co-incidence also saw the band’s commercial fortunes also wane.
But buoyed by a wave of nostalgia in the 1990s, the band’s original lineup reformed – and the resulting Kiss Alive/Worldwide/Lost Cities/Reunion Tour was the top-grossing act of 1996 and 1997.
The rest (as they say) is history.
Sadly - Stanley and Simmons are the only two constant members of the band – which – love em’ or loathe em’ have left their mark on pop culture.
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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Comment by Mr Nice Guy
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Pop Rock Factory
I have a friend who is 50 and is not only a fan but took their daughter along to their most recent concert - and in turn her eight-year-old son - wow - now there's a tragic band of followers for you.
Comment by Janet Collins
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Comment by Two Guys Sports
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They are my favorite band of all-time. So much so that my AOL screen name is related to Ace Frehley, my cell phone ringtone is a clip from Shock Me. (The first song Ace ever sang lead vocals on.) And here is the biggest shocker to most - I actually liked Kiss Meet the Phantom of the Park, and the concept album Music from the Elder.
Of course the best lineup is the original, although I never really grew to like Peter Criss. The best replacements however were definitely Eric Carr on drums (much better than Peter btw) and Bruce Kulick (no Ace, but exceptionally good in his own right) You may remember Eric from right before they took off the makeup as the Fox.
One thing that always amazed me was - they went out and got a guy even uglier than Ace to join the band right before they stripped off the makeup - Vinnie Vincent.
I will leave you now with a favorite image of mine, and a little known fact that stuns and amazes everyone.
The little known fact is -
Who is the only band other than The Beatles to ever have four albums in the Billboard 100 Albums chart simultaneously?
That's right my friends it is KISS. the albums were Alive!, Destroyer, Rock and Roll Over (best album cover ever perhaps. If I were to ever get a tattoo it would be this album cover full size on my back.) , and finally Love Gun.
Yet here we sit 35 years after the release of their first album and they are NOT in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Gene