Kiss (band)

Not to be confused with Kiss (South Korean group).

Kiss
Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley looking towards a camera
The original line-up of Kiss in 1975
(L–R): Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley
Background information
OriginNew York City, U.S.
Genres
DiscographyKiss discography
Years active1973–2023
Labels
Spinoffs
Spinoff ofWicked Lester
Past members
Websitekissonline.com

Kiss (commonly styled as KISS) was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1973 by Paul Stanley (vocals, rhythm guitar), Gene Simmons (vocals, bass guitar), Ace Frehley (lead guitar, vocals) and Peter Criss (drums, vocals). Known for their face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid-1970s with shock rock–style live performances which featured fire-breathing, blood-spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits and pyrotechnics. The band went through several lineup changes, with Stanley and Simmons remaining the only consistent members. The final lineup consisted of them, Tommy Thayer (lead guitar, vocals) and Eric Singer (drums, vocals).

With their makeup and costumes, the band members took on the personas of comic book-style characters: the Starchild (Stanley), the Demon (Simmons), the Spaceman or Space Ace (Frehley), and the Catman (Criss). During the second half of the 1970s, Kiss became one of America's most successful rock bands and a pop culture phenomenon. Due to creative differences, Criss departed the band in 1980, followed by Frehley's departure in 1982. They were replaced by Eric Carr (the Fox) and Vinnie Vincent (the Ankh Warrior), respectively.[1] The band's commercial success had declined during the early 1980s before experiencing a resurgence in 1983, when they began performing without makeup and costumes, marking the beginning of the band's "unmasked" era that would last until 1996. The first album of this era, 1983's platinum-certified Lick It Up, successfully introduced them to a new generation of fans, and its music videos received regular airplay on MTV. Vincent left the band in 1984, being replaced briefly by Mark St. John before Bruce Kulick joined the band for the next twelve years. Eric Carr died in 1991 of heart cancer and was replaced by Eric Singer.

In response to a wave of Kiss nostalgia in the mid-1990s, the original lineup reunited in 1996, which also saw the return of their makeup and stage costumes. The resulting 1996–1997 reunion tour was highly successful, grossing $143.7 million, making it the band's most successful tour. Criss and Frehley subsequently left the band again following the 2000–2001 tour, which at the time was intended to be Kiss's last. Criss and Frehley were replaced by Singer and Tommy Thayer (Criss briefly rejoined the band from 2002 to 2004), respectively. In a move which proved controversial among fans, Singer and Thayer adopted the original Catman and Spaceman makeup respectively, rather than having their own unique makeup designs.[2] After 46 years of recording and performing, Kiss began a four-year-long farewell tour, the End of the Road World Tour, in January 2019 and retired after performing their final show in New York City in December 2023.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Kiss is regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of all time,[9][10] as well as one of the best selling bands of all time, claiming to have sold more than 100 million records worldwide,[11] including 21 million[12] RIAA-certified albums.[13] Kiss has also earned 30 Gold albums, the most of any band from the United States. Kiss has 14 Platinum albums, three of which earned multi-Platinum.[10] On April 10, 2014, the four original members of Kiss were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Kiss was ranked by MTV as the ninth "Greatest Metal Band of All Time",[14] placed tenth on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" list,[15] as well as being ranked as the third "Best Metal and Hard Rock Live Band of All Time" by Loudwire magazine[16] and placed sixteenth by the British magazine Classic Rock on their "The 50 Best Rock Bands of All Time" list.[17]

  1. ^ KISS: A Definitive Timeline of the Rock Band biography news.Retrieved January 3, 2024
  2. ^ Grow, Kory (April 6, 2016). "Gene Simmons Talks Kiss Makeup Controversy". Rolling Stone.
  3. ^ "It's Official: KISS To Launch Farewell Tour, 'End Of The Road'". Blabbermouth.net. September 19, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  4. ^ "GENE SIMMONS Says KISS's 'End Of The Road' Tour Could Last More Than Three Years". Blabbermouth. November 12, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  5. ^ "KISS To Launch Three Year Tour In January 2019, Says GENE SIMMONS". Blabbermouth. June 4, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  6. ^ Kielty, Martin (November 3, 2019). "Kiss Reveal 75 New 2020 'End of the Road' Tour Dates". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  7. ^ "PAUL STANLEY On Why 'End Of The Road' Is KISS's Final Tour: 'It's Just Not Possible To Continue Doing This The Way We Do It'". Blabbermouth.net. January 5, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  8. ^ Graff, Gary (October 6, 2021). "Paul Stanley Reveals New Plans for the End of Kiss' Farewell Tour". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  9. ^ "15 Most Influential Bands of All Time". Loudwire. August 30, 2018.
  10. ^ a b "KISS - America's #1 Gold Record Award Winning Group of All Time". Recording Industry Association of America. September 15, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  11. ^ "Hard rock band Kiss sells brand and songs for $300m". BBC. April 4, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  12. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  13. ^ "RIAA Top Selling Artists". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  14. ^ "MTVNews.com: The Greatest Metal Bands Of All Time". Mtv.com. March 9, 2006. Archived from the original on July 28, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  15. ^ "VH1: '100 Greatest Hard Rock Artists': 1-50". RockOnTheNet. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  16. ^ "The 50 Best Metal + Hard Rock Live Bands of All Time". Loudwire.com. October 19, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  17. ^ "Classic Rock: 'The 50 Best Rock Bands of All Time': 1-50". Loudersound. Retrieved October 30, 2024.