Kiss was an American hard rock band from New York. Formed in January 1973, the group originally included rhythm guitarist and vocalist Paul Stanley, bassist and vocalist Gene Simmons, lead guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss. [1] Songwriting is typically led by Stanley and Simmons, who also perform the majority of lead vocals, although all members regularly contribute. [2] The band's self-titled debut album featured only one songwriting credit for Frehley and Criss (on "Love Theme from Kiss", written by all four members), as well as a cover version of Bobby Rydell's "Kissin' Time". [3] Frehley wrote or co-wrote three songs on Hotter than Hell , [4] and two on 1975's Dressed to Kill . [5] For Destroyer , the band worked closely with producer Bob Ezrin, who was credited for songwriting on seven of the album's nine tracks. [6]
Rock and Roll Over , released in 1976, was again led by Stanley and Simmons, with Sean Delaney co-credited alongside the former on three tracks. [7] 1977's Love Gun featured a writing credit each for Frehley and Criss, as well as a cover of "Then She Kissed Me", originally by The Crystals. [8] After each member released an eponymous solo album in 1978, Kiss returned in 1979 with Dynasty , which featured session drummer Anton Fig in place of the injured Criss. [9] Fig also performed on Unmasked the following year, by which time Criss had left Kiss. [10] Unmasked included several songwriters from outside of the band, including producer Vini Poncia on all but three tracks. [11] Following the addition of Eric Carr on drums, the band released Music from "The Elder" in 1981, which was the last to feature Frehley who departed the following year. [12]
Frehley was replaced by Vinnie Vincent, who first wrote and performed on Creatures of the Night in 1982. [13] The album also featured two songs co-written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. [13] Vincent remained for the 1983 follow-up Lick It Up , although left after the album's touring cycle. [14] He was replaced for Animalize by Mark St. John, which included songs co-written by Desmond Child, Mitch Weissman and Jean Beauvoir. [15] Bruce Kulick debuted on Asylum as the band's fourth lead guitarist, which again included credits for Child and Beauvoir. [16] Crazy Nights and Hot in the Shade featured returning contributors Poncia, Child and Weissman, as well as new additions such as Tommy Thayer, Michael Bolton and Bob Halligan Jr. [17] [18] Carr died of cancer on November 24, 1991, with Eric Singer taking over as the band's drummer. [1]
The band's 1992 release Revenge was largely co-written with Ezrin, who had returned as producer. [19] In 1996, Frehley and Criss returned for an original lineup reunion tour. [1] The group released Psycho Circus in 1998, which was primarily written by Stanley and Simmons with contributions from Curtis Cuomo, Holly Knight, Karl Cochran, Ezrin and Kulick. [20] By 2004, the lineup of Kiss included lead guitarist Thayer and drummer Singer. [1] The group's next studio album followed in 2009 – Sonic Boom was written entirely by the band's members, with all but Singer credited. [21] 2012's Monster credited the drummer on just one track, "Back to the Stone Age", which was written by the whole band. [22] In early 2015, Kiss released a single in collaboration with Japanese idol group Momoiro Clover Z entitled "Yume no Ukiyo ni Saite Mi na". [23]
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Kiss was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. 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 and Eric Singer.
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician who was the original lead guitarist, occasional lead vocalist and founding member of the rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman and played with the group from its inception in 1973 until his departure in 1982. After leaving Kiss, Frehley formed his own band named Frehley's Comet and released two albums with the group. He subsequently embarked on a solo career, which was put on hold when he rejoined Kiss in 1996 for a highly successful reunion tour.
Wicked Lester was a rock band based in New York City. Two notable members were bassist Chaim Witz and rhythm guitarist Stanley Eisen. Originally formed in 1970 as Rainbow, the band changed its name to Wicked Lester in 1971 to avoid confusion with another local band named "Rainbow". Although it secured a record deal with Epic Records and recorded an album, the deal fell through and the band fell apart during 1972. Witz and Eisen, feeling that the band's failure was a result of its lack of vision and direction, decided to found a new band from its remnants. They changed their stage names to Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, respectively, auditioned a new drummer and lead guitarist, and formed the band Kiss by the end of January 1973.
Hotter than Hell is the second studio album by American hard rock band Kiss, released on October 22, 1974, by Casablanca Records. It was certified gold on June 23, 1977, having shipped 500,000 copies. The album was re-released in 1997 in a remastered version. It peaked on the Billboard 200 charts at No. 100, without the benefit of a hit single. Many of the album's songs were live staples for the band, including "Parasite", "Hotter than Hell", "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll", and "Watchin' You".
Killers is the second compilation album by American hard rock group Kiss. It was released only outside the US, but quickly became available as an import. Of the album's twelve songs, four were new compositions recorded specifically for it: "I'm a Legend Tonight," "Down on Your Knees," "Nowhere to Run" and "Partners in Crime." These new songs were recorded at the behest of Phonogram, in response to the commercial failure of 1981's Music from "The Elder".
Unmasked is the eighth studio album by American hard rock band Kiss, released on May 20, 1980, by Casablanca Records. It was their first not to feature original drummer and founding member Peter Criss. Despite having no involvement in its production, Criss features in the album's artwork and the video for "Shandi", and also receives credit.
Dressed to Kill is the third studio album by American hard rock band Kiss, released on March 19, 1975. It was produced by Casablanca Records president Neil Bogart and the band itself as the label's financial situation at the time did not permit the hiring of a professional producer.
Kiss is the debut studio album by American rock band Kiss, released on February 18, 1974, by Casablanca Records. Much of the material on the album was written by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, as members of their pre-Kiss band Wicked Lester. Simmons estimated that the entire process of recording and mixing took three weeks, while co-producer Richie Wise has stated it took just 13 days.
Rock and Roll Over is the fifth studio album by American rock band Kiss, released on November 11, 1976, by Casablanca Records. It was recorded at the Star Theatre in Nanuet, New York. The album contains the songs "Hard Luck Woman" and "Calling Dr. Love", which became hit singles in the United States.
Love Gun is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Kiss, released on June 30, 1977. Casablanca Records and FilmWorks shipped one million copies of the album on this date. It was certified platinum and became the band's first top 5 album on the Billboard 200. The album was remastered in 1997 and again in 2014.
Alive II is the second live album by American hard rock band Kiss, released on October 14, 1977, by Casablanca Records. The band had released three albums since the previous live outing, the 1975 release Alive!, so they drew upon the variety of new tracks, with Eddie Kramer producing. The album is one of the best selling in the Kiss discography, being the band's first to be certified double platinum in February 1996, the same month the Kiss reunion tour was announced. It has continued to sell in the US in the Soundscan era, selling over 300,000 copies from 1991 and to March 2012.
Ace Frehley is the first solo album by American guitarist and former Kiss member Ace Frehley, released on September 18, 1978, by Casablanca Records. It was one of four albums released by each separate Kiss member as a solo act, but yet still under the Kiss label, coming out alongside Peter Criss, Paul Stanley, and Gene Simmons.
Dynasty is the seventh studio album by American rock band Kiss, produced by Vini Poncia and released on May 23, 1979, by Casablanca Records.
Creatures of the Night is the tenth studio album by American rock band Kiss, released in 1982. It was the band's last for Casablanca Records, the only label for which Kiss had recorded up to that point. The album was dedicated to the memory of Casablanca founder and early Kiss supporter Neil Bogart, who had died of cancer during the recording sessions. It is also the band's last album recorded with Ace Frehley credited as an official member and their first album with Vinnie Vincent, as the initially uncredited lead guitarist. Vincent would later be credited but not featured on the cover of the 1985 reissue of the album. It was also Kiss' last album to feature the band with their trademark makeup until the release of Psycho Circus in 1998.
"Beth" is a song by American rock band Kiss, originally released on their fourth studio album Destroyer (1976). Composed by drummer Peter Criss, his friend Stan Penridge and producer Bob Ezrin, the song was published as a single by Casablanca Records in August 1976, after releasing it as the B-side of "Detroit Rock City". "Beth" is Kiss's biggest commercial hit in the United States, reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, receiving a Gold Record certification from the RIAA, and winning the 1977 People's Choice Award for "Favorite Song".
Psycho Circus is the eighteenth studio album by American rock band Kiss and the first and only album to involve all four original members since 1979's Dynasty. While touted as a band effort, Peter Criss only played drums on the Ace Frehley-penned track, "Into the Void", and guitarist Frehley only played on two regular album tracks, the one he wrote plus "You Wanted the Best". He also played on a bonus track called "In Your Face", penned by Simmons. All four band members, however, sang lead vocals on the album.
Frehley's Comet is the second solo album by Ace Frehley, former lead guitarist of Kiss. It was also the first album that Frehley released after leaving Kiss in 1982.
"Rock and Roll All Nite" is a song by American rock band Kiss, originally released on their 1975 album Dressed to Kill. It was released as the A-side of their fifth single, with the album track "Getaway". The studio version of the song peaked at No. 68 on the Billboard singles chart, besting the band's previous charting single, "Kissin' Time" (#89). A subsequent live version, released as a single in October 1975, eventually reached No. 12 in early 1976, the first of six Top 20 songs for Kiss in the 1970s. "Rock and Roll All Nite" became Kiss's signature song and has served as the group's closing concert number in almost every concert since 1976. In 2008, it was named the 16th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.
Russell Glyn Ballard is an English musician.
"Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll" is a song by the American hard rock band Kiss, released in 1974. It was released as the only single from their second album Hotter Than Hell. Even though the song failed to chart, it is a staple in their live concerts. The B-side was the album title track, "Hotter Than Hell". Gene Simmons penned the lyrics during a lunch break at his day job, and the song conveys romantic excitement: "'Cause baby's got the feeling/Baby wants a show/Baby won't you tell me/Baby rock & roll, yeah, yeah!". "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll" became a live favorite for Kiss.
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