Some bands—through a magical combination of talent, timing and luck—stake a claim to musical immortality almost immediately. That was not the case with KISS. For a long time, the band members themselves—Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss—were KISS’s biggest fans. They invented onstage alter egos, crafted do-it-yourself, glittery logo T-shirts, and played any club that would have them with absolute commitment. The result: fame and riches, which was pretty fortunate, because for KISS there was no plan B. Today the band has sold more than 100 million records—30 of their albums have gone gold and 14 went platinum. Many critics used to consider the band a joke—a carnival sideshow of smoking guitars, over-the-top pyrotechnics, cartoonish costumes and blood-spitting. But with the passage of time, KISS has come to represent something much more meaningful. Beneath the makeup, smoke and mirrors, that trifecta of determination is what KISS has always been about. This is their story.
