Kiss (often stylized as KIÏŸÏŸ) is an American rock band formed in New
York City in January 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss,
and Ace Frehley. Well known for its members' face paint and stage
outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid-to-late 1970s with
its elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing,
blood-spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum
kits, and pyrotechnics. The band has gone through several lineup
changes, with Stanley and Simmons being the only members to feature in
every lineup. The original and best-known lineup consists of Stanley
(vocals and rhythm guitar), Simmons (vocals and bass), Frehley (lead
guitar and vocals), and Criss (drums and vocals)With their make-up and
costumes, the band members took on the personae of comic book-style
characters: the Starchild (Stanley), the Demon (Simmons), the Spaceman
or Space Ace (Frehley), and the Catman (Criss). Due to creative
differences, both Criss and Frehley had departed the group by 1982.In
1983, Kiss began performing without makeup and costumes, thus marking
the beginning of the band's "unmasked" era that would last for over a
decade. The band experienced a commercial resurgence during this era,
with the Platinum-certified album Lick It Up successfully introducing
them to a new generation of fans, and its music videos received
regular airplay on MTV. Eric Carr, who had replaced Criss in 1980,
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 re-united in 1996, which also saw the return of its makeup and
stage costumes. The resulting Alive/Worldwide Tour was highly
successful, grossing $143.7 million, making it the band's most
successful tour to date. Criss and Frehley subsequently left the band
again, and have been replaced by Singer and Tommy Thayer. The band has
continued with its original stage makeup, with Singer and Thayer using
the original Catman and Spaceman makeup, respectively. In September
2018, Kiss announced that, after 45 years of recording and performing,
it would be embarking on its ongoing final tour, the End of the Road
World Tour, in 2019.Kiss is regarded as one of the most influential
bands of all time, as well as one of the best-selling bands of all
time, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide, including 21
million RIAA-certified albums. Kiss also holds the title as America's
No. 1 Gold record award-winning group of all time, having earned 30
Gold albums. Kiss has 14 Platinum albums, with three albums being
multi-Platinum. 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", and placed tenth
on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" list, as well as being
ranked as the third "Best Metal and Hard Rock Live Band of All Time"
by Loudwire. Kiss (band) Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter