In 1973 Kiss made their debut at the popcorn club in Queens, NY!
With their face paint and stage outfits, the had to grind to make it to the top. After a slow but progressive rise in popularity the band finally hit bit big in 1975 with their live album Alive! Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss broke through with a string of hits in the 70's like "Detroit Rock City," the Grammy Award winning "Beth", and the all-time classic "Rock And Roll All Night".
Kiss became a pop culture phenomenon and one of the biggest bands on the planet, but the wear and tear of the road began to catch up to the group and Peter Criss would leave the band by 1980. He would be replaced by Eric Carr and Kiss would continue in the early 80's but eventually lose Ace Frehley as well. This would begin a string of replacements at the lead guitar position via Vinnie Vincent, Mark St. John, and eventually landing on Bruce Kulick. The 80's would see Kiss drop the make and go more the way of hair metal getting more radio air play and hitting the top of the charts with "Forever" at the end of the 80's.
After Eric Carr died in 1991, he would be replaced with Eric Singer and the band would go into the 90's returning to their heavier roots going with a harder sound and enjoying a wave of nostalgic fan appreciation for their 70's history. This would lead to the band putting the makeup back on and the return of both Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. Their reunion tour grossed $143.7 million, making it their most successful tour and the band would get inducted into the Rock And Roll hall Of Fame.
Kiss would play their final show in December 2023, as one of the most influential rock bands of all time, selling more than 75 million records worldwide, with 30 Gold albums, and 14 Platinum albums. They were the best band in the land KISS!