“You Wanted The Best! You Got The Best!”
With my first official album review in The Year Of KISS coming next week, I thought that I’d give a very brief glimpse at the band’s lineup changes over the years. I’ll start with the original members and make my way to the newest one. I’ll list the primary personnel on each KISS album review as well.
Paul Stanley/The Starchild
Along with Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley exited the band known as Wicked Lester and formed one of the most iconic groups in rock history, KISS. While all members of the band take turns on vocals, Paul is the primary frontman for the group. He does almost all of the talking between songs during live shows and often takes charge in interviews. Stanley is, in my opinion, the most talented member of the band overall and the true heart of KISS. He sings lead vocals and backing vocals and plays rhythm guitar.
Gene Simmons/The Demon
Considered to be the face of KISS and the one member that everyone in the world seems to be most familiar with, Gene Simmons has used his makeup and his mind to make a ton of money off of the brand that is KISS. Simmons tromps around stage, apes to cameras, breathes fire, vomits blood, flies into the rafters, and sticks out his iconic tongue. Simmons and Stanley are the only members that have been in the band for its entire existence. Simmons plays bass and sings lead and backing vocals.
Ace Frehley/Space Ace
Ace Frehley is a founding member of KISS. He designed the band’s iconic logo. He’s also considered by many to be the “sound” of the band because of his unique playing style. He left the band in 1982 for a solid solo career but eventually reunited with all of the founding members in 1996. He remained with the band until he exited a second time in 2002. Frehley has often stated that he is an unorthodox guitar player who has never taken a guitar lesson. Despite this, Frehley is considered to be one of the most influential guitarists in rock music. Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Scott Ian (Anthrax), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), and Dimebag Darrell (Pantera) are just a few of the many guitarists that consider Ace to be one of their biggest influences. His playing style is only made more memorable by the fact that he rigged his guitars to smoke and shoot rockets during live performances. Ace was the band’s lead guitarist and sang backing and lead vocals.
Peter Criss/The Catman
Peter Criss was the first founding member of KISS to exit the group. He left the band in 1980, rejoined in 1996, left again in 2001, came back in 2002, and made his final exit in 2004. Criss is best known for his raspy vocals that can be heard on some of KISS’ most popular tracks like “Black Diamond” and “Hard Luck Woman” and my personal Criss favorite, “Getaway.” He’s also the vocalist and co-writer for the band’s biggest charting track, “Beth,” which made it all the way to #7 on the Billboard Charts in 1976. Criss played drums and sang backing and lead vocals.
Eric Carr/The Fox
Eric Carr replaced Peter Criss in KISS in 1980. Of all of the “new guys” to join the band, Carr seems to be the most beloved. Carr went out of his way to connect with fans of the band and according to numerous interviews, he was the most approachable member of the group. He brought a loud, pounding style of hard rock to the band that would carry them through the 1980’s. He sang lead vocals on Criss’ tracks that were performed live but only some of the time. His best known original vocal contribution to the band was “Little Caesar” from 1989’s Hot In The Shade. Carr stayed in the band until his death on November 24, 1991 due to heart cancer. His death was sadly overshadowed by the death of another famous rocker, Freddie Mercury, of Queen. Carr played drums and provided backing and lead vocals.
Vinnie Vincent/The Ankh Warrior
Something of an anomaly in KISS, Vinnie Vincent joined the band officially in 1982 with the departure of Ace Frehley. A wizard on guitar, Vincent immediately had an impact on the band in both good and bad ways. Vincent was a prolific songwriter and cranked out tons of material that the band used including tracks like “Lick It Up.” He was also heavily used as a guitar player on Creatures of the Night despite not being featured on the album cover. Vincent was known for playing unplanned extended solos that disrupted many of KISS’ shows. He supposedly locked horns with members of the band, especially Paul Stanley, and would never sign a contract with the group. This and other things led to his exit from the group in 1984. He formed Vinnie Vincent Invasion that same year with Robert Fleischman, Dana Strum, and Bobby Rock. He would eventually return to the band as a songwriter with 1992’s Revenge. Since that time, Vincent has made sporadic public appearances, released an EP, and did a few interviews. Vincent played lead guitar and provided backing and lead vocals.
Mark St. John
After the unceremonious exit of Vinnie Vincent, KISS quickly replaced him with Mark St. John. St. John is the shortest tenured member of the group, lasting less than a year in 1984. He appeared on the band’s 1984 album, Animalize, but is the only member of the group to have never been featured on an album cover. Apparently St. John clashed immediately with the group. That and the fact that his reactive arthritis made him only able to play two live shows meant that his time in the group was cut short. Eventually St. John would form the band White Tiger. St. John’s incarnation of the group lasted from 1985 to 1989 when St. John attempted to form another band, The Keep, with former KISS drummer Peter Criss. Unable to secure a record deal, the group dissolved. St. John made a few more attempts at recording and forming bands but eventually faded into obscurity. He made a few limited public appearances, got in trouble with the law, was severely beaten and stabbed in prison, and eventually passed away at the age of fifty-one on April 5, 2007. His story is perhaps the most heartbreaking in the band. St. John provided lead guitar and backing vocals.
Bruce Kulick
With Mark St. John unable to perform live and due to his frequent clashes with the band, KISS needed a reliable performer to take his place quickly. That performer was Bruce Kulick. Kulick joined the group officially in September of 1984. He was already playing with the band prior to that time. He toured with the group along with Mark St. John and whenever St. John couldn’t perform, sometimes mid-concert, Kulick was brought in to take over guitars. Both Bruce and his brother, Bob, had auditioned with KISS prior to getting hired. Bruce Kulick would go on to perform with the group until the original lineup’s reunion in 1996. Kulick is noted for being able to put his own spin on the memorable solos performed by Ace Frehley, Vinnie Vincent, and Mark St. John but still making it sound like traditional KISS tracks. Since 2000, Kulick has been performing with Grand Funk Railroad and has done many more projects, including solo albums, over the years. Kulick is also noted for being a very easygoing guy who is very approachable. Kulick provided lead guitars, backing and lead vocals, and keyboards.
Eric Singer/The Catman
After the untimely death of Eric Carr, KISS hired journeyman drummer Eric Singer. Don’t let the title “journeyman” fool you, Singer is perhaps the most technically gifted drummer the band has ever had in its lineup. Singer has performed with some of the biggest acts in rock music such as Brian May, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, and Lita Ford. He’s also extremely versatile, being able to play numerous musical styles. Singer joined the band during their “unmasked” period but was the first person to take on the persona of a previous member of the group when he donned the Catman makeup in 2001. This has resulted in many members of the KISS Army disliking Singer and Tommy Thayer, who took on the Space Man persona. Singer has been with KISS longer than any other member of the band except for Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. Singer also has his own group, ESP, that he performs with when he isn’t behind the kit for KISS or any of the many other bands he performs with when KISS has some downtime. Singer provides drums, piano, backing vocals, and lead vocals.
Tommy Thayer/The Spaceman
We’ve arrived at the final member of KISS. He’s been with the band longer than any other member except for Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, and Eric Singer, but he’s still considered the “new guy.” He’s also both loved and hated for his tenure with the group. He’s Tommy Thayer and he’s one of the most solid guitarists that KISS has ever had in their lineup. After Ace Frehley’s final exit from KISS in 2002, Tommy Thayer took up Space Ace’s guitar and his persona. This enraged many fans even more than when Eric Singer took on the Catman persona. This is probably because Ace Frehley is one of the most beloved members of the original group. It also might be due to the fact that Thayer not only played in a KISS tribute band but that his involvement with the actual group goes all the way back to 1989’s Hot In The Shade where he did session work and co-wrote some of that album’s tracks. Thayer was something of an “every man” for the group. He did whatever functions Gene and Paul requested of him including production, videography, and being a gofer for the band. He went as far as reteaching both Ace Frehley and Peter Criss their original parts from KISS’ classic tracks so that they could perform them on the Reunion tour. When Frehley eventually left, Thayer slipped right into the role as the Spaceman. Since then, Thayer has contributed to the band’s last two albums, Sonic Boom (2009) and Monster (2012), providing songs and playing guitars. In my opinion, Thayer is an excellent guitarist who is only hindered by the fact that many people consider him nothing but a cover artist who got lucky. The fact of the matter is that Tommy Thayer can play all of the KISS tracks exactly as they sounded nearly fifty years ago, comes across as a nice guy despite how some people see him, and he put in a ton of work to get where he is today. Thayer provides the group with lead guitar and backing and lead vocals.
In Summary
Well, there you have it. I’ve listed all of the members of KISS from the group’s history. Sure, there are a few players that appeared on albums who were never officially members of the group such as Anton Fig and Bob Kulick, but I’ll mention them in reviews later this year. I just wanted to give everyone a brief introduction to the faces and personalities that turned KISS into the juggernaut that it has become over time.
Thanks for reading! The first album review hits next Friday!
Ken's Alternate Universe! 