Kiss is an American hard rock band founded in New York City in February 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley. They are often compared to the Rolling Stones because of their unique sound, music, and visual appeal. The group gained popularity in the United States and around the world through the songs “Hotel California” and “I’m a wreck.”
Kiss was sold to several labels including Mosley Records. However, they soon decided to leave the label that had initially signed them. Gene Simmons stated that they wanted to pursue other musical interests. This left the door wide open for other artists to sign the band. Kiss recorded three albums during their stay at Mosley.
The album White Room was released in May of 1974. It contains three singles that are fan favorites, “Wildfire,” “Love is in the air,” and “Hollywood.” “I’m a wreck” is also a popular single from the album. “White Room” also featured singer-songwriter John Butler, who added his own style to the lyrics. “I’ve got a lot of dreams” is another classic line from the album “White Room.”
Kiss’s fourth album After Forever was released in June of 1976. One of the singles, “Mystery Train,” became one of the most popular songs of the decade. Following the release of After Forever, Kiss became even more popular with their performance on the television show “American Idol.” Each of their albums since then has achieved major success. They were back in the spotlight with their seventh album Viva La Vida, which came out in September of 2021.
A year later, Kiss made a very public appearance at the MTV Music Awards where they were joined by many other prominent bands. During the appearance, they were given the ultimate insult when they were excluded from the final list because they hadn’t submitted any new songs. The official reason given was that the band had not finished writing new material. After their exclusion from the MTV Music Awards, Kiss began their reunion tour, touring across North America. Although they were not nominated for any awards, they did receive a handful of votes and peaked at number four on the audience vote. This marked their second No.1 album and pushed them over the top of the industry.
For many fans, this represented the last shining moment for the band, a chance to see their heroes live after all these years. However, the band has still made several other high-quality music releases, including 2021’s Survive, Kaleidoscope, and their self-titled comeback album. There have been rumors that the surviving members of Kiss could form a group again. Even though nothing is definite at this time, it would certainly be exciting to see them reunite. Whether or not there will be a reunion tour remains to be seen, but if you are a Kiss fan, I would definitely enjoy anything that is written about this historic band.
