While the band members of KISS would probably object to being called the fathers of anything, they deserve credit for the pop-metal sound they influenced in the ’80s and through the ’90s.

That’s to say, they set the stage for a new kind of metal, one that’s more accessible than what was on the scene before, but no less cool. Speaking of coolness, KISS has that in spades. Ask anyone! They haven’t put out new music in almost ten years, but people (including young people, born during their rise to fame) still dress like the members for Halloween.

The Formation of Something Great

To put together a band like KISS, who can put on legendary live shows, you need a vision. And Gene Simmons (not to be confused with Richard Simmons) had a strong one. He saw a band that could not only produce in-your-face metal music but one that could put on theater-type or at least theatric live shows. To do it, he knew he needed to recruit the best of the best, but he needed help. He put out an add for bandmates in Rolling Stone and in “The Village Voice,” a New-York newspaper.

He already had Paul Stanley on board, and the ads cinched the other two members, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. Together, they made a band. And an almost immediately-successful group at that. They played their first live show in Manhattan in 1973 and got a band management contract right after that. It was only two weeks later that they signed to the famous metal label, Casablanca.

The Kiss Army

The band has quite a fan base. And while Lady Gaga calls hers the monsters and Beyonce calls hers the Beyhive, Kiss calls their fans the “Kiss Army.” And if they wanted to take over (and could get organized), they might have a chance. There are hundreds of thousands of them in the US alone.