Kiss was an American hard rock band from New York City, US. Formed in January 1973, the group originally featured rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley, bassist Gene Simmons, lead guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss, all of whom contributed to vocals.[1] The band's lineup remained stable for seven years, before Criss left on May 18, 1980 after an injury and increasing personal tensions.[2] He was replaced by Eric Carr, after Anton Fig filled in for 1979's Dynasty and 1980's Unmasked.[3] Two years later Frehley also left the band.
Frehley was replaced by Vinnie Vincent, who debuted with the group in December 1982 after contributing to Creatures of the Night earlier in the year.[4] Vincent also performed on Lick It Up, but was fired at the end of the album's promotional touring cycle in March 1984 for what Simmons called "unethical behavior".[5] He was replaced the following month by Mark St. John, who performed on Animalize.[6] After contracting arthritis which made it difficult to perform, he was temporarily replaced on the Animalize World Tour by Bruce Kulick; St. John's condition improved, performing two full shows and one partial show with Kiss in November 1984. However, it quickly became apparent that Kulick was a more natural fit musically than St. John. As a result, the replacement was made permanent in December and St. John was fired.[7]
The lineup featuring Kulick was the most stable since the band's first incarnation, only ending on November 24, 1991 when Carr died of heart cancer.[8] Due to his illness, Carr was temporarily replaced by Eric Singer for the recording of Revenge, and upon Carr's death Singer joined the band permanently.[9] After performing with the band for several songs as part of MTV Unplugged the previous year,[10] Frehley and Criss officially rejoined Kiss in April 1996 for a reunion tour.[11] The group released new album Psycho Circus in 1998, but by January 2001 had splintered again, as Criss left between legs of the Kiss Farewell Tour and was replaced by Singer.[12]
The following year, Frehley also left Kiss for a second time, with Tommy Thayer taking over his position in March 2002.[13] In October that year, the band announced a special show with the Melbourne Symphony to feature original drummer Criss,[14] who subsequently remained a full-time member.[15] By February 2004, Criss was out of the band for a third time, with Singer returning to take his place again.[16] The final line-up consisting of Stanley, Simmons, Singer and Thayer released two studio albums: 2009's Sonic Boom and 2012's Monster.[1]
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Stanley | 1973–2023 | all Kiss releases | |||
| Gene Simmons | |||||
| Peter Criss | |||||
| Ace Frehley | |||||
| Eric Carr | 1980–1991 | all Kiss releases from Music from "The Elder" (1981) to Revenge (1992) | |||
| Vinnie Vincent | 1982–1984 | ||||
| Mark St. John | 1984 | Animalize (1984) | |||
| Bruce Kulick | 1984–1996 | all Kiss releases from Asylum (1985) to Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions (1997) | |||
| Eric Singer | all Kiss releases from Revenge (1992) to (1997), and from Sonic Boom (2009) onwards | ||||
| Tommy Thayer | 2002–2023 |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Corbett | 1987–1990 (died 2021) | keyboards | Corbett was the band's first live keyboardist, performing on the Crazy Nights and Hot in the Shade Tours.[17] | |
| Derek Sherinian | 1992 | Sherinian took over from Corbett for the 1992 Revenge Tour, before Kiss ceased using live keyboardists.[18] |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce Foster | 1973–1974 | Kiss (1974) | |||
| Warren Dewey | fire engine | ||||
| Brooklyn Boys Chorus | 1975–1976 | additional vocals | Destroyer (1976) | ||
| David and Josh Ezrin | voices | ||||
| orchestra | |||||
| Jimmy Maelen | 1977 | conga drums | Love Gun (1977) | ||
| Eddie Kramer | 1977 | keyboards | |||
| Ray Simpson | backing vocals | ||||
| Hilda Harris | |||||
| Tasha Thomas | 1977 | backing vocals | |||
| drums | |||||
| Tom Harper | 1980 | bass | Unmasked (1980) | ||
| keyboards | |||||
| 1981 | Music from "The Elder" (1981) | ||||
| 1981 | orchestral arrangements | ||||
| Robben Ford | 1982 | lead guitar | Creatures of the Night (1982) | ||
| Steve Farris | |||||
| Adam Mitchell | additional guitar and end lick | ||||
| Dave Wittman | backing vocals | ||||
| Jimmy Haslip | bass | ||||
| Mike Porcaro | 1982 | ||||
| 1983 | guitar solo | Lick It Up (1983) | |||
| 1984 | backing vocals | Animalize (1984) | |||
| Mitch Weissman | |||||
| 1987 | backing vocals | Crazy Nights (1987) | |||
| Phil Ashley | keyboards | ||||
| Charlotte Crossley | 1989 | backing vocals | Hot in the Shade (1989) | ||
| Valerie Pinkston | |||||
| Kim Edwards-Brown | |||||
| Pat Regan | saxes | ||||
| All Star Cadillac Brass | horns | ||||
| Kevin Valentine | drums | ||||
| Jesse Damon | 1991–1992 | backing vocals | Revenge (1992) | ||
| Jaime St. James | |||||
| The Crossroads Boys Choir | 1995–1996 | (1997) | |||
| Nick Simmons | |||||
| Carole Keiser | |||||
| Shelly Berg | 1998 | Psycho Circus (1998) | |||
| Brian Whelan | piano |
| Period | Members | Releases | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1973 – May 1980 |
|
| |
| May 1980 – December 1982 |
|
| |
| December 1982 – March 1984 |
|
| |
| April – December 1984 |
|
| |
| December 1984 – November 1991 |
|
| |
| December 1991 – April 1996 |
|
| |
| April 1996 – January 2001 |
|
| |
| January 2001 – March 2002 |
| none | |
| March – October 2002 |
| ||
| October 2002 – March 2004 |
|
| |
| April 2004 – December 2023 |
|
|