(Credits: Far Out / Tilly Antoine)
Sun 14 September 2025 23:00, UK
America, 1958. Gene Simmons sits with idle ears, about to experience rock music for the first time, unaware of just how important that sound and makeup palettes would become.
“I came to America with my mother in 1958, and I had never heard of rock and roll, and I actually had never seen a television set,” said Simmons, reflecting on his upbringing. “The first music I heard in America was Chuck Berry and Little Richard and all that.”
This is not an unusual reaction. Simmons, like a whole generation of music lovers, was left completely captivated by the acts emerging at the time. Rock and roll didn’t just shock people, it enthralled them, enrapturing their previously closed-off minds into something entirely new.
From that point on, Simmons became obsessed with the sound. He started familiarising himself with the legends of the genre, frequently checking out various bands whom he grew obsessed with and also teaching himself how to play the music as well. His life began to revolve around rock ‘n’ roll, and upon meeting fellow Kiss members Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Kriss, his commitment to the genre really started to take flight.
There were a number of bands who ended up influencing Kiss. Stadium rock is a naturally sponge-like sound, the demands influence to really deliver on the biggest stages. But, like most bandsa who emerged at the time Kiss did, the biggest influences were The Beatles. The songwriting was on thing, but Kiss were also inspired by their imagery, their merchandising and their marketability.
Especially in the early days, the Liverpudlians were such a tight unit that they seemed indestructible. Their viewpoint was impossible to ignore and difficult to bring down. They were The Beatles, quintessentially, and everything they made fed back into that. Simmons loves The White Album because it sees The Beatles create music that is different in sound and tone, and yet is still recognisable as one of their albums.
“You’re seeing turmoil within perhaps the greatest band that ever existed that recorded its own music, where each member was a star,” said Simmons, “You could hear and feel the disjointed sense of that album, although clearly the songs shined and the playing and the production was terrific.”
Kiss managed to create something similar to the Beatles in this sense. By painting their faces and developing such a strong identity, they had the freedom to do what they wanted on their albums, go in various directions and even feud within the band, but the record still came out as something recognisable as Kiss. You can hear this on their album Dynasty, something which has a mess of influences playing into it, including rock, funk and disco. Fans loved the disjointed nature of the album, and it remains one of their most successful.
However, while Dynasty was a disjointed effort, Gene Simmons prefers the Kiss albums that have a bit more direction in how they embrace various styles. When he was listing his favourite albums of all time, he didn’t hesitate to include one of his own in there, as he hailed their record, Destroyer, as one of the best rock albums of all time. The LP is a straight-shooting rock ‘n’ roll album, it came during the height of Kiss and brandished their stadium-worthy sound incredibly well.
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