KISS is my all-time favorite band and the one that solidified my taste in my music. That being said, my reasoning for penning this article is rather bittersweet. On the one hand, the band was announced as a Kennedy Center honor recipient this December, which is both a long overdue award and a nice birthday/Christmas gift for me. On the other hand, original lead guitarist Ace Frehley, whose solo song, “New York Groove” is Iona’s theme, sadly passed away on Oct. 16, 2025. As a result, I not only mounted my signed photograph of his, but knew I had to dedicate my first “Spotlight” article to the band.
KISS began as a small-time garage band known as Wicked Lester, headed by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. Of course, back then, the two were still identified by their legal names of Chaim Witz and Stanley Eisen, respectively.
After shutting down Wicked Lester, the pair responded to an ad by drummer Peter Criss in “Rolling Stone” and liked what he had to offer. Not long after, the group acquired Frehley, solidifying the KISS name and make-up personas. Paul Stanley came up with the name while he was driving with Criss and Simmons in New York City and Frehley was responsible for the logo. The rest was “KISS-tory”. The band soon released their self-titled debut album, featuring tunes such as “Cold Gin” and “Strutter.”
Other great albums from KISS include but are not limited to “Dressed To Kill”, “Destroyer”, “Love Gun”, “Dynasty” (which received unwarranted backlash for being more of a disco album), and “Lick It Up” (where the band infamously removed their makeup). KISS is also one of the best-selling bands of all time, with their 1996 reunion tour, which saw the return of Frehley and Criss, grossing nearly $150 million for instance. Another notable tour was the “End of The Road” World Tour, lasting from 2019 to 2023. Interestingly, the band’s original composition was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
Now how exactly did my love for KISS begin?
Well, upon driving home one day, Mom passed “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” on the radio, to which I quickly exclaimed “Mommy, put the fast one back on!”
I also asked my darling mother to take me to see the band if they were in town and sure enough, we saw them that summer in August 2010. Flash forward to 2012, which was preceded by an energetic Motley Crue opener, where I was dressed as a mini Gene Simmons, which my doppelganger actually responded to with a “rock on” symbol!
My personal favorite KISS tunes are “Rock And Roll All Nite”, “Detroit Rock City”, and “Shout it Out Loud” Hopefully, the band’s “surprise”, as promised by Donald Trump (who, in a striking departure, is actually hosting the event) is awesome and makes Frehley proud.