You know that iconic image. The white greasepaint, the towering platform boots, and the smell of sulfur hanging in the air. For a generation of music fans, the original members of Kiss weren't just a band; they were comic book characters come to life. They were the "Hottest Band in the Land." But behind the pyrotechnics and the million-dollar tongue, there was a strange, often volatile chemistry between four very different guys from New York City.
Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss.
That’s the lineup. The holy grail for the Kiss Army. If you ask any die-hard fan, they'll tell you the same thing: no matter who wore the makeup later on, the magic started with these four. It was a lightning-in-a-bottle moment in 1973. Honestly, it's a miracle they lasted as long as they did considering how much they eventually bumped heads.
How the original members of Kiss actually met
Forget the polished PR stories you see in documentaries. It was grittier than that. Gene Simmons (then Gene Klein) and Paul Stanley (Stanley Eisen) were already grinding away in a band called Wicked Lester. They hated it. The music was too soft, too "folky," and lacked the punch they craved. They wanted to be the Beatles on steroids. They wanted to scare people and make them cheer at the same time.
They needed a drummer.
They found Peter Criss (George Peter John Criscuola) through an ad he placed in Rolling Stone magazine. Legend has it Peter was willing to do "anything" to make it. Paul and Gene liked his rough-around-the-edges Brooklyn vibe and his "cat-like" agility behind the kit. Then came the lead guitarist. Paul and Gene auditioned plenty of guys, but Ace Frehley (Paul Daniel Frehley) walked in wearing one red sneaker and one orange sneaker. He looked like a mess. Then he plugged in his guitar and blew everyone's hair back.
He was the "Space Ace." He had the fire.
The original members of Kiss spent those early years in a cramped loft on 23rd Street. They were broke. They were painting their own faces because they couldn't afford makeup artists. They were literally gluing rhinestones onto cheap black leather. It was a DIY operation that somehow felt like a million-dollar production before they even had a record deal.
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The characters they became
It wasn't just about the music. It was the branding. This is where the original members of Kiss separated themselves from every other garage band in Queens.
The Starchild (Paul Stanley): He was the frontman, the lover, the one who held the show together. Paul’s soaring vocals gave the band their melodic edge. Without him, Kiss would have just been a loud noise.
The Demon (Gene Simmons): He was the marketing genius and the horror movie buff. The fire-breathing and blood-spitting became the band's calling cards. Gene was the businessman from day one, always looking at the bottom line while wagging that famous tongue.
The Spaceman (Ace Frehley): The quintessential rock guitar hero. Ace’s solos on tracks like "Shock Me" or "Deuce" are why kids in the 70s picked up Gibson Les Pauls. He was laid back, funny, and unfortunately, often living on a different planet due to his lifestyle choices.
The Catman (Peter Criss): He brought the swing. Peter wasn't a technical metal drummer; he was a jazz-influenced heavy hitter with a raspy voice that gave Kiss their biggest hit, "Beth." People forget that. The "Catman" was the heart, even if that heart eventually got broken by the band's internal politics.
Why the original lineup fell apart
Success is a double-edged sword. By 1977, Kiss was the biggest thing on the planet. They had lunchboxes, dolls, Marvel comics, and a TV movie that everyone—including the band—basically agrees was a disaster.
But the cracks were deep.
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While Paul and Gene were teetotalers focused on the empire, Ace and Peter were spiraling into the "rock star" lifestyle. It’s a classic story, right? The guys who want to work vs. the guys who want to party. By the time they recorded the Dynasty album in 1979, Peter Criss barely played on the tracks. Anton Fig was brought in to do the heavy lifting on drums.
The fans didn't know. Not yet.
Then came the solo albums. In a move that was both brilliant and suicidal, all four original members of Kiss released solo albums on the same day in September 1978. It was supposed to show their individual strengths. Instead, it showed their division. Ace’s album was arguably the best, which didn't help the ego clashes within the group.
Peter was the first to go, officially leaving in 1980. Ace followed in 1982. The "End of an Era" wasn't a bang; it was a slow, painful fade-out involving replacement players like Eric Carr and Vinnie Vincent wearing different makeup designs.
The 1996 Reunion: A fleeting moment of glory
For over a decade, fans begged for a reunion. We wanted the greasepaint back. We wanted the original four. In 1996, at the Grammys, Tupac Shakur introduced them, and the world lost its mind. Seeing the original members of Kiss back in full "Love Gun" era gear was a religious experience for rock fans.
The Alive/Worldwide tour was the highest-grossing tour of that year.
It felt right. For a second.
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But the old wounds hadn't healed. They had just been covered with more expensive makeup. The power struggle remained. Gene and Paul were still the bosses; Ace and Peter were essentially "hired hands" in their own band. By the early 2000s, it was over again. Peter left, came back, then left for good. Ace drifted away into his solo career.
Today, Tommy Thayer wears the Spaceman makeup and Eric Singer wears the Catman mask. Some fans hate it. They call it a "tribute band with two original members." Others don't care because the show is still spectacular. But you can't deny that the DNA of the band belongs to the founding four.
What most people get wrong about the original members of Kiss
There is a common misconception that Gene Simmons "created" Kiss and the others just followed. That’s nonsense. Honestly, without Paul Stanley's stage presence or Ace Frehley's specific guitar tone, Kiss would have been a footnote in New York music history.
Another myth? That they couldn't play.
Go back and listen to Kiss Alive! (even with the studio touch-ups). They were a tight, ferocious rock and roll band. Peter Criss’s drumming had a "street" feel that gave the songs a pocket you just don't hear in modern rock. Ace’s phrasing was incredibly unique. They weren't just a gimmick; they were a powerhouse.
Where are the original members of Kiss now?
- Paul Stanley: Still the "Starchild." He’s spent his later years painting, starring in The Phantom of the Opera, and recently wrapping up the Kiss "End of the Road" tour.
- Gene Simmons: He’s still Gene. He’s a venture capitalist, a media mogul, and continues to be the most vocal defender of the Kiss brand.
- Ace Frehley: Ace is still active, releasing solo albums like 10,000 Volts that actually chart pretty well. He’s been sober for years and remains the "cool" one in the eyes of many fans.
- Peter Criss: Mostly retired. He’s made sporadic appearances and released an autobiography, Makeup to Breakup, which is a brutally honest look at his time in the band.
Essential Listening for the Original Lineup
If you want to understand why these four guys matter, you have to go to the source. Don't start with the 80s pop-metal stuff.
- The Self-Titled Debut (1974): Tracks like "Strutter" and "Black Diamond" show exactly how raw they were.
- Destroyer (1976): This is the peak. Bob Ezrin pushed them to be more than a garage band. "Detroit Rock City" is a masterpiece of dual-guitar harmony.
- Kiss Alive! (1975): This is the album that saved the band and their label, Casablanca Records. It captures the energy that the studio albums missed.
Actionable steps for the modern Kiss fan
If you're looking to dive deeper into the history of the original members of Kiss, don't just watch the official documentaries—they are often heavily biased toward the Gene/Paul perspective.
- Read the memoirs: To get the full picture, you have to read all four. Paul’s Face the Music, Gene’s Kiss and Make-up, Ace’s No Regrets, and Peter’s Makeup to Breakup. The truth lies somewhere in the middle of those four very different stories.
- Watch the 1976 Houston footage: Search for their performance at The Summit in Houston, 1976. It is arguably the best recorded footage of the original lineup at their absolute physical and musical peak.
- Check out the solo work: Listen to Ace Frehley’s 1978 solo album. It explains why he was the musical heart of the band's harder edge.
The story of the original members of Kiss is a story of ambition, ego, and the cost of fame. They weren't perfect, and they didn't always get along, but for a few years in the 1970s, they were the center of the universe. They proved that with enough greasepaint and a loud enough amplifier, four guys from New York could actually conquer the world.