Product Description

The God of Thunder returns in the New York Times Bestseller – Now in paperback and hotter than hell!
* More insight from the Demon – Including the making of Destroyer and the truth behind the greatest rock band in the world
* Look for all four special collector's covers
* And more photos


You wanted the truth, you got the truth—the hottest book in the world!

Fueled by an explosive mix of makeup, costumes, and attitude, KISS burst onto the music scene thirty years ago and has become a rock institution. The band has sold more than eighty million records, has broken every concert attendance record set by Elvis Presley and the Beatles, stands behind the Beatles alone in number of gold records from any group in history, and has spawned more than 2,500 licenses.

There would have been no KISS without Gene Simmons, the outrageous star whose superlong tongue, legendary sexual exploits, and demonic makeup have made him a rock icon. KISS and Make-Up is the wild, shocking, unbelievable story, from the man himself, about how an immigrant boy from Israel studied to be a rabbi, was saved by rock and roll, and became one of the most notorious rock stars the world has ever seen.
Before Gene Simmons there was Chaim Witz, a boy from Haifa, Israel, who had no inkling of the life that lay ahead of him. In vivid detail Gene recounts his childhood growing up in Haifa under the watchful eye of his beloved, strong-willed mother, a concentration camp survivor; his adolescent years attending a Jewish theological center for rabbinical studies in Brooklyn; his love of all things American, including comic books, superheroes, and cowboys; and his early fascination with girls and sex, which prompted him to start a rock band in school after he saw the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.

KISS and Make-Up is not just the classic story of achieving the American dream through the eyes of an immigrant boy making good, but a juicy, rollicking rock and roll read that takes you along for the ride of your life with KISS, from the 1970s, when they were the biggest band in the world, through the ’80s, when they took off their world-famous war paint, and into the ’90s, when they came back bigger and badder than ever to become the number one touring band in the world.

In his own irreverent, unapologetic voice, Gene talks about the girls (4,600 of them and counting); his tight bond with KISS cofounder Paul Stanley; the struggles he and Paul had with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss and their departures from the group; the new band members and Eric Carr’s untimely death; the enormous love and affection he has for the people who put him there in the first place—the KISS Army and the ever-loyal KISS fans around the world; his love life, including stories about his relationships with Cher and Diana Ross and with Shannon Tweed, Playmate of the Year, mother of his son and daughter, and his companion of eighteen years; and much more.

Full of dozens of photographs, many never-before-seen pictures from Gene’s private collection, KISS and Make-Up is a surprising, intimate look at the man behind the mask. For the first time Gene reveals all the facets of his complex personality—son, rock star, actor, record producer, businessman, ladies’ man, devoted father, and now author.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #141359 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-22
• Released on: 2002-10-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780609810026
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
The "Phantom of the Park," aka Simmons, needs nary a ghostwriter to pen his bio, for he ably delivers this season's most fascinating backstage pass. Articulately detailing his life from his birth in Israel through the 30-year life span of Kiss, he charts how glam-metal's greatest pioneers provided the most outrageous spectacles of arena rock in the 1970s. Those same pyrotechnics, pneumatic drum risers, jacked-up personas and frightening face paints have sold 80 million records worldwide. Simmons, the "guy who sticks his tongue out and spits fire," boasts other onstage innovations, including "throwing up blood" and creating the ubiquitous headbanger's hand sign for the devil. All in all, the rock 'n' roll extravaganzas of the Kiss empire hardly run short of the obvious wild parties, famous faces, hotel fiascoes, banging up cars and getting busy with groupies. Though no Wilt Chamberlain, Simmons describes at length how he has slept with 4,600 women. But when the smoke clears, the book is as well written as it is interesting: the story of a Jewish kid from Brooklyn, the endearingly sincere struggles Simmons faces over the years, his eventual marriage and fatherhood as well as juicy material like his extended romances with Cher and Diana Ross. While moldering rock stars who have tales to tell may be a dime a dozen, Simmons's enjoyable and intriguing autobiography deserves attention. 50 b&w photos. (Jan.)Forecast: Thanks to Kiss comic books, dolls and other paraphernalia, the band's quasicult fan base runs the gamut of age and cultural orientation. Expect big sales garnered from mass e-mails, author interviews and a 50-city radio tour.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Best known for their pyrotechnic concerts and outrageous makeup, KISS has inexplicably endured for more than 30 years. Frontman Simmons here speaks to that longevity, as well as to the band's sale of 80 million records. After covering his childhood in Haifa, Israel, he quickly moves into the evolution of KISS, which he cofounded with Paul Stanley in New York City in 1972. Interspersed with commentary on the band are plenty of details on Simmons's social life. He clearly takes pride in his rise from an underprivileged kid to a stinking-rich cult figure, disclosing the number of women he has slept with and including early comic-book sketches drawn as an adolescent. These divulgences will entertain only the most loyal KISS followers, many of whom are probably not that interested in the man behind the grease paint. This is the first authorized biography of the band (and a self-aggrandizing one at that), so there may be some demand. Fans, however, are better off with Dale Sherman's more objective portrait, Black Diamond: The Unauthorized Biography of KISS (Collectors Guide Pub., 1997). Not recommended. Caroline Dadas, Hickory Hills, IL
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Simmons, tongue of kabuki-rock juggernaut KISS, contributes to rock lit a rather self-serving chronicle of stadium-rock excess. He isn't shy about naming names, but those most frequently dropped negatively are Peter Criss' and Ace Frehley's. By Simmons' fire-breathing--literally, at least on stage--lights, his two bandmates were too uninspired and lazy to help him and StarDude Paul Stanley make KISS the greatest rock band ever. Choosing the Beatles as the standard by which KISS should be measured, Simmons admits that, artistically and commercially, the Fab Four far outdistance the Face-painted Four--but you can't blame a guy for dreaming! He fleetingly glances at the various hands hired to replace Criss and Frehley before the band's recent and highly remunerative reunion, KISS' brief non-makeup phase, and his movie career and Hollywood hobnobbing. Like his band's output, Simmons' saga is grandiose yet superficial, entertaining if highly predictable, and, considering the loyalty and buying power of the KISS Army (the band's fans), a marketer's dream. A sterling if ephemeral addition to pop-music collections. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Simmons on Simmons
Gene's book isn't just his side of the KISS story, but it's an attempt at an honest autobiography. Honest is a relative term here, as Gene's entire life has been about bluster and bluff and the art of deception, and so one approaches this book a little warily but hoping for the best, taking a shot at wading through the giant swamp of ego and self-congratulation that is the Simmons style in quest of some real knowledge.

As regards his take on KISS, I had hoped for a lot more road stories, stuff on the songs themselves, and some kind of honesty about the relative levels of success at various times. He does gripe about Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, as who wouldn't?, but there's not a whole lot of credit for much of the stuff Ace did right. Ace's contribution to the band's sound is brick-on-the-head obvious if you compare the early LPs with anything from the 80s. How sad. But anyhow, Gene's relationship with Paul Stanley, which is now at 40 years and counting, gets very little ink. There is no acknowledgement of just how far financially things had gone south by the late 80s, and nothing about the switching of management and agents. Gene has trouble dealing with people as actual people and not merely tools to be manipulated on his way to his idea of success. So the stuff on KISS was, to me, an incomplete and very shallow treatment, a disappointment.

Gene's writing about his family, on the other hand, was often touching and came off as thoughtful and sincere. Yes, there's the bluster about how no woman will tie him down, yada yada yada, but his love and respect for his mother is noble (but his being raised an only child to a single mother with little money and having to learn a new language in his youth goes a long way to explaining everything since then). Likewise, he treats Cher and Diana Ross and now Shannon Tweed with tact and discretion. Finally, his love for his children, which apparently surprised even him, is uplifting and positive.

There is a bit of self-help advice about work, living soberly andfrugally, taking care of business yourself, and keeping one's eye on the ball at all times. None of this is bad advice. The way Gene dispenses it can be annoying sometimes.

The stuff on the girls over the years is just what one would expect; if anything, Gene takes himself less seriously here than elsewhere, as there are funny stories about the truly ugly or superannuated that often shared his bed or couch or breakfast table or car.

The book was worth reading but frankly could have been much better. Those looking for the definitive story of KISS should look elsewhere.

OK, but mostly for the completists
There's little in Kiss and Make-Up that will come as a big suprise to rabid Kiss fans; Simmons is one of the most intelligent, savvy people around--if he wasn't
a rock star, he could have been a motivational speaker. But the book is largely devoid of much of the wit that he often displays when on TV or radio interviews. The overall theme is one of an kid who came from a foreign country and then proceeded to make it big, a.k.a, the American Dream personified and it comes off with an earnestness you just weren't expecting.
If you know the history of Kiss, you know what's in roughly half this book; if you've read any of the seemingly hundreds of interviews Simmons has done in mags like Hit Parader or RIP over the years, you're aware of the other half. Simmons seems aware of this as he mostly glosses over the most recognizable parts of, um, "Kisstory" in brief, digestible style. He concentrates far more on his personal life (his mother, longtime companion Shannon Tweed and their two kids) and on the roller-coaster behind the scenes business that's gone into Kiss over the years.
There is some dirt; he talks about those 70s front-page relationships with Cher and Diana Ross, all the groupies as well as the troubles he and Paul Stanley have had with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss since the band started . ( There is a picture of Ace in here that ...well, let's just say after Frehley sees it, that may be it for anymore Kiss reunions.) A good book, but no bombshells that would interest anyone other than Kiss fans or
70s [fans].

What a waste of paper!
I have always been a big fan of Kiss and I followed them through the years( even the terrible ones!). I can remember saving up every dime so I could buy my Kiss records in the 70's. Well, after reading this book I feel like the biggest idiot in the world. Gene Simmons shows to be nothing more than a greedy, arrogant man who thinks he is the greatest thing to hit music. ... Do not waste your money on this or any other Kiss related item. I can tell you the whole book in 1 sentence. Gene hates Peter and Ace because they do not listen to him and He hooked up with some ladies... The book rambles on with story after story about the band. Only to be interupted in mid-thought about a woman he had sex with. The book in terrible and it makes you realize that all of those years of music were for only one thing! MONEY! Well, you have gotten my last dime you blood sucker!