We already brought you part one of our list of 15 things you probably did not know about Kiss, and now we’re back with part two! Check out eight more fascinating facts about the iconic hard rock band that you definitely (probably) did not know below. You might be surprised by what you find out!
Number Eight: Six of Their Covers Feature Members Who Barely Played. Or members who didn’t play at all! The albums in question were all released in the 1970s and 1980s and were released more as a way to visually represent the magnitude of the band rather than accurately represent who was playing the music.
Number Seven: One Member Was a Television Songwriter Before Joining the Band. Kiss member Vinnie Vincent was a television writer for Happy Days before eventually joining the band. He was responsible for writing all of the songs Joanie and Chachi sang to each other in the show’s final seasons.
Number Six: They Can’t Use Their Original Logo in Germany. The two s’s in “Kiss” are normally depicted in the shape of lightning bolts. However, the band has to use an alternative logo in Germany because those s’s resemble Nazi Germany’s Schutzstaffel.
Number Five: Ace Auditioned for the Band Wearing Mismatched Sneakers. It’s a good thing Ace is such a talented musician because the fact that he auditioned for Kiss wearing mismatching sneakers – one orange and one red – may have put some other people off.
Number Four: The Kiss Army Began in the Midwest. Though fans of the band now regularly call themselves the Kiss Army, the real Army began in Indiana in the 1970s. A local radio station refused to play the band’s songs, so a group of people banded together to protest the refusal to play their songs. They called themselves the Kiss Army.
Number Three: Their Makeup Almost Cost Them a Record Deal. It’s true! Warner Bros. originally threatened to end the band’s record deal if they didn’t remove their makeup for the cover of their debut album. Thankfully, Warner Bros. caved.
Number Two: Peter Criss Auditioned for Elton John’s Backing Band. Thankfully, he failed the audition, because otherwise he may not have helped to found Kiss!
Number One: Ace Sings on His Back. Rather than stand up to sing while he records, Ace has to lie down to properly sing. He says that he has trouble hitting the notes if he stands up when recording. We hope you enjoyed our list of 15 things you didn’t know about Kiss!