Rock Minutes

Every year I wait, and every year I’m disappointed. And like all things in this country I believe it boils down to politics and insider connections. It is no different that an exclusive Georgian golf county club or a skull and bones type secret society…

To my colleague, Nick at Rock Minutes, you had to know this article was coming. My love of the band Kiss has never been kept under a bush, oh no. Kiss’ multi-platinum album Destroyer, was the first album I ever owned, my parents purchased it for me when I was seven. The purchase of Destroyer was followed closely by Rock and Roll Over, and Love Gun. Then the next albums my parents purchased for me were the Solo Faces side project. I was about 10 by then, and I owned seven albums and they were all Kiss albums. I would play them on an old turn table that had one small speaker cut in its base about the size of a beverage coaster; and it sounded good to me. Kiss was my world. I had three Kiss t-shirts, ringers of course and a Kiss lunch box. I also had about 37 Kiss posters that covered three of my four bedroom walls. Oh, did I mention I had all the original Kiss dolls too; and you could place them in any crazy pose. The commercial did not lie! Kiss has been influential in my life, there is no doubt. And in fact, they have influenced pop culture in general as much as any band in the history of Rock and Roll, so tell me, “Why is KISS still not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?”

Really, what did I know about music pre-pubescent? Truthfully, I didn’t know much. But I knew I loved Kiss and everything about them. I loved the larger than life image. I loved their honest sound of “boot to the face” straight-forward rock and roll. I loved the mystery and allure of the grease paint and perceived mystical magic.

My love for this band has never wavered. Some may agree that this love stems from nostalgia and not musicianship; nevertheless they are still my favorite band, and that is a fight I am not afraid to take on.

One thing that has always upset me about the critics is how they have always been over looked sonically and artistically. Many critics think the band is just about marketing and money and not about the music, but without the music there would have been no market. Think about it logically, would Star Wars merchandise have sold like it did if the movie was never made? Of course not, it was the enduring image and feeling of the movie that made the marketing so successful. Kiss is the same. Their music was rock solid. And, their music holds up better than most bands from their era still today. I believe that many of their songs could be re-recorded by any modern band and be hits today. Many of their tunes still sound fresh and relevant.

Their critics say they are not good musicians and their lyrics lack sophistication. That is such a surface argument, and an argument made by people who have never delved deep into Kiss’ reservoir of music. Songs like Watchin You, Goin Blind, Parasite, and Black Diamond are great examples of songs that are both sonically stellar and lyrically strong. Of course there were a lot of songs about girls and sex too. And because of this some critics would like to call their music simplistic, but this is rock and roll for God’s sake, it’s a genre about love, rebellion, heartache, sex, and bravado. Without those aforementioned things, Glenn Miller would still be on the pop charts. For the everyday critic to disregard their music and lyrics without getting deep into their musical reservoir is sophomoric at best.

Ace is a fantastic guitar player and Paul is a stellar rhythm guitarist, and quite possibly one of the greatest front men in Rock History. He was in a league with the likes of Robert Plant, Rodger Daltry, and Freddie Mercury. Gene is a suitable bass player and Peter’s make up was pretty cool (Sorry Pete, but you were the weak link sonically). Although Eric Carr who replaced Peter Criss was a monster on the drums and there is no way to say otherwise.

Kiss were trailblazers. There was not a true hard “American” Rock band before Kiss, with the exception of Aerosmith, who revolutionized and created that “American” hard rock sound and movement of the 70’s and 80’s. Think about it, most hard rock bands were coming from England (i.e. Led Zeppelin, The Who, and Black Sabbath). Kiss was one of the first hard rock bands from America. They created a whole genre of music – the glam rock movement. They were the Nirvana of their period. It could be argued that Kiss’ music influences everything from Hair Metal to Grunge, to Alt Rock to Indie.

Kiss has had 13 Top 40 hits, released 30 albums, and sold over 100 albums million worldwide. Twenty-nine of their 30 albums have been certified gold and 19 of them, platinum. So tell me, why they have been left out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame again! Let me tell you, that dog don’t hunt.

Kiss being left out of the RRHF once again does not discredit them, moreover it discredits the institution its self. If the RRHF cannot see the accomplishments of one the most important and influential band of all time, than I have to question its legitimacy. There is little doubt they should be in, actually, there’s no doubt at all.

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