Paul Stanley's Popular Music Videos
About Paul Stanley
Hometown
New York, NY, United States
Born
January 20, 1952
Genre
Rock
One of the most memorable moments of the Penelope Spheeris documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years features Kiss frontman Paul Stanley lying in bed, surrounded by girls. “What do you think parents think about you?” Spheeris asks. Stanley grins, then responds with a question of his own: “Do I care?”
Brash, androgynous, and always nudging the boundaries of bad taste, Stanley is one of the definitive frontmen of arena rock, the kind of artist who wears his rudeness like a badge of honor. Born in Manhattan in 1952 and raised mostly in Queens, he started his career in the early ’70s with Wicked Lester, a hard-rock band founded by bassist Gene Simmons that eventually evolved into Kiss. (Legend has it that drummer Peter Criss reported having been in a band called Lips, to which Stanley asked, “What about Kiss?”)
As one of Kiss’ primary songwriters, Stanley—alongside artists like AC/DC and Alice Cooper—helped bridge the youthful edge of ’60s bands like The Rolling Stones with the theatricality of glam rock and metal, architecting a huge, brilliantly simple sound that informed bands as varied as the Ramones, Mötley Crüe, and Weezer. (The makeup, costumes, and pyrotechnics didn’t hurt: These guys were comic book characters come to life.)
With the exception of a couple of solo dalliances, he has remained almost entirely dedicated to Kiss, and continues to wear his platform boots—by his report, 15 pounds on each foot—even after multiple hip-replacement surgeries.
Brash, androgynous, and always nudging the boundaries of bad taste, Stanley is one of the definitive frontmen of arena rock, the kind of artist who wears his rudeness like a badge of honor. Born in Manhattan in 1952 and raised mostly in Queens, he started his career in the early ’70s with Wicked Lester, a hard-rock band founded by bassist Gene Simmons that eventually evolved into Kiss. (Legend has it that drummer Peter Criss reported having been in a band called Lips, to which Stanley asked, “What about Kiss?”)
As one of Kiss’ primary songwriters, Stanley—alongside artists like AC/DC and Alice Cooper—helped bridge the youthful edge of ’60s bands like The Rolling Stones with the theatricality of glam rock and metal, architecting a huge, brilliantly simple sound that informed bands as varied as the Ramones, Mötley Crüe, and Weezer. (The makeup, costumes, and pyrotechnics didn’t hurt: These guys were comic book characters come to life.)
With the exception of a couple of solo dalliances, he has remained almost entirely dedicated to Kiss, and continues to wear his platform boots—by his report, 15 pounds on each foot—even after multiple hip-replacement surgeries.
Paul Stanley has also released music as a member of Kiss and Paul Stanley's Soul Station.
Influenced by Paul StanleyPaul Stanley has influenced the music of Izzy Stradlin, The New Them, Eemeli Kullas and more.
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