How This Classic Rock Song Saved Kiss | Professor of Rock
The first three studio albums by KISS, the band that taught us how to rock, were commercial disappointments. Their record label was circling the drain. It was a desperate time for Paul Stanley & Gene Simmons to create a song that would vault their band to superstardom and keep the band going. The story of KISS’s signature song, Rock and Roll All Nite, a song that should’ve been a number one single NEXT on Professor of Rock.
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The most notorious live act of the Rock Era was arguably KISS- the band that taught us how to rock. As the slogan sounded before KISS hit the stage at all of their concerts…”you wanted the best- you got the best!” The iconic foursome of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss pioneered the spectacle of pyrotechnic & costume rock on a riveting stage of shooting rockets, exploding bombs, fire-breathing, blood spewing, levitating drums, and smoking guitars. The KISS army actually started building with an audience of less than 10 people that attended their first live performance at the old Popcorn Club in Queens, New York.
KISS was paid a paltry $50 to perform two sets that night.
They got the gig after Gene Simmons cold-called the venue booker, convincing him to hire the band for a 3 night stand.
The 4 members of KISS each wore make-up for the 3 inaugural shows in Queens, but their signature facial character designs were not unveiled until a few months later at a concert at the Daisy in Amityville, New York.
On the strength of their wild live set, the KISS army swelled- with a cult-like following, especially in the northeastern section of the Midwest America called the Rust Belt. On the strength of their wild live set, KISS was signed to Casablanca Records, and dropped their eponymous debut album in ’74. The self-titled KISS album did not have a hit single, and rose only as high as #87 on the Billboard 200, despite growing significance as a bad ass touring entity. KISS’s follow-up album, Hotter Than Hell, released later that same year, was an even bigger disappointment, peaking at 100, and quickly dropped off the charts.
Meanwhile, Casablanca Records was in deep deep trouble.
The leader of Casablanca, Neil Bogart & his minions, made some colossal blunders that nearly ruined the label, including the release of a double-album of audio highlights from The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. That package was a disaster that affected every act signed to Casablanca, including KISS.
KISS was the first act to be signed by Casablanca, but the company was primarily known as a disco label- with acts like Donna Summer, Cher, Lipps, Inc and the Village People. It was an inauspicious home for a future hall of fame rock band.
The lukewarm sales of Hotter Than Hell, and the overall insolvency of the label put Casablanca’s leader, Neil Bogart on the offensive.
