In 1957, he emigrated to New York City as a child with his mother—a Hungarian immigrant and the only member of her family to survive the Holocaust—after his father, Feri Witz, abandoned his family. After emigrating to America, he took the name Gene Klein; he felt that "Gene" was more American than "Chaim," and his mother's maiden name was Klein. In the late 1960s, he changed his name again, to Gene Simmons, as he simply felt that "Gene Klein" didn't have enough of a ring to it. As a kid Gene was very much into comics and especially Marvel Comics which also published first KISS comic in 1977. Many of Gene's influences can be found from comics or movies and those influences have also affected his "Demon" character, costume and gestures. Lon Chaney Sr. was and is one of his favorite actors.
Simmons' first band, Bullfrog Bheer, played a few gigs and made a few recordings in the late 1960s, one of which ("Leeta") was eventually released on the KISS box set in demo form. Another Bullfrog Bheer song, "Little Lady", eventually was recorded by KISS as "Goin' Blind", and an early-Who-ish sounding song called "Stanley the Parrot" is said to have been the original incarnation of KISS' "Strutter."
Simmons formed the rock band Wicked Lester in the early 1970s with Stanley Eisen (a.k.a. Paul Stanley) and recorded one album, which was never released. Dissatisfied with Wicked Lester's sound and look, Simmons and Stanley went looking for other musicians and eventually joined up with drummer Peter Criscuola and lead guitarist Paul Frehley—who would become Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, respectively. When Simmons and Stanley's attempts to fire their old band members met with resistance, they simply quit Wicked Lester, walking away from their record deal with Epic Records. They formed a new band with Criss and Frehley, which they soon dubbed KISS. KISS released their first self-titled debut album in February of 1974 and have been active to the present day, with Simmons being the driving force behind their extensive marketing franchise. |
