KISS and the Ideology of the American Dream

This book is a collective effort on the authors' part to remember KISS, one of the most important hard-rock bands of the 1970s and 1980s. Influenced by the glam-rock movement which preceded its rise, arguably KISS was the first major act in rock music history to present rock music as Entertainment Product firstly and music only secondarily. We discuss the original, democratic concept of the Fab Four - Gene, Paul, Ace, and Peter - as well as Gene Simmons' and Paul Stanley's subsequent American Dream ideology. We go on to analyse the current version of the band in the light of the original line-up and appearance. We find that the KISS fan base is divided with some fans accepting Simmons' current view that the four personas can be utilized by anyone chosen by the band's leadership; a second group which tries to correct the alleged historical injustices committed against Frehley and Criss; and a third group which is cynical about the current version of KISS but finds it fruitless to rehash old debates.