Paul Stanley

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Lore & Background

Stanley's journey began in Upper Manhattan, where he was raised Jewish but did not celebrate his bar mitzvah. Born with microtia, a birth defect that misshaped his right ear and hindered his ability to locate sound or understand speech in noise, he faced taunts from children at PS 98. Despite this, he found solace in music, watching American Bandstand and emulating artists like Eddie Cochran and Little Richard. At age seven, he received a child's guitar, later upgrading to an acoustic one at 13 that he wished was electric. He played tunes by Bob Dylan, the Byrds, and the Lovin' Spoonful before attending the High School of Music & Art, graduating in 1970. Before Kiss, Stanley played in local bands like Rainbow, Uncle Joe, Post War Baby Boom, and Wicked Lester, which recorded an unreleased album in 1972. When Wicked Lester dissolved, Stanley and Gene Simmons placed a newspaper ad seeking a drummer, which Peter Criss answered. After recruiting Ace Frehley through a Village Voice audition, the group formed Kiss. Stanley briefly tested a "Bandit" persona with a Lone Ranger-style mask and even painted his face all red, looking like a "long-haired tomato," before settling on the star design that reflected his lifelong identification with stars.

In Their Own Story

The formation of Kiss involved a specific sequence of events starting with Wicked Lester's failure. Stanley and Simmons found Peter Criss via an ad in Rolling Stone, then held auditions for a lead guitarist by placing an ad in the Village Voice. Ace Frehley won them over immediately with his playing style. In February 1974, they released their self-titled debut album. During the band's unmasked era in the 1980s, Stanley described those years as "fine" and "very satisfying," noting that unlike Simmons, he found it easier to perform without makeup because his persona wasn't strictly defined by it; for him, the makeup only reinforced who he was. In 2007, Stanley faced a health crisis when he was hospitalized with tachycardia. This forced Kiss to perform live as a trio for the first time in decades, marking the first concert Stanley ever missed. Decades later, during the final tour's first leg, fans accused him of lip-syncing. While he neither confirmed nor denied it initially, citing voice care, manager Doc McGhee later clarified that Stanley did sing fully but utilized backing tracks. Accusations resurfaced after a June 6, 2022, show in Belgium where fireworks and drum cues slipped a measure late on "Detroit Rock City," though McGhee maintained he was not lip-syncing.

Reader's Guide

Paul Stanley's musical identity is defined by his tenor vocal range, with a known tendency to sing in high registers and utilize falsetto. His gear history includes Ibanez guitars (with signature models), Seymour Duncan pickups, Ernie Ball strings, and ENGL amplifiers. He has also utilized Washburn, Gibson, B.C. Rich, Ampeg, and Ovation guitars, as well as Marshall, Fender, and Randall amplifiers in the past. Outside of his primary role, Stanley established Paul Stanley's Soul Station in 2015, a tribute band playing soul oldies from the 1960s and 1970s. Their first album arrived in 2021 with the single "I, Oh I." His solo career includes the 1978 Kiss solo album *Paul Stanley* and the 2006 release *Live to Win*, whose title track appeared in a South Park episode. He toured extensively for *Live to Win* in 2006-2007 with former Rock Star house band members, resulting in the 2008 DVD *One Live Kiss*. In 1999, he starred as the Phantom in Toronto's production of The Phantom of the Opera from May 25 to August 1 and again from September 30 to October 31, relating deeply to the character due to his own facial differences.

Did You Know?

• Stanley was born with microtia, a birth defect that misshaped his right ear and made it difficult to determine the direction of sound.
• Before settling on the Starchild design, Stanley tried painting his face all red, admitting he looked like a "long-haired tomato."
• In 2007, Stanley missed a Kiss performance due to hospitalization for tachycardia, but he was not the first member ever to do so; other members had missed performances before 2007.
• Stanley joined the Toronto production of The Phantom of the Opera in 1999 during its final year, not as the one closing the show's ten-year run.
• His solo album *Live to Win* (2006) features its title song in the South Park episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft."