Was KISS the hottest band in the world? 77'/78'

[Frankentruck]

I was 3/4 years old at the time,

I just misread this as three quarters of a year old and got a chuckle. Thanks.

[morrisey0]

If so, you only need one word to shut them down: Eagles (they hadn't split yet).

Hell, Zeppelin, the Who, and Floyd were still together at that point in time.

[juicedcoupe]

If so, you only need one word to shut them down: Eagles (they hadn't split yet).

Hell, Zeppelin, the Who, and Floyd were still together at that point in time.

Hell, there are countless others.

I went with the Eagles just because of their overall talent and amazing live performances. And that is coming from someone who typically doesn't like live versions.

[GreenBar0n]

Gene Simmons, did the '76 Van Halen demo.





I was 5 in '78, but played guitar from the age 9, VH would get my vote.

7th grade.


This is what Kiss looked like by the time I was in 7th grade - did have this album on cassette

[1911Colt]

77-78 was the perfect storm for KISS. Some were fans of the music; 100x as many were fans of the shows. Many shows at the time, even with extremely talented bands, were literally just hippies standing around in jeans and t-shirts. Also, by about 1976, kids like me had latched on for the costumes and pyrotechnics. It was all just fun. No one ever seriously thought they were on par with Led Zeppelin.

Only later, after the bubble burst, were they harshly criticised. Easiest way to project your musical sophistication was to pretend the band 3/4 of the world had liked was beneath you.

[juicedcoupe]

Since I was born in the late 70's, the "music" is all that I have.

[1911Colt]

Since I was born in the late 70's, the "music" is all that I have.

Exactly! The music doesn't tell the story, so if you missed the hype, it is hard to understand why it ever happened. Evel Knievel is the same story. If you sat on the floor at grandma's house watching this maniac(!) leaping over buses, wondering if he would live or die, it was pretty cool. If you stumbled across his motorcycle in a museum decades later: "ok, some dude rode a Harley with gawdy paint, so what?" You just had to be there.

[juicedcoupe]

You just had to be there.

I remember when they took their makeup off.

[GreenBar0n]

The Roast of Gene Simmons is blacklisted on Youtube, people had to resort to making low def cam videos to get by the blocker.

The impressions start at about 1:30.

[80sRunner]

If KISS were an RC10, I'm going with Dual Sport.

[klavy69]

Kiss was all right but at that age I had Meat Loaf, Eagles, David Bowie, Rod Stewart and AC/DC on LP and 8track. I also was only about 8-10 in that span but if I remember correctly, no rememberance of any of their music but the performances were what put them over the top. Also, agree with the statement above...I remember when they took off the makeup... . Most of the Kiss music I remember came in the 80s with their Animalize(?) and Asylum sound that kinda went with the time of hair bands.

K

[Halgar]

I was never a Kiss fan, they mostly made noise, not music. They were a product of the rebellion of the 60's and 70's which led to the hair bands of the 80's. Whomever was the most obnoxious got the most attention. Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, different genre, I know, but it was same thing, the more outlandish they were, the more popular they were.

I'm a through and through VH guy! What that dude could do with a guitar was amazing. Metallica would also be at the top of my list . . . if I had a list.

[Brendan2904]

Well, their intro was “You wanted the best, you got the best! KISS!!!!!!!!” So yeah lol.

[coxbros1]

Since I was born in the late 70's, the "music" is all that I have.

Exactly! The music doesn't tell the story, so if you missed the hype, it is hard to understand why it ever happened. Evel Knievel is the same story. If you sat on the floor at grandma's house watching this maniac(!) leaping over buses, wondering if he would live or die, it was pretty cool. If you stumbled across his motorcycle in a museum decades later: "ok, some dude rode a Harley with gawdy paint, so what?" You just had to be there.

Now that's the perfect explanation!