Celebrating one of the most iconic bands of all time, A&E has announced the new definitive documentary film telling the stories behind the phenomenon of KISS. Directed by D.J. Viola, Biography: KISStory chronicles the band’s five decades in the business as founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons reflect on their historic career. The four-hour, two-night event airs Sunday, June 27th and Monday, June 28th from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET/PT. A trailer for the special appears below.
After 50 years of rocking and rolling all night and partying every day, the number one gold-record-selling band of all time, KISS, shares their story of success before finally smashing their last guitar and extinguishing the fire-breathing demon. Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, along with current members Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer as well as guests Dave Grohl(Nirvana, Foo Fighters), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), manager Doc McGhee, music producer Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper) and more tell the wild story of the most successful and influential band in the world.
Selling more than 100 million albums worldwide and over 40 years of record-breaking global tours, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame band is giving viewers a behind-the-scenes look at their rise to fame. Featuring original recording sessions, home movies, behind-the-scenes stories and rare footage, the film grants fans an all-access pass to the band’s legendary journey. Fans will hear a first-hand account of the emotional story behind the band’s start in New York City’s gritty rock scene of the 1970s, their meteoric rise to fame, almost losing it all to drugs and alcohol in the 1980s and how they ultimately fought their way back to the top of the charts in the 1990s to become a household name synonymous with rock and roll.
“Through the Biography lens, we are able to give fans a backstage pass to a two-night event that honors the legacy of the rock icons behind KISS,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, EVP and head of programming for A&E. “This documentary event is a special tribute to a one-of-a-kind band and the incredible Kiss Army fanbase that has idolized them for generations.”
Biography: KISStory is a Leslie Greif production, produced for A&E Network by Critical Content and Big Dreams Entertainment with Leslie Greif and Jenny Daly serving as executive producers and D.J. Viola serving as director. Elaine Frontain Bryant and Brad Abramson serve as executive producers for A&E Network. A+E Networks holds worldwide distribution rights for Biography: KISStory.
The celebrated Biography brand continues to highlight newsworthy personalities and events with compelling and surprising points-of-view and remains the defining source for true stories from some of the most accomplished non-fiction storytellers of our time. Extensive on-air and branded digital content, including short form, will roll-out on all platforms, including Biography.com, the home to hundreds of profiles of notable cultural figures and influencers.
18 Responses
I never thought Thayer & singer were imposters , paul and gene hired them to continue the kiss brand and wear ace and Pete’s make up , which to be fair they bought the rights to from ace and pete – the massive mistake paul and gene made was not allowing them or helping them create their own characters- it could have easily been done – the longtime kiss fans would have stayed plugged in and remained loyal and the casual fan would not have cared at all
The show would have stayed bombastic and full of all the pyro – it would have been a win win for everybody – for me personally paul and gene f___’d it all up , they stayed too long at the party and because of Paul’s aging voice have had to resort to running tracks for paul to lip sync to and sadly sometimes not very well , in sports when you cant do it any more you retire or the team gives you a message and let’s you go it’s pretty cut and dry , paul refuses to do that hes earned that right , it doesnt matter to him that he cant sing properly anymore or that he can’t move around anymore , hes got his reasons whatever they are…. but hanging on to the BS hateful foolish bashing of ace & pete to me make him look weak and petty and completely of touch- personally I want nothing to do with this nonsense , this used to be people and a band I could respect , now I just feel sad when I think about kiss ~
Sad you say, Robert…Kissonline.com is having a sale on Kiss Tissues…make that Kissues and “wipe the tears from your eye” 🙂 🙂
RT understands what I was opining. That Doug R always dismisses and minimizes people who don’t agree with him. WE have ALL conceded the original line up IS KISS. I also agree with Doug R that I am tired of Paul and Gene repeating the same “Ace and Peter” are drug addicts and alcoholics narrative. That narrative doesn’t hold up anymore. I just like to support Tommy and Eric for keeping Gene and Paul working all these years. We are so lucky that our band is still at it in their 60s and 70s. And yes, of Paul and Gene replace themselves and the news guys sound and look good, I will support them as KISS. I’m not lost, Doug, I just love KISS.
Well, at least we have 1 thing in common, I love KISS as well, always have, always will. I’m not dismissing or minimizing anyone, we don’t have to agree on everything, or anything, my response was to the assumption that fans like me who don’t like the charade were going to blast Gene and Paul for not giving Ace and Peter enough credit for their contributions to KISS. Well, first of all, I had and have no plans to watch this biography, I already know all I need to know about KISS, I think we all do, we all know the KISStory. I do hope though that Gene and Paul acknowledge that is was Ace and Peter that created their own characters, what did Singer and Thayer ever create? Exactly. I don’t hate Singer and Thayer, I just hate the fact that over the last 20 years or so they’ve been impersonating 2 legends, love em or hate em, Ace and Peter are legends. Selling (whatever the reasons were) their rights was wrong, but 2 wrongs don’t make a right, and in my opinion what Gene and Paul did was worse than what Ace and Peter did. I mean come on, not to beat a dead horse, but would you really go see Alice Cooper if it was somebody else other than Vincent Furnier? That’s my point. KISS would’ve and should’ve went on (for a while) after 2001, I would’ve supported that all the way (no pun) if as I’ve said a million times, Eric and Tommy were just allowed to be themselves.
Kiss is obviously still able to draw big crowds on the strength of great songs , and a massive fun powerful pyro show , so my opinion doesnt really matter – I believe that kiss is still able to provide something other bands just cant do – great memorable songs and pure fun and excitement, the pyro is awesome – for me though the guts and danger is gone, I dont want to see them not able to move , I dont want to see paul resort to lip synching because his voice is blown out , I want to remember them from 1976 ,77 , 82, 86, 2001 when they could still set the world on fire ~
Ki$$ articles are always great reads cuz they appear to generate the most comments from us rock music folks. While we all have varying opinions on the current lineup, one thing we all agree is that we love KI$$. And while I, and many others, will not support the current lineup, there are plenty of others that do. Like D7 commented earlier, the current lineup keep Gene and Paul active as musicians, and for that I should be thankful for fans supporting the current lineup cuz I cannot imagine a rock world without them in it when they eventually call it a career…….but I still cannot support the current lineup with those two imposters, regardless if Gene and Paul purchased the makeup rights to dress up those two scabs as Ace and Peter. :o)