People are only now realizing what the band name KISS means after 52 years
They may have formed over 50 years ago in 1973, but fans of KISS are only just realizing what the band's name means and some have even misunderstood its meaning for years
People have listened to the capivating music of KISS for more than five decades. The epic rock band was formed in New York City way back in 1973 and the original line-up comprised Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley - who sadly passed away on October 16 at the age of 74.
The band were widely known for their dramatic face paint and stage outfits, rising to fame in the mid-1970s with shock rock music live performances. Their shows featured fire-breathing, blood-spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits and pyrotechnics.
However, over the years, their line-up changed quite a bit, with Stanley and Simmons remaining the only consistent members. None the less, they are still considered to be one of the most iconic band's of all time.
Even though many fans remember hits such as "Beth", "I Was Made For Lovin' You" and "Rock and Roll All Nite", there are some facts people don't know about the band. One being the origin of the group's iconic name.
The topic recently came up on Quora, when one person asked: "How did the band KISS gets its name?" Pretty quickly, the simple question gained a wide range of responses.
One person suggested: "Rumors would have you believe that KISS is an acronym for 'Knights In Satan’s Service' or 'Keep It Simple Stupid'. But a more accepted story says that in 1973, band co-founders Paul Stanley and drummer Peter Criss were driving in New York City when Criss mentioned that he’d been in a band called Lips.
"This inspired Stanley, and he came up with the name KISS. A logo was drawn up in which the 'SS' resembled lightning bolts, and then the name was handwritten over the band’s name at the time — Wicked Lester — on a poster outside of a club."
Another wrote: "KISS absolutely stands for Keep It Simple Stupid, at least in computer programming and, while I don't doubt that this explanation is completely unrelated to the name of this band, they do epitomize that slogan anyway."
A third added: "First off, KISS is not an acronym for anything; Kids In Satan's Service - Knights In Satan's Service - Keep It Simple Stupid - Killers In Satan's Service. Nonsense, all nonsense.
"And, since we're on the subject, no AC/DC does not stand for Anti-Christ Devil's Children, more utter nonsense. Anyway, I read many years ago that Ace Frehley initially suggested calling the band 'F***'. Whether this is true or not I cannot confirm. However; Paul Stanley suggested the far less profane and vulgar name; KISS."
What does KISS actually mean?
Despite many rumors and theories over the years, it seems there may be a simple answer to the question. Throughout the decades, the moniker has become easily recognizable, but it doesn't carry the meaning some people think.
Even though their dramatic image may make people picture demonic figures, the band is not tied to Satanism, even though many have people have claimed the name stood for "Knights In Satan's Service" for years.
When speaking on SiriusXM's Howard Stern Show, co-lead vocalist and guitarist Paul Stanley talked about the myth, and said they decided on the word "kiss" simply because it "transcended the English language". He added: "We're smart, but we're not that smart."
Originally, the band was known as Wicked Lester but, according to Gene Simmons and Stanley, a couple of ideas were thrown around before they agreed on the name KISS. Talking about how the name came about, Stanley explained: "To me, Kiss was a word that transcended the English language.
"You could go almost anywhere in the world and say the word Kiss and people would go, 'Oh, I've heard of them.' It's like calling a band water. And a kiss of death, a kiss of passion - it just seemed to incorporate all the elements of what we were doing."
Simmons also noted that the band considered using the name "F***". "We were talking about it … first record could be It, the second record could be You, but it wasn’t serious," he added.