Born August 25: Gene Simmons (Kiss), demonic bassist with a sharp tongue

He was born in August 1949 in Haifa, Israel. While he has hidden his face behind powdered makeup for decades, he is just as discreet in revealing his real name: Chaim Witz.

Gene Simmons is undoubtedly a figurehead of American hard rock, but as we'll see, he also has a great business sense!

Co-founder, bassist, and (part-time) singer of KISS, he has embodied an incredible blend of outrageous grand guignol and precise provocation since the 1970s. But make no mistake, behind the sparklers and other deafening firecrackers, the clown isn't laughing at all when business starts to get discussed. For him, a dollar is a dollar. And with several zeros before the decimal point, it's even better!

The only son of a Holocaust survivor, Simmons grew up in an environment marked by this painful memory. At the age of eight, he emigrated with his mother to the United States, where he Americanised his name to become the one whose surname (a tribute to actor Jean Simmons) and his voice are known the world over!

Obviously passionate about music, he discovered the still-flagging career of the Beatles early on and dreamed of following in their footsteps.

In 1973, he formed KISS with Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss, a quartet that would never follow in the footsteps of "Lady Madonna," "Blackbird," or "Hey Jude" From the outset, the band stood out for its spectacular aesthetic: iconic makeup, extravagant costumes, so much so that their third album was titled "Dressed To Kill" (1975), and pyrotechnic stage performances worthy of a successful New Year's Eve. Simmons quickly adopted the persona of the "Demon," and his outrageous tongue sent shivers down the spines of many.

KISS also became one of the most profitable bands in rock history, selling over 100 million albums worldwide, and also selling every trinket bearing their name. During a European tour a good ten years ago, the most ardent fans were offered the chance to meet each of the band members locked in a container in the festival's backstage area. The ticket for each of them—a few seconds for an autograph and a photo—was a steep and expensive bargain.

Indeed, Simmons is also a formidable businessman. And he even takes a certain pride in it. He had the idea of ​​transforming KISS into a veritable money machine: comics (under the name Simmons Comics Group in 2007), figurines (starting in 1977 with Mego Corporation), several video games (including "The Nightmare Child"), pinball (starting in 1979), energy drinks, and even, since good taste remains secondary at KISS, coffins! It's difficult to gather and add up all these additional revenues, but the KISS brand has reportedly generated billions of dollars over the past half century. The icing on the cake is that, like the Kardashians, Simmons has also produced his own reality TV show: Gene Simmons Family Jewels. Now that's what you call pulling out all the stops!

Closing After yet another farewell tour at Madison Square Garden in New York in November 2023 (and this time it should be the last of the two), Gene Simmons can now enjoy a golden retirement in one of his many properties...

(MH with Stéphane Soupart - Photo : © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Gene Simmons of KISS (left) with Paul Stanley on stage at Forest-National in Brussels, Belgium, on September 21, 1980