Kiss and Make-Up

By: Gene Simmons

Narrated by: Gene Simmons

Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

You wanted the truth, you got the truth - the hottest book in the world!

Fueled by an explosive mix of makeup, costumes, and attitude, KISS burst onto the music scene 30 years ago and has become a rock institution. The band has sold more than 80 million records, has broken every concert attendance record set by Elvis Presley and the Beatles, stands behind the Beatles alone in number of gold records from any group in history, and has spawned more than 2,500 licenses.

There would have been no KISS without Gene Simmons, the outrageous star whose superlong tongue, legendary sexual exploits, and demonic makeup have made him a rock icon. KISS and Make-Up is the wild, shocking, unbelievable story, from the man himself, about how an immigrant boy from Israel studied to be a rabbi, was saved by rock and roll, and became one of the most notorious rock stars the world has ever seen.

©2001 Gene Simmons (P)2003 Gene Simmons, All Rights Reserved

Critic reviews

"A sterling if ephemeral addition to pop-music collections." (Booklist)

YOU WANTED THE BEST, YOU GOT THE BEST ! A story of THE HOTTEST BAND IN THE WORLD ‘KISS’

A very well described story of a band willing to do anything to make it !!!

Great Read

So much I never knew. I’m glad I got to see them in concert, even if it were later in life.

Great info and reading

a little light on story. Good overview on Gene Simmons life and KISS. Going to watch Family Jewels.

Story of Kiss from the perceptive of Gene Simmons.

Would you listen to Kiss and Make-Up again? Why?

No. Once you know the story ...

What was one of the most memorable moments of Kiss and Make-Up?

Gene Simmons sexual life was "unusual".

What about Gene Simmons’s performance did you like?

Having Gene reading the book brings lots of energy and credibility.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ups and downs of Ace Frehley.

Any additional comments?

At a certain point I became tired of having Gene Simmons as the cleverest guy in the room. Looks like everything he did was successful and he never has had fear nor frustrations.He hasn't put much importance to the fact that the make-up and the "evil figure" inevitably defined the existence of the band. But who cares? They sold over 80 million albums and played over 2,000 shows to millions of loyal fans !

Gene Is Gene's Favorite Person

It was a good book. not as good as Paul's. Gene loves himself so much!

Excellent history of the greatest band in history

Loved this book, read by Gene. It was like hanging out with Gene in my car for a week of commutes while he described these milestone activities that made him who he is today. I liked how he described the struggles of creating the band with Paul in the early days. I also loved how he poked fun at himself with stories from the road. His details of his "encounters" with the opposite sex are hilarious. Great listen.

good book!

It is a very good book! Gene Simmons in his best

A Must for Every Kiss Fan..

This book was so much more than I expected. If you ever liked Kiss, you will enjoy this book. A few parts of this book actually brought me to tears.

This needs to be in your library

Gene Simmons's open, frank and honest work here is excellent and deepened my respect for him as a person. Regardless of your like or dislike of Kiss or Gene Simmons he solidly demonstrates fundamental principles about commitment, perseverance, integrity, and respect. I do think that there is corporate and educational edition that could be done by taking out some of the profanity and sexual content. There is not a lot of it but it will offend the thin skinned who would be more fixated on those facets instead of the very solid life principles Gene does solidly present.The audio book read by Gene himself will keep you listening to the very end. You want the best you got it from Gene Simmons.

Much better than I expected.

If you could sum up Kiss and Make-Up in three words, what would they be?

Gene's tongue delivers

What other book might you compare Kiss and Make-Up to and why?

Reminds me a bit of "Hell's Angels" by Hunter S. Thompson. Only not. At all.

Have you listened to any of Gene Simmons’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Never listened to anything else by him.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"Sex, No Drugs, and Rock n' Roll"