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)

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.

The life of a Rock-Star, a Super-Hero, & an Artist

What made the experience of listening to Kiss and Make-Up the most enjoyable?

Hearing Gene's life in Gene's own voice - the good, the bad, and the cuddly.

What did you like best about this story?

This is the American Dream that came true - A boy from far away, but with a dream - what a ride, what a battle, yet Gene is an artist with a vision and a passion who would not let anyone stop him from giving it his best shot... something all artist's need to hear.

What does Gene Simmons bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Honesty. Sincerity. Passion, and emotion from the highest highs to the lowest lows. It's all there in his voice. Made it a special honor to hear it in his own voice.... many great artist's have passed on with out us hearing this kind of very personal story telling of their life. Quite special.

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

His honesty was a bit shocking, and yet refreshing. I enjoyed hearing that he has the ability to look at himself and say he had no idea if what he was doing was going to work or not. You hear the terrible fight it was to go on at some turns in the band's career, and you know a little bit more about why some rock n' roll bands can go on, and others (or most) don't. It takes a lot of heart. Behind the make-up, the black leather and studs, the dragon books, the bat wings, the vomited blood, and the breathing fire - behind the Rock N' Roll Iconic Demon that rocked every teenaged boy's day-dreams in the 70's, you hear the man with all his fears, and foibles. Somethings about Gene are amazingly inspirational. Somethings about Gene are very strange. However, in the end, I love this guy because he unashamedly "Let His Freak Flag Fly!"

Any additional comments?

Much better than I thought it would be. Talks about things, that even as a life long KISS fan I never heard about or knew.Strange urban legends and myths about the band. I understand a lot more about what it took, and I really have so much more respect for Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley now. They changed Pop Culture. They are as important as Paul & John.
I was afraid to listen at first, I kept thinking the Rock N' Roll Demon icon would not be who I wanted him to be... and he wasn't, not really. However, who Gene is - is someone very talented, passionate, afraid (I was going to say fearless, but Gene talks about being afraid, many, many times, and yet going through his fear, so he wasn't fearless, - he faced his fears), and... he's not a genius, but he is a smart guy. Great book. Never a dull moment. What a roller coaster ride of a life! Gene and Paul really changed rock and roll forever, made a huge earth shaking noise in pop-culture, and did something unique and fascinating and oh so damned entertaining. Gene Simmons RAWKS!

Gene Rocks

For such a colorfull caracther, Gene Simmons, worte a very touching, sincere, honest book. I was surprise from the get go. Highly recommend it.

Loved it!

I really enjoyed listening to this story. I had no idea about a lot of this. I remember when KISS first came out. I was 7. They are still cool. I love Genes voice. Great story!

It's Gene Simmons. Plain and simple.

A large percentage is just Gene's recounts of sexual encounters. the book is entertaining though.

Interesting at best

Between this book and Paull Stanley’s biography. I think I do prefer Paul’s story over Genes. Granted, Gene does have some very sexy stories to tell us with his many female encounters. Definitely worth listening to. I would recommend this book because it is quick, and Gene does narrate this very well.

enjoyed

thank you, Gene Kiss Fan, forever. I grew up with Kiss from day 1. ✌️💜

This book is unbelievable......

my God Gene , only slept with 3 groupie’s in his whole careers. Gene tells the whole truth in this book. You gotta read or listen to this audio book ..

OUTSTANDING !!!

Amazing rags to riches story and also a great behind the scenes look at one of the most influential bands of all time.