Kiss Discusses Truth Behind Rumor They Planned to Call Band F—
Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons discussed how the Kiss band name came about and addressed the rumor that they considered calling themselves Fuck before landing on the moniker that become world-renowned.
The pair was asked about the longstanding legend by Howard Stern on SiriusXM, during the interview in which they confirmed the dates of their last two farewell shows.
"We were talking about it," Simmons said. "Let’s call the band Fuck – the first record can be It. Second album can be You.” But, he added, “It wasn’t serious.”
Stanley recounted the tale of how he suggested Kiss as their name instead: “All of us were driving in my car; I think it was a Plymouth or a Dodge Polara.” When the idea struck him, he admitted, “I thought to myself, ‘Oh, Jesus, this is the name – dear God, let’s not turn this into an ego fight.’ And I said, ‘Ready? Kiss.’ And everybody went, ‘Yeah!’”
He added, “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 go, ‘Oh, I’ve heard of them.’ It’s like calling a band ‘Water!’ A kiss of death, a kiss of passion – it just seemed to incorporate all the elements of what we were doing.”
Stanley and Simmons both confirmed that the letters “KISS” have never stood for anything, with Stanley noting. “We’re smart but we’re not that smart!” Asked to confirm that they owned trademarks so that Stern couldn’t start a line of Kiss bedclothes, Simmons replied, “No. But we can make a deal, we can make a deal!”
Watch Kiss Discuss Their Name
In another clip from the same interview, Simmons said his hatred for the disco-themed hit “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” describing his disappointment after getting excited when Stanley told him the lyrics for the “really cool” first verse. On discovering his backing vocals would be of the “doo-doo” variety, he complained, “Come on! I wanna be [the] God of Thunder! ... I hate it to this day – except, stadiums full of people, they jump up and down like Biblical locusts!”
Watch Kiss Discuss ‘I Was Made for Lovin’ You’