- Paul Stanley
Infobox musical artist
Name = Paul Stanley
Img_capt =
Img_size = 200
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Stanley Harvey Eisen
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1952|1|20
Died =
Origin =Queens ,New York ,United States
Instrument = Vocals,Guitar , Bass, Drums,Percussion
Voice_type =
Genre =Hard rock , heavy metal,glam metal
Occupation =Musician ,Songwriter , Producer, Painter,Actor
Years_active = 1970 - present
Label = New Door Records/Universal Music Group
Associated_acts = Kiss,Wicked Lester
URL = [http://www.paulstanley.com/ Official website] [http://www.kissonline.com/ KISS Online]
Notable_instruments = Ibanez PS10
Washburn PS2000
Silvertone Paul Stanley Signature ModelsIbanez Iceman Gibson Flying V Stanley Harvey Eisen (born
January 20 ,1952 ,Queens, New York ) known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an AmericanHard rock guitarist andvocalist for the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of most of the band's highest-charting hits, including "Rock and Roll All Nite", "Detroit Rock City", "Hard Luck Woman", "I Was Made for Lovin' You ," "Crazy Crazy Nights ," and "Forever."Biography
Before
Wicked Lester , Paul Stanley was in a local band, Rainbow (not to be confused withRitchie Blackmore 's Rainbow) and Uncle Joe. Through a mutual friend ofGene Simmons , Stanley joined Simmons' band Wicked Lester in the early 1970s. The band recorded an album in 1971, but as of 2005 it has never been officially released (although songs from the album appeared on Kiss's 2001 box set). Wicked Lester soon fell apart and Stanley and Simmons placed ads for a drummer and a guitarist in various New York papers. This resulted inPeter Criss andAce Frehley joining the group, and they named themselves Kiss. Kiss released their self-titled debut in February 1974.Paul's persona in Kiss is "The Starchild." Wearing
Spandex and platform boots, Stanley's persona is that of aDon Juan -esque lover, combining effeminate elements with elements of extreme masculinity, rather than mereandrogyny . Although Stanley's voice is generally very soft and eloquent during normal conversation, he uses a specific "stage voice" which is like a "Rock N' Roll Preacher from Queens", much like Gene Simmons adopts an animalistic growl on stage for his demon persona. Unlike most leading rock frontmen, he gets the crowd to join the band in many of their classic hits and also tends to give a speech or "scripted" story for certain songs (e.g. having sexual encounters with nurses and other women he's met on tour and how much he supports U.S. troops overseas).In his book "Sex Money Kiss", Gene Simmons admits that Paul was the driving force for Kiss during the makeup-free 1980s, while Simmons was feeling lost without his demon makeup and attempting to launch a film career.
In 1999 Stanley starred in a
Toronto production of "The Phantom of the Opera", in which he played the role of The Phantom. He appeared in the musical from May 25 to August 1, and again that year from September 30 to October 31. While in Toronto, Stanley was contacted by AboutFace, an organization that provides support and information to individuals with facial differences, and asked to help raise awareness for them. Although he was approached due to his role as The Phantom, Stanley was in fact born withmicrotia , a congenital deformity of the pinna (outer ear). He has appeared at fundraising events and in videos for the organization.In 2001 Stanley's wife, Dallas native Pamela Bowen, filed for divorce. They have one son, Evan Shane Stanley, born June 6, 1994.
Stanley badly needed hip replacement surgery but suffered through the "Rock The Nation" tour first, finally getting the surgery in October 2005. Complications from the surgery required a second in December of that year, and in
December 2005 it has been announced that a third hip surgery will be necessary. Stanley regards the degeneration of his left hip as partly the product of thousands of shows performed since the early 1970s. In the "Rock The Nation Live" DVD he spends much more time standing in one place than he has on previous DVDs and tours.On
November 19 2005 , Paul Stanley married longtime girlfriend Erin Sutton at The Ritz-Carlton, Huntington inPasadena, California . They welcomed their first child, 8 lb. 6oz. Colin Michael Stanley, on Wednesday,September 6 ,2006 .Stanley made his debut as a painter in 2005, exhibiting and selling original works of art.
In 2006, Stanley resumed his association with Washburn Guitars and using the Washburn PS2000. Previously, he has had four signature guitars made by
Silvertone , and tweaked theIbanez Iceman to his specifications, calling it the PS10.Stanley's most recent performances with Kiss were a group of shows in July 2007, dubbed the Hit 'N Run Tour. Prior to the final show on
July 27 , Stanley was hospitalized with an extremely rapid heartbeat. In his absence, Kiss performed live as a trio for the first time in decades. Previously, Kiss performed as a trio at Studio 54 in New York City for an international satellite broadcast onJanuary 28 ,1982 , lip-syncing the song "I" fromMusic from "The Elder" for the ItalianFestival della canzone italiana , also known as the Sanremo Festival, when Ace Frehley failed to show for the performance due to what was described at the time as a mystery "illness." TheJuly 27 ,2007 concert is the first Kiss concert Stanley has missed during his 34-year tenure with the group.cite news |title=PAUL STANLEY Hospitalized Prior To California Gig; KISS Performs As Three-Piece |url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=77708 |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=2007-07-28 |accessdate=2007-07-28 ] In September 2007, Stanley took part inRock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp as a guest star for his second time in New York City.olo career
Stanley has very rarely recorded or performed outside of Kiss. In 1989, he embarked on a brief club tour, performing only Kiss songs (with one cover,
Led Zeppelin 's "Communication Breakdown "). His touring band included guitaristBob Kulick and future Kiss drummerEric Singer .Stanley wrote and recorded material for a solo album in 1987–88, which was shelved in favor of the Kiss compilation, "
Smashes, Thrashes & Hits ". While never officially released, songs such as "Don't Let Go" and "When 2 Hearts Collide" have circulated asbootleg recording s. One song from the project, "Time Traveler," was released as part of the Kiss's 2001 box set.In 1989 Stanley loaned his distinctive voice to the title track for the soundtrack of the
Wes Craven horror flick "Shocker". The song was written by long time Stanley collaboratorDesmond Child , along withJean Beauvior andGuy Man-Dude . The song was performed by a group of well known artists calling themselves "The Dudes Of Wrath". The Dudes consisted of Stanley and Child on vocals, Guy Man-Dude andVivian Campbell (Def Leppard andDio ) on guitars,Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Ozbourne, Whitesnake and Dio) on bass andTommy Lee (Mötley Crüe) on drums. Background vocals were provided by Desmond Child,Louis Merlino ,Alice Cooper guitaristKane Roberts and Michael Anthony ofVan Halen .In the past, Stanley has been asked to produce albums for Poison and
Guns N' Roses , but he was never able to commit due to his work on Kiss projects.Fact|date=June 2008In 2005, a bootleg CD began circulating entitled "People, Let Me Get This Off My Chest: The Very Best of Paul Stanley's On Stage Banter". The fan-made disc compiled 70 tracks worth of Stanley's distinctive song introductions and on-stage banter. [ [http://the21gunsalute.blogspot.com/2007/08/paul-stanley.html the21gunsalute.blogspot.com: Paul Stanley ] ]
28 years after releasing his first solo album (as part of the four simultaneously released Kiss solo albums), Stanley released a second album, "
Live to Win ", onOctober 24 ,2006 . The title song of his solo album, "Live to Win", appeared on the "South Park" episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft "In October and November 2006, Stanley embarked on a theater tour in support of "Live to Win". His touring band was the house band from the
CBS TV show, "Rock Star". The band appeared on both seasons of the show - ' and '. The band was composed ofPaul Mirkovich (keyboards),Jim McGorman (guitar),Rafael Moreira (lead guitar),Nate Morton (drums), andSasha Krivtsov (bass). In April 2007, Stanley extended the tour to include Australia, playing in Coolangatta, Wollongong, Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide. Portions of the tour were filmed for an as-yet-unreleased documentary titled "" by the Chicago-basedFilm Foetus . [ [http://www.filmfoetus.com/Films/PaulStanleyLivetoDream/tabid/94/Default.aspx Film Foetus - Paul Stanley: Live to Dream] ]In 2008 Stanley sang a duet with
Sarah Brightman , "I Will Be with You", on her "Symphony" album.In popular culture
Paul Stanley is often credited as being the most identifiable member of Kiss by people outside the fan community. Fact|date=September 2008
Paul Stanley is one half of the inspiration behind
Maul Stanley , aparody hybrid combining elements of Paul Stanley with elements ofStar Wars characterDarth Maul .Maul Stanley wears a hooded black cloak reminiscent ofDarth Maul , spandex pants and platform boots reminiscent of Paul Stanley and black and red face make-up evocative of them both. He is mostly known for conducting irreverent interviews with rock stars andsci-fi personalities, including former Kiss guitaristBruce Kulick , whom he interviewed live onstage at a Kiss expo. [cite web | url=http://www.maulstanley.com/sludge/3-windbrucekulick.htm | title=3-Wind with Bruce Kulick | publisher=Metal Sludge | accessdate=2008-09-23]Paul is also the inspiration for the unlikely Kiss tribute band The Paul Stanleys, all of whom portray a version of him onstage during their performances.
tage
In 1999, Stanley played the title role in
The Phantom of the Opera in an off-Broadway production in Canada.Awards
*Paul Stanley was inducted into the
Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006.Discography
KISS
"See:
Kiss discography "olo career
*"Paul Stanley" (1978)
*"Live to Win " (2006)References
External links
* [http://www.paulstanley.com/ Paul Stanley official website]
* [http://www.kissonline.com Kiss official website]
* [http://www.famousinterview.ca/interviews/paul_stanley.htm Interview with Paul Stanley]
*imdb name|0822571
* [http://www.unratedmagazine.com/articles/Archive/2006/PaulStanley_061106.cfm Paul Stanley Live To Win Tour Review] by UnRated Magazine
* [http://www.classicrockcentral.com/classic_rock_gimme5-Display.cfm?week=25 Interview with Paul Stanley from 1999]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.