Post by Henny Macc on May 5, 2020 22:19:10 GMT
Eugene Klein / Chaim Witz (August 25, 1949 - )
Years active: 1969-present
Country of origin: Israel / United States of America
Recorded vocal range: B♭1-C6 (A♯1-C6) - 4⅙ octaves
Band history:
- 1969-1970 - Bullfrog Bheer (lead vocals, bass)
- 1970-1973 - Wicked Lester (lead vocals, bass)
- 1973-present - Kiss (lead vocals, bass)
- 1977 - Gene Simmons (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, bass)
- 1984 - Plasmatics (bass)
- 2004 - Gene Simmons (lead vocals, bass)
- 2017-present - The Gene Simmons Band (lead vocals, bass)
Recorded high notes:
C6: "When the Bell Rings"
B5: "When the Bell Rings"
A5: "Saint and Sinner", "When the Bell Rings")
G♯5/A♭5: "All the Way", "Always Near You/Nowhere to Hide", "Cold Gin" live Weedsport 1990, "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll", "Not for the Innocent", "Simple Type"
G5: "Not for the Innocent", "Saint and Sinner", "Trial By Fire"
F♯5/G♭5: "Always Near You/Nowhere to Hide", "Cold Gin", "Prisoner of Love", "Watchin' You"
F5: "Cold Gin", "Deuce" live Cleveland 1974, Judas Priest impression, "Love Came to Me", "Watchin' You" live Cobo Hall 1975, "Young and Wasted" live Nashville 1984
E5: "Dance All Over Your Face", "Deuce" live Monsters of Rock 1988, "Firehouse" live at Donington 1988, "Killer", "Love's a Deadly Weapon", "Not for the Innocent", "Prisoner of Love", "Rock and Roll Hell", "Saint and Sinner", "See You in Your Dreams '78", "She's So European", "True Confessions", "Tunnel of Love"
D♯5/E♭5: "Almost Human", "Any Way You Slice It", "Black Diamond", "Christine Sixteen", "Deuce", "Feels Like Heaven", "Firehouse", "Fits Like a Glove", "Got to Choose", "Let Me Know", "Night Fly", "Unholy", "Watchin' You" live Cobo Hall 1975
D5: "And on the 8th Day", "Betrayed", "Comin' Home", "Domino" live Kiss Kruise VIII 2018, "Have Mercy, Baby", "Hell or High Water", "I Don't Want Your Romance", "Love's a Deadly Weapon", "Naked City", "No, No, No", "Not for the Innocent", "Rock and Roll Hell", "Saint and Sinner", "See You in Your Dreams '78", "The Street Giveth and the Street Taketh Away", "When the Bell Rings", "Within"
C♯5/D♭5: "All Hell's Breaking Loose" live Nashville 1984, "Boomerang", "Burn Bitch Burn", "Domino", "Got to Choose", "Hey You", "Killer", "Just Begun to Fight", "Love's a Slap in the Face", "Mr. Make Believe", "No Conscience", "Nothin' to Lose", "Prisoner of Love", "See You in Your Dreams '78", "Spit", "Sweet & Dirty Love", "Too Many Mondays", "True Confessions", "Watchin' You", "When the Bell Rings"
C5: "And on the 8th Day", "Any Way You Slice It", "Back to the Stone Age", "Betrayed", "Burning Up with Fever", "C'mon and Love Me", "Dance All Over Your Face", "Feels Like Heaven", "Firehouse", "Fits Like a Glove", "God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You" live US 1992, "I", "It's Gonna Be Alright", "I'm an Animal", "Keep Your Tail Between Your Legs", "Killer", "Let Me Know", "Love Came to Me", "Love Is Blind", "Move On" live Largo 1979, "Nothin' to Lose", "Paralyzed", "Prisoner of Love", "When You Wish Upon a Star", "Yes I Know (Nobody's Perfect)", "You're All That I Want"
B4: "Always Near You/Nowhere to Hide", "Any Way You Slice It", "Are You Always This Hot?", Betrayed", "Burn Bitch Burn", "Cadillac Dreams", "Charisma", "Choo Choo Charlie" live acoustic Nashville 2018, "Dance All Over Your Face", "Dog", "Domino", "Eat Your Heart Out", "Everybody Knows", "Fits Like a Glove", "Good Girl Gone Bad", "Have Mercy, Baby", "I Am Yours", "I Love It Loud", "I'm a Star", "It's Gonna Be Alright", "I Was Made for Lovin' You", "Killer", "Larger Than Life", "Lick It Up" live US 1992, "Lonely is the Hunter", "Love's a Deadly Weapon", "Love's a Slap in the Face", "Mr. Blackwell", "Murder in High-Heels", "Naked City", "No Conscience", "No, No, No", "Not for the Innocent", "Paralyzed", "Prisoner of Love", "Rain Keeps Fallin'", "Rock and Roll Hell", "Russian Roulette", "Saint and Sinner", "Secretly Cruel", "See You Tonite", "Shout It Out Loud" live at Monsters of Rock 1988, "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell", "Something Wicked This Way Comes", "Suspicious", "Sweet & Dirty Love", "Tears Are Falling" live at The Ritz 1988, "The Street Giveth and the Street Taketh Away", "Thief in the Night", "Trial By Fire", "True Confessions", "Unholy", "Waiting for the Morning Light", "When the Bell Rings", "While the City Sleeps", "X-Ray Eyes", "You Wanted the Best", "Young and Wasted"
A♯4/B♭4: "Ain't Gonna Die", "All Hell's Breaking Loose" live Nashville 1984, "All the Way", "Boomerang", "Calling Dr. Love", "Carnival of Souls", "Childhood's End", "Christine Sixteen", "Comin' Home", "Feels Like Heaven", "Firehouse", "Forever" acoustic rehearsal 1990, "Goin' Blind", "Got to Choose", "Great Expectations", "Hell or High Water", "Hotter Than Hell", "I", "I Confess", "I Love It Loud" live at Monsters of Rock 1988, "I'm an Animal", "In My Head", "I Wait", "I Wanna Rule the World, "King of the Night Time World", "Kissin' Time", "Ladies in Waiting", "Ladies Room" live at The Forum 1977, "Larger Than Life", "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll", "Love 'Em and Leave 'Em", "Love Gun" live Anaheim 2000, "Mad Dog", "Mr. Blackwell", "Night Fly", "Nothin' to Lose", "Plaster Caster", "Read My Body", "Russian Roulette", "Shout It Out Loud", "Shout Mercy", "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell", "Spit", "Strutter", "Take Me Down Below", "The Devil Is Me", "The Street Giveth and the Street Taketh Away", "Thou Shalt Not", "2000 Man" live MTV Unplugged 1995, "Wall of Sound", "War Machine", "We Are One","We Won't Take It Anymore", "When the Bell Rings", "Yes I Know (Nobody's Perfect)"
A4: "Always Near You/Nowhere to Hide", "And on the 8th Day", "Any Way You Slice It", "Asshole", "Baby Driver" demo, "Betrayed", "Burning Up with Fever", "Cadillac Dreams", "Cold Gin" live at Monsters of Rock 1988, "Dance All Over Your Face", "Detroit Rock City" live Copenhagen 1984, "Deuce" live at Monsters of Rock 1988, "Domino", "Down on Your Knees", "Everybody Knows", "Firestarter", "Fits Like a Glove", "God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You II", "Good Girl Gone Bad", "Hey You", "High and Low", "I Don't Want Your Romance", "I Love It Loud", "Jelly Roll", "Journey of 1,000 Years", "Just Begun to Fight", "Keep Your Tail Between Your Legs", "Killer", "Kissin' Time", "Legends Never Die", "Living in Sin", "Lonely is the Hunter", "Love's a Deadly Weapon", "Man of 1,000 Faces", "Mr. Make Believe", "Much Too Soon", "Murder in High Heels", "Naked City", "No Conscience", "No, No, No", "Not for the Innocent", "Now That You're Gone", "Only You", "Paralyzed", "Parasite", "Plaster Caster" demo, "Prisoner of Love", "Reputation", "Rock and Roll All Nite" live Monsters of Rock 1988, "Rock and Roll Hell", "Saint and Sinner", "Secretly Cruel", "See You in Your Dreams '78", "She's So European", "Shout It Out Loud" live at Monsters of Rock 1988, "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell", "Something Wicked This Way Comes", "Take It Like a Man", "The Street Giveth and the Street Taketh Away", "Thief in the Night", "Trial By Fire", "True Confessions", "Under the Gun" live at Cobo Hall 1984, "Unholy", "Watchin' You", "Whatever Turns You On", "When You Wish Upon a Star", "While the City Sleeps", "Within", "X-Ray Eyes", "Young and Wasted", "You're All That I Want", "You're Gonna Lose That Girl" live Chicago 2017
G♯4/A♭4: "Ain't Gonna Die", "All the Way", "Almost Human", "Are You Always This Hot?", "Are You Ready", "Baby Driver" demo, "Back to the Stone Age", "Beautiful", "Black Diamond", "Black Tongue", "Boomerang", "Burn Bitch Burn", "Cadillac Dreams", "Carnival of Souls", "Charisma", "Childhood's End", "Christine Sixteen", "Cold Gin", "Detroit Rock City", "Deuce", "Domino" live US 1992, "Eat Your Heart Out", "Firehouse", "Getaway", "God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You" live US 1992, "Goin' Blind", "Got Love for Sale", "Got to Choose", "Hate", "Have Mercy, Baby", "High and Low", "Hot and Cold", "I", "I Am Yours", "I Confess","I'm an Animal", "I'm a Star", "In My Head", "It Never Goes Away", "It's Gonna Be Alright", "It's My Life", "I Walk Alone", "Killer", "Kissin' Time", "Ladies Room", "Larger Than Life", "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll", "Let Me Know", "Living in Sin", "Love Came to Me", "Love 'Em and Leave 'Em", "Love Her All I Can", "Love Is Alright", "Love Is Blind", "Love's a Deadly Weapon", "Love's a Slap in the Face", "Modern Day Delilah", "Mr. Blackwell", "Murder in High Heels", "No Conscience", "Nothin' to Lose", "Only You", "Plaster Caster", "Radioactive", "Rain Keeps Fallin'", "Reputation", "Rock and Roll All Nite", "Rockin' in the U.S.A.", "Room Service", "Rotten to the Core", "Russian Roulette", "See You in Your Dreams", "She's So European", "Shock Me", "Shout It Out Loud", "Spinning Wheels", "Spit", "Stand", "Stanley the Parrot", "Strutter", "Sweet & Dirty Love", "Sweet Pain", "Take Me Down Below", "The Devil Is Me", "Thou Shalt Not", "True Confessions", "Tunnel of Love", "Under the Gun" live Cobo Hall 1984, "Wall of Sound", "War Machine", "Watchin' You", "Weapons of Mass Destruction", "X-Ray Eyes", "Yes I Know (Nobody's Perfect)", "You Wanted the Best", "You're My Reason for Living"
G4: "All Hell's Breaking Loose" live Nashville 1984, "And on the 8th Day", "A World Without Heroes", "Back to the Stone Age", "Betrayed", "Burning Up with Fever", "Cadillac Dreams", "Calling Dr. Love", "C'mon and Love Me", "Dance All Over Your Face", "Day Tripper" live Tokyo 2003, "Detroit Rock City", "Dog", "Domino", "Everybody Knows", "Feels Like Heaven", "Firehouse", "God of Thunder", "God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You II", "Good Girl Gone Bad", "Heartthrob", "Hell or High Water", "I Don't Want Your Romance", "If I Fell" live Tokyo Dome 2015, "It's My Life", "I Wanna Rule the World", "It's Gonna Be Alright", "I Wait", "Journey of 1,000 Years", "Juliet", "Just Begun to Fight", "Keep Your Tail Between Your Legs", "Killer", "Ladies in Waiting", "Let Me Know", "Living in Sin", "Lonely Is the Hunter", "Love 'Em and Leave 'Em", "Love's a Slap in the Face", "Mad Dog", "Man of 1,000 Faces", "Much Too Soon", "Naked City", "Night Fly", "No, No, No", "Nothin' to Lose", "Plaster Caster" demo, "Radioactive", "Reputation", "Rise to It", Rock and Roll All Nite", "Rock and Roll Hell", "Rockin' in the U.S.A.", "Saint and Sinner", "Samurai Son", "Secretly Cruel", "See You Tonite", "She's So European", "So Many Girls, So Little Time", "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell", "Stanley the Parrot", "Suspicious", "Take It Like a Man", "The Street Giveth and the Street Taketh Away", "Thief in the Night", "Trial By Fire", "Tunnel of Love", "Two Timer", "Waiting for the Morning Light", "We Are One", "We Won't Take It Anymore", "When You Wish Upon a Star", "While the City Sleeps", "Yes I Know (Nobody's Perfect)", "Young and Wasted", "You're All That I Want", "You're My Reason for Living"
Recorded low notes:
D3: "Bad Bad Lovin'", "Choo Choo Charlie" live acoustic Nashville 2018, "Dog", "Fits Like a Glove" live acoustic Nashville 2018, "Hell or High Water", "If I Had a Gun", "1,000 Dreams", "Journey of 1,000 Years", "Paralyzed", "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell", "Suspicious", "Whatever Turns You On", "Venus and Mars"
C♯3/D♭3: "Beautiful", "Carnival of Souls" Kiss demo, "God of Thunder", "Hate", "In My Head", "Rain" acoustic rehearsal 1990, "Take Me Down Below", "The Star-Spangled Banner" live Oakland Raiders game 2012, "Thou Shalt Not", "War Machine"
C3: "Ain't Gonna Die", "Beautiful", "The Star-Spangled Banner" live Los Angeles 2014, "When You Wish Upon a Star", "Within"
B2: "Ain't Gonna Die", "A World Without Heroes", "Bad Bad Lovin'", "Carnival of Souls" Kiss demo, "Fits Like a Glove" live Quebec 1984, "Hate", "In My Head", "Journey of 1,000 Years", "Larger Than Life", "Mr. Blackwell", "My Lorraine" acoustic version, "The Star-Spangled Banner" live London 2013, "Whatever Turns You On", "Within", "You're My Reason for Living"
A♯2/B♭2: "Ain't Gonna Die", "A World Without Heroes" live MTV Unplugged 1995, "Black Tongue", "Christine Sixteen", "I'll Be Back" sung in interview 1987, "In My Head", "I Will Follow Him" acoustic rehearsal 1990, "Only You" live Kiss Kruise X 2021, "Please Please Me" acoustic rehearsal 1990, "She's Rotten to the Core", "Within"
A2: "Asshole", "Bad Bad Lovin'", "Domino", "Firestarter", "If I Had a Gun", "I Know Who You Are", "No, No, No", "1,000 Dreams", "The Star-Spangled Banner" live Oakland Raiders game 2012, "Venus and Mars", "Whatever Turns You On", "Within"
G♯2/A♭2: "Charisma", "Domino" live US 1992, "Feels Like Heaven", "I'm an Animal", "In My Head", "It's Impossible" sung in interview 2017, "My Lorraine" acoustic version, "Sweet & Dirty Love", "The Star-Spangled Banner" live Los Angeles 2014, "Sweet Pain"
G2: "Bad Bad Lovin'", "Betrayed", "Boomerang", "Choo Choo Charlie" live acoustic Nashville 2018, "Dirty Water" live Boston 2018, "Dog", "Domino", "If I Had a Gun", "I Love It Loud" live acoustic Nashville 2018, "I Will Follow Him" acoustic rehearsal 1990, "The Star-Spangled Banner" live London 2013
F♯2/G♭2: "Almost Human", "Cadillac Dreams", "Carnival of Souls" Kiss demo, "Charisma", "Dog", "Domino" live US 1992, "Firestarter", "Hot and Cold", "Living in Sin", "My Uncle is a Raft" acoustic version, "Yes I Know (Nobody's Perfect)"
F2: "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" sung in interview 2017, "I Love It Loud '08", "Paralyzed", "Spit"
E2: "Carnival of Souls" Kiss demo, "Domino", "Murder in High Heels"
D♯2/E♭2: "Back to the Stone Age", "Burn Bitch Burn", "Charisma", "I Love It Loud '08", "My Uncle Is a Raft" acoustic version, "Paralyzed", "The Devil Is Me", "Within"
D2: "Domino" demo, "Whatever Turns You On"
C♯2/D♭2: "Charisma"
B1: "Dog"
A♯1/B♭1: "I Love It Loud '08"
{Questionable notes}
G5: Killer" - faint backing vocal note, could possibly be an instrument
E5: "Burning Up with Fever" - could possibly be Donna Summers; I can't really pick apart their harmonies during this part of the song, "Paralyzed" - notes said to be pitch-shifted in an interview with Bruce Kulick
C3: "Only You" - murky backing vocal notes with heavy effects on them; hard to identify them as Simmon's voice or if they are natural
C♯2/D♭2 "Thou Shalt Not" - spoken bit with no musical context
G5: Killer" - faint backing vocal note, could possibly be an instrument
E5: "Burning Up with Fever" - could possibly be Donna Summers; I can't really pick apart their harmonies during this part of the song, "Paralyzed" - notes said to be pitch-shifted in an interview with Bruce Kulick
C3: "Only You" - murky backing vocal notes with heavy effects on them; hard to identify them as Simmon's voice or if they are natural
C♯2/D♭2 "Thou Shalt Not" - spoken bit with no musical context
..............................................
*Blue marks soft falsetto notes.
*Green marks harsh distorted notes.
*Bold marks noteworthy passages or performances.
*Italics marks non-melodic notes.
*Underlines marks notes sung in backing vocals/overdubs.
{Detailed bio}
Best known as the bassist/co-lead vocalist/demon monster/fire-breather/blood-spitter of Kiss, Gene Simmons has been the other half of the driving team behind the band since its inception in 1973, alongside rhythm guitarist/frontman Paul Stanley. Though Stanley is usually recognized as more the showstealer vocalist with his wailing fifth octave notes and passionate, heartfelt performances, Simmons has a surprisingly extensive vocal range as well, and much more versatility as a singer than he often gets acknowledged for. The typical singing style that most people know him for is something of a lighter baritone sound, usually with a bit of grit to his voice, which can be heard on some of his most well-known performances such as "Rock and Roll All Nite", "Calling Dr. Love", and "Deuce". Over the years, however, he has proven himself capable of turning this into a much gruffer and darker sound that really helps deliver some of Kiss' heavier songs, like "Unholy", "Hate", and "I'm an Animal". In other instances, he can also lighten up his voice to a surprising extent, and create a very clean, delicate type of sound for softer, more intimate numbers - something he exemplifies well on songs like "A World Without Heroes", "Journey of 1,000 Years", and "Great Expectations". In songs where he combines several of these approaches, it can really help highlight the dynamics of the tune in a very powerful way.
Simmons is one of the older members of Kiss, and started playing music as far back as the late 60s (at which point he was still known as Gene Klein), starting with a small-time act called Bullfrog Bheer, in which he played bass and sang lead vocals. This band only ever recorded two songs, which can now be heard on YouTube, before splitting up. After this, Simmons met Paul Stanley and formed the band Wicked Lester, in which they first established their dynamic as co-lead vocalists that they would later reprise in Kiss as well. However, at the time their vocal abilities and ranges were quite different from what they would become known for in Kiss - back then, Stanley was the more limited vocalist, only ever singing into the upper fourth octave (and lower fifth octave with falsetto) in his songs, while Simmons apparently possessed a strong high register that he could carry well into the upper fifth octave, and at times even the sixth octave! He shows the full extent of this at the end of the song "When the Bell Rings", where he wails up to a strong A5 and even a C6! I was somewhat baffled by this find, as I've never heard Simmons sing quite this high at any point later in his career, so it must have been something that he lost shortly after his Wicked Lester days.
When Wicked Lester disbanded in 1973, Simmons and Stanley formed Kiss with drummer/vocalist Peter Criss and lead guitarist Ace Frehley. In this band, the two co-lead vocalists began to find their niche a bit more, with Stanley usually singing more emotional or passionate songs, whereas Simmons' songs were often more on the sleazy or darker side. Simmons also became less vocally flashy than he was in Wicked Lester for the most part, usually singing in the fourth octave and lower fifth octave at highest. He did, however, still occasionally drop certain notes that acknowledged some range beyond that, such as the sustained E♭5 in "Deuce" and the opening G♯5 scream from "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll". In 1976, Kiss released Destroyer, which would become one of their most successful albums, and featured the song "God of Thunder", one of Simmons' most famous vocal performances. This song was originally written and sung by Paul Stanley, but was designated for Simmons to sing for the album version, as producer Bob Ezrin believed it would suit his voice better. It was on this song that Simmons really began tapping into the rougher, more aggressive side of his voice, which he would later further develop and feature more on other heavier Kiss songs.
As Kiss' career went along, one prominent feature that began to define their sound was Paul Stanley's vocal presence in the band - as he began to discover an ability to belt into the lower-to-mid fifth octave with considerable power around 1982, and promptly started to showcase this ability on their albums, beginning with 1982's Creatures of the Night. Perhaps in an effort to compete with this, Simmons also began pushing his tessitura higher around this time, and on that same album featured melody C5s in "Killer", a sustained D5 in "Rock 'n' Roll Hell", and even a G5 in "Saint and Sinner". This continued as a trend for many of Kiss' 80s albums from that point onward, with both Stanley and Simmons pushing their limits in their respective tessituras - which meant usually lots of songs with melodies in the C♯5-E5 area for Stanley, and more often melodies in the A4-C5 area for Simmons with occasional higher notes. Some of these higher notes by Simmons could get quite surprising and impressive at times, such as the 12 second E5 at the end of "Love's a Deadly Weapon", or well-controlled singing up to E5 and even F♯5 in "Prisoner of Love". However, while Stanley had no problem recreating many of his more demanding vocal parts in a live setting, Simmons tended to struggle a lot during live performances in the 80s, and often had to omit many notes above A4, or would be unsuccessful when he attempted to hit them. He also became very dependent on drummer/backing vocalist Eric Carr to help him sing certain higher notes live during this period, to the point where he eventually handed over vocal duties entirely to Carr on the song "Young and Wasted" (which features intense belting on B4 throughout) for live performances.
Aside from these difficulties in live settings, however, Simmons has overall still managed to keep his voice in decent shape throughout his career (as opposed to Stanley, who unfortunately has lost much of his range and has an audibly damaged voice nowadays), and even in his later years has only had to modify his tessitura slightly - usually topping out around C5 on studio recordings nowadays, and slightly lower for live performances. Aside from his now almost 50 year career with Kiss, he also has been an actor (with his own reality show Gene Simmons: Family Jewels that ran from 2006-2012) and a solo artist, and has released two solo albums to date - a 1978 self-titled (released at the same time as the other three founding Kiss members' debut solo albums), and 2004's Asshole. The latter features a number of songs that demonstrate his low range, which is another part of his voice that can also be surprisingly solid and extensive, and is something that he has gradually shown more of and gotten more comfortable using as the years have gone by. Though Simmons never toured in promotion of either of his solo albums, in 2017 he assembled The Gene Simmons Band, with whom he has regularly toured during his off time with Kiss. This band plays a combination of Kiss songs, old cover songs by other artists, and unreleased originals by Simmons. As Kiss are currently planning on disbanding after their final tour, it is likely that this band will become Simmons' primary outlet for music in the near future.
Best known as the bassist/co-lead vocalist/demon monster/fire-breather/blood-spitter of Kiss, Gene Simmons has been the other half of the driving team behind the band since its inception in 1973, alongside rhythm guitarist/frontman Paul Stanley. Though Stanley is usually recognized as more the showstealer vocalist with his wailing fifth octave notes and passionate, heartfelt performances, Simmons has a surprisingly extensive vocal range as well, and much more versatility as a singer than he often gets acknowledged for. The typical singing style that most people know him for is something of a lighter baritone sound, usually with a bit of grit to his voice, which can be heard on some of his most well-known performances such as "Rock and Roll All Nite", "Calling Dr. Love", and "Deuce". Over the years, however, he has proven himself capable of turning this into a much gruffer and darker sound that really helps deliver some of Kiss' heavier songs, like "Unholy", "Hate", and "I'm an Animal". In other instances, he can also lighten up his voice to a surprising extent, and create a very clean, delicate type of sound for softer, more intimate numbers - something he exemplifies well on songs like "A World Without Heroes", "Journey of 1,000 Years", and "Great Expectations". In songs where he combines several of these approaches, it can really help highlight the dynamics of the tune in a very powerful way.
Simmons is one of the older members of Kiss, and started playing music as far back as the late 60s (at which point he was still known as Gene Klein), starting with a small-time act called Bullfrog Bheer, in which he played bass and sang lead vocals. This band only ever recorded two songs, which can now be heard on YouTube, before splitting up. After this, Simmons met Paul Stanley and formed the band Wicked Lester, in which they first established their dynamic as co-lead vocalists that they would later reprise in Kiss as well. However, at the time their vocal abilities and ranges were quite different from what they would become known for in Kiss - back then, Stanley was the more limited vocalist, only ever singing into the upper fourth octave (and lower fifth octave with falsetto) in his songs, while Simmons apparently possessed a strong high register that he could carry well into the upper fifth octave, and at times even the sixth octave! He shows the full extent of this at the end of the song "When the Bell Rings", where he wails up to a strong A5 and even a C6! I was somewhat baffled by this find, as I've never heard Simmons sing quite this high at any point later in his career, so it must have been something that he lost shortly after his Wicked Lester days.
When Wicked Lester disbanded in 1973, Simmons and Stanley formed Kiss with drummer/vocalist Peter Criss and lead guitarist Ace Frehley. In this band, the two co-lead vocalists began to find their niche a bit more, with Stanley usually singing more emotional or passionate songs, whereas Simmons' songs were often more on the sleazy or darker side. Simmons also became less vocally flashy than he was in Wicked Lester for the most part, usually singing in the fourth octave and lower fifth octave at highest. He did, however, still occasionally drop certain notes that acknowledged some range beyond that, such as the sustained E♭5 in "Deuce" and the opening G♯5 scream from "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll". In 1976, Kiss released Destroyer, which would become one of their most successful albums, and featured the song "God of Thunder", one of Simmons' most famous vocal performances. This song was originally written and sung by Paul Stanley, but was designated for Simmons to sing for the album version, as producer Bob Ezrin believed it would suit his voice better. It was on this song that Simmons really began tapping into the rougher, more aggressive side of his voice, which he would later further develop and feature more on other heavier Kiss songs.
As Kiss' career went along, one prominent feature that began to define their sound was Paul Stanley's vocal presence in the band - as he began to discover an ability to belt into the lower-to-mid fifth octave with considerable power around 1982, and promptly started to showcase this ability on their albums, beginning with 1982's Creatures of the Night. Perhaps in an effort to compete with this, Simmons also began pushing his tessitura higher around this time, and on that same album featured melody C5s in "Killer", a sustained D5 in "Rock 'n' Roll Hell", and even a G5 in "Saint and Sinner". This continued as a trend for many of Kiss' 80s albums from that point onward, with both Stanley and Simmons pushing their limits in their respective tessituras - which meant usually lots of songs with melodies in the C♯5-E5 area for Stanley, and more often melodies in the A4-C5 area for Simmons with occasional higher notes. Some of these higher notes by Simmons could get quite surprising and impressive at times, such as the 12 second E5 at the end of "Love's a Deadly Weapon", or well-controlled singing up to E5 and even F♯5 in "Prisoner of Love". However, while Stanley had no problem recreating many of his more demanding vocal parts in a live setting, Simmons tended to struggle a lot during live performances in the 80s, and often had to omit many notes above A4, or would be unsuccessful when he attempted to hit them. He also became very dependent on drummer/backing vocalist Eric Carr to help him sing certain higher notes live during this period, to the point where he eventually handed over vocal duties entirely to Carr on the song "Young and Wasted" (which features intense belting on B4 throughout) for live performances.
Aside from these difficulties in live settings, however, Simmons has overall still managed to keep his voice in decent shape throughout his career (as opposed to Stanley, who unfortunately has lost much of his range and has an audibly damaged voice nowadays), and even in his later years has only had to modify his tessitura slightly - usually topping out around C5 on studio recordings nowadays, and slightly lower for live performances. Aside from his now almost 50 year career with Kiss, he also has been an actor (with his own reality show Gene Simmons: Family Jewels that ran from 2006-2012) and a solo artist, and has released two solo albums to date - a 1978 self-titled (released at the same time as the other three founding Kiss members' debut solo albums), and 2004's Asshole. The latter features a number of songs that demonstrate his low range, which is another part of his voice that can also be surprisingly solid and extensive, and is something that he has gradually shown more of and gotten more comfortable using as the years have gone by. Though Simmons never toured in promotion of either of his solo albums, in 2017 he assembled The Gene Simmons Band, with whom he has regularly toured during his off time with Kiss. This band plays a combination of Kiss songs, old cover songs by other artists, and unreleased originals by Simmons. As Kiss are currently planning on disbanding after their final tour, it is likely that this band will become Simmons' primary outlet for music in the near future.
{Vocal range video}
Here's the vocal range video for him that I made in 2013. It's mostly pretty accurate still, though I missed the high notes from "When the Bell Rings" (which I hadn't bothered to check yet at the time). Other than that, I'd say it holds up better than other old range videos; at worst I would say it could use some expansion for certain sections.
Here's the vocal range video for him that I made in 2013. It's mostly pretty accurate still, though I missed the high notes from "When the Bell Rings" (which I hadn't bothered to check yet at the time). Other than that, I'd say it holds up better than other old range videos; at worst I would say it could use some expansion for certain sections.
{Album ranges}
Kiss
Gene Simmons
Kiss
- Kiss (1974) -
- Hotter Than Hell (1974) -
- Dressed to Kill (1975) -
- Alive! (1975) -
- Destroyer (1976) -
- Rock and Roll Over (1976) -
- Love Gun (1977) -
- Alive II (1977) -
- Dynasty (1979) -
- Unmasked (1980) -
- Music from "The Elder" (1981) -
- Creatures of the Night (1982) -
- Lick It Up (1983) -
- Animalize (1984) -
- Animalize Live Uncensored (1985) -
- Asylum (1985) -
- Crazy Nights (1987) -
- Hot in the Shade (1989) -
- Revenge (1992) -
- Kiss Konfidential (1993) -
- Alive III (1993) -
- MTV Unplugged (1996) -
- Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions (1997) -
- Psycho Circus (1998) -
- Alive! The Millennium Concert (recorded 1999-2000; released 2006) -
- Kiss Symphony: Alive IV (2003) -
- Rock the Nation Live! (2005) -
- Kiss Klassics (2008) - B♭1-
- Sonic Boom (2009) - E♭2-
- Monster (2012) - E♭2-D♭3-B4
- Kiss Rocks Vegas (recorded 2014; released 2016) -
Gene Simmons
- Gene Simmons (1978) -
- Asshole (2004) - B1-D2-C♯5
{Best displays of vocal range}
"I Love It Loud '08" (B♭1-B♭4)
"Dog" (B1-G4-B4)
"Domino" demo (D2-G2-A4-C♯5)
"Charisma" (C♯2-B4)
"Burn Bitch Burn" (E♭2-D♭5)
"Back to the Stone Age" (E♭2-C5)
"Paralyzed" (E♭2-F2-C5)
"Betrayed" (G2-D5)
"Murder in High Heels" (E2-B4)
"Whatever Turns You On" (D2-A4)
"I Love It Loud '08" (B♭1-B♭4)
"Dog" (B1-G4-B4)
"Domino" demo (D2-G2-A4-C♯5)
"Charisma" (C♯2-B4)
"Burn Bitch Burn" (E♭2-D♭5)
"Back to the Stone Age" (E♭2-C5)
"Paralyzed" (E♭2-F2-C5)
"Betrayed" (G2-D5)
"Murder in High Heels" (E2-B4)
"Whatever Turns You On" (D2-A4)
Previous version of the thread made by 1999 on TRP3.
