Kiss and Sell: The Making of a Supergroup [Paperback]

Watson-Guptill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1997

Once the "hottest band in the land" and the highest-earning rock group in the world, Kiss has exceeded the $1 billion mark in sales of records, concert tickets, and merchandise over its long and industrious history. Now, for the first time, comes the unauthorized behind-the-scenes story of the making and marketing of one of Rock’s original supergroups.

Kiss and Sell is a riveting account of the intersecting worlds of music and commerce, as viewed from the perspective of C.K. Lendt, a top executive with Kiss’s business management from 1976 to 1988. It’s an in-depth look at the convergence of hard rock, big business, and bigger egos, and a revealing story of how images are built and money is made and spent. It’s an unparalleled view of the lifestyles and excesses of rock stars, the pressures of staying on top, the influence of the entertainment industry’s power brokers, and the glitz, glamour, and celebrity of stars such as Diana Ross, Lisa Hartman, and Cher.

This is the story of Kiss’s spectacular rise in the ‘70s, their plummeting popularity in the ‘80s, and their survival from a series of debacles and downturns to reclaim their title of "the hottest band in the land" in the ‘90s.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Billboard Books (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823075516
• ISBN-13: 978-0823075515
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Composers & Musicians > Rock
  • #66 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Business

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best rock book in years, September 16, 2003

By 

Uncle Elmer "tod3" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kiss and Sell: The Making of a Supergroup (Paperback)

This is the best rock book written in years. It unveils the truth behind Kiss and the tremendous amounts of money blown by the members and manager, Bill Aucoin. Gene Simmons tends to gloss over the reality that he too participated in the financial fiasco that was their 79 tour. However, in a fair and even handed way, CK Lendt tells how the Kiss members and manager foolishly spent money that could have been better invested.

In fact, the reunion tours of 96 and thereafter really gave the members the financial stability that they'd lost in the late 70's.

The irony of Kiss is that without Ace and Peter they were nothing but a sinking nostalagia act. With the reunion tour and make-up back on and Ace and Peter in the band the group suddenly became interesting.

In the end, the great success of Kiss is not the bluster of Gene Simmons or posturings of Paul Stanley but the dynamic of all four members--Ace, Peter, Gene and Paul.

This book is honest and brilliant in it's review of the story of Kiss and of the music business. Buy it and enjoy the behind the scenes look at a fascinating world.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unflinching Look at showBUSINESS!, October 30, 2001

By 

John S. Harris "The Voice of Reason" (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kiss and Sell: The Making of a Supergroup (Paperback)

**This is an updated and edited review**

The author pulls no punches in describing KISS's up-and-down financial turmoils during their storied career. Very meticulously detailed, it certainly sounds credible. Chris Lendt spent the better part of 12 years as an employee (of sorts) of the KISS organization -- he was a highly placed employee of one of the business firms that managed the band's financial affairs. Lendt even tosses in a few road stories of his own -- part of the perks of touring with the biggest band in the world. It reads as if you are standing backstage or offstage during a KISS tour, and like you are sitting in the boardroom with them during meetings. Lendt takes you inside the organization and lets you inspect it, warts and all. Absolutely fascinating!! You don't have to be a KISS fan to enjoy this book, but if you are already a fan then this book will be an indispensible part of your collection. Read about the minutae, the tiniest of the thousands upon thousands of details of life with a touring rock band. Follow the author and KISS as they skyrocket from hard-working club band to the previously-unexplored heights of international superstardom, and all the pitfalls, trappings and ego stroking that goes with it.
Kiss had some great years when they were raking in obscene amounts of money. But as Lendt points out in lavish detail, the money went out as quickly as it came in. The Kiss tours were often financial black holes, due either to the outrageous...production costs of touring their larger-than-life stage show, several tours where the ticket buyers stayed home, shady promoters stiffing them out of their guarantees and gate receipts, or a combination of the three. Gene and Paul knew all along that in rock and roll, image is everything. They had to always live and spend like kings to maintain the public image that their reputation as rock and roll gods was built on. But when the lean years set in, and there were plenty of them, their spending habits came back to haunt them over and over and over again. Lesser bands would have packed up their tents and called it a day, but Gene and Paul refused. So they took their financial lumps again and again. The Reunion Tour of 1996-1997 may well have been the only thing to keep them off food stamps in their retirement years.
Chris Lendt's book gives a far more honest look at the inner workings of the "business of KISS" than any other source I've seen or heard of. Peter Criss was essentially paid to leave the band. Ace Frehley's departure was unfortunately timed for KISS, as it left them in such a precarious position with their new record company contract that the whole thing could have collapsed on them and left them penniless and in debt for heaven knows how long. South American and Mexican promoters dangled big payday carrots in front of them so rich that KISS couldn't afford to turn them down, at a time when the band's financial situation was extremely dire, only to have the deals collapse time after time in spectacular fashion. KISS spent years playing to half-filled houses, releasing poor-performing records, and still pouring untold [amount] into touring to maintain the public image of what was termed in-house as SuperKiss. Kiss was borrowing money from any source they could, leveraging themselves to the hilt, all the while shutting their ears to the more practical financial advice that came from their business managers. Kiss had become a cautionary tale.

Chris Lendt saw his ties to KISS rather unceremoniously severed when the band fired their business managers (Lendt's employers) over a decade ago. But Lendt appears to carry no grudges. He always spoke lovingly of the band members and of his 12 year association with the group, even after being dismissed.

Lendt's unique "insider" position makes for a fascinating education about the business of show business!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great read of a great band., October 16, 2003

By 

E R Vela (Auckland, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kiss and Sell: The Making of a Supergroup (Paperback)

This book, I must admit had me totally riveted from the beginning to the incomplete end. It tells all the gory details of a band that had / has all the trappings of Rock and Roll success, but were then almost thrown out without a cent. Practically losing nearly all their earnings to some dodgy investments, I can't help but think that they owe a huge thanks to Ace and Peter for helping them out. I'm sure Gene would tell me to f**k off!!. But the truth is they were broke or close to it, then "hello" Reunion tour and "we're in the money" all over again. They could have only done that with Ace and Peter.
Now with circulating band members, they'll be around for years to come.
My strongest memory of the book is of a story where author is walking across a road and bumps into a old manager or someone and they tell him about how the Kiss thing is all over, a thing of the past, when in actual fact they just played to probably their largest audience ever in Rio!! But did they get paid for it??
It's a great read, lots of scrapping at the bottom of the barrel to make some money for Gene and Co. and some fantastic stories for Kiss fans or any fan of the rock and roll world.