Gene Simmons Biography

Gene Simmons' biography is as intriguing and interesting as the man himself - 'The Demon' of the popular 1970's hard rock band - Kiss! Gene Simmons, or originally Chaim Witz, was born on August 25, 1949, in Haifa, Israel. This Israeli-born 'American' immigrated to New York City, when he was eight years old, with his mother Florence Klein who was a Jewish Hungarian immigrant. His father, Feri Witz, also Jewish, had abandoned the family.After arriving in the U.S., he took the name Eugene Klein, and later Gene Klein. In the late-1960s, he again changed his name, this time finally to Gene Simmons. He attended Sullivan County Community College in Loch Sheldrake, New York. Ever since his childhood, Simmons had a strong desire for fame and wealth. In fact, his involvement with music began in the early years of his life.When he was a teenager, Simmons started his first band by the name 'Lynx', which he disbanded to form another - Long Island Sounds. One of his bands made a demo, 'Leeta', which was later released on the 'Kiss' box set in its demo version. Though he played in these bands, he made more money by doing some odd jobs like making fanzines and buying used comic books.It was in the early 1970s that Simmons formed the rock band with Paul Stanley. Though they recorded one album, it was never to be released. Both Simmons and Stanley were not completely satisfied with the sound and the looks of this particular band. When they planned some changes by trying to fire their band members, they were opposed so strongly for their ideas that they decided to quit themselves, despite the fact that they had a record deal with Epic Records.Simmons and Stanley were definitely not the kinds to be bogged down easily. They decided to form the ultimate rock band, and began their search for a drummer and a guitarist for their band. This extensive search ended when they were joined by two of the best in their respective fields - Peter Criscuola and Paul Frehley. And then, finally the big moment came in February 1974, when 'Kiss' released its debut album, which was incidentally self-titled!Gene Simmons became the driving force behind the one of its kind, extensive Kiss merchandising franchise. It was Stanley who quickly took on the role of main performer on stage. With their trademark style and looks, the band rode on the wave of popularity for years together. Simmons was widely loved for his act of the 'Demon', by the young and old alike - the blood-spitting, fire-breathing, and tongue-wagging persona in the hard rock band Kiss!On a more personal note, Simmons has had quite a few live-in relationships, the well-known ones being with Cher and Diana Ross. Though the man never married, he presently lives in California, with longtime partner Shannon Tweed. The couple has two children - a son, Nicholas, and a daughter, Sophie. A polyglot of sorts, Simmons can speak four languages - English, Hungarian, Hebrew and German - and is also trying his hand at Japanese and Mandarin!