Gene Simmons is the 'demonic' bassist of the hard rock/heavy metal band Kiss. He is one of the two original members who have remained with Kiss since the band first formed in 1973. Simmons was born as Chaim Witz in Haifa, Israel, on August 25, 1949. He relocated to New York City in the late 1950s with his mother. Once he arrived in the United States, he changed his name to Gene Klein. Eventually, Gene Klein became Gene Simmons. Before he became the 'demon', Simmons played in several local New York City bands, including The Long Island Sounds and Bullfrog Bheer, both of which featured Simmons' childhood friend, Stephen Coronel, on guitar. Simmons first met Paul Stanley at Coronel's house, as Coronel was playing with Simmons and Stanley in separate bands. Eventually, all three would team up to form the band Wicked Lester. Though Wicked Lester managed to record an album for Epic Records, it was never released, and shortly after, Simmons and Stanley walked out of Wicked Lester to form a new band, which became Kiss.
Simmons released his first solo album in 1978, the Gene Simmons album, along with the solo albums of the other three members of Kiss. It was a very diverse album, featuring songs that you wouldn't expect to hear from Simmons, like the ballad "See You Tonite" and a beautiful rendition of "When You Wish Upon A Star", the Walt Disney theme. His solo album was originally the best selling of the four solo albums, until Ace Frehley's album took the top spot.
Simmons continued to record with Kiss through the 1980s and 1990s, though some of his other projects included acting and entrepreneuring. He starred in many movies in the 1980s, including "Runaway" in 1984 with Tom Selleck, and "Trick Or Treat" in 1986 with Ozzy Osbourne. He released an autobiography, "Kiss And Make Up", in 2001, and launched his own magazine, "Gene Simmons Tongue", in 2002.
In 2004, Simmons released his second solo album, Asshole, on Sanctuary Records. The album turned out to be just as diverse as his first solo album, featuring rap and alternative metal music, among other styles on the record. The first song, "Sweet & Dirty Love", was the only song that resembled the sound of his Kiss past. Songs like "Firestarter" and "Waiting For The Morning Light", which was co-written with Bob Dylan, made the album a strange and divulgent collection of songs.
Recently, Simmons has been involved in numerous TV shows, including "My Dad The Rock Star" and "Gene Simmons Family Jewels", a reality show based on his personal life with his partner, Shannon Tweed, and their two children, Nick and Sophie. He also plans to return to the stage with Kiss sometime in 2007 or 2008.