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Stanley Harvey Eisen (born January 20, 1952, New York City, New York) aka Paul Stanley, is an American rock guitarist and vocalist for the rock band KISS. He is the author or co-author of most of the band's highest-charting hits, including "Rock And Roll All Nite", "Hard Luck Woman", "I Was Made For Lovin' You", and "Forever".

Biography

Before joining Wicked Lester, Paul Stanley was in Rainbow (not Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow) and Uncle Joe. Through a mutual friend of Gene 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). Due to contractual obligations, Stanley and Simmons could not fire the other members of Wicked Lester, so they quit and hired Peter Criss and Ace Frehley and later formed as KISS shortly thereafter. KISS released their self-titled debut in February 1974.

Paul's persona in KISS is "The Starchild", apparently a reference to Stanley Kubrick's A Space Odyssey (film), which portrays an astronaut's transformation into a higher being resembling a fetus called the Star Child. Stanley's persona is that of a Don Juan-esque lover, combining effeminate elements with elements of extreme masculinity, rather than mere androgyny. Although Paul's voice is generally very soft and eloquent during normal conversation, he uses a specific "stage voice" which is a mix of quasi-African-American urban patois, faux-drag queen bluster, and yodeling preacher spiel, much like Gene Simmons adopts an animalistic growl on stage. Stanley's on-stage persona is the focus of a 2006 bootleg album entitled "People, Let Me Get This Off My Chest", which consists entirely of between-song banter.

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 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. This made him the brunt of criticism from fans of both KISS and The Phantom of the Opera. Reviews from KISS fans were generally positive, whereas reviews from Phantom fans were generally negative.

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 with Microtia, a congential 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.

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 2005 Stanley made his debut as a painter, exhibiting and selling original works of art. He is currently recording a solo album, the first since his 1978 KISS solo album, and planning a solo tour. He also has four signature guitars made by Silvertone. His former signature guitars include the Ibanez Iceman and the Washburn PS2000.

In 2005, Paul began working with guitarist Ronnie Montrose as a guest vocalist on Montrose's latest album.

On November 19th 2005, Paul Stanley married longtime girlfriend Erin Sutton at The Ritz-Carlton, Huntington in Pasadena, California. Stanley has reportedly completed work on a solo album to be entitled Live to Win. The album is scheduled for a September 2006 release date on the Universal Music Group label. Stanley is currently scheduled to perform four shows with KISS in Japan this summer. No additional dates have been announced.

Trivia

  • Stanley is not, as urban legend has it, the son of Al Eisen (inventor and commercial spokesman for "2000 Flushes"). His parents (William and Eve) have appeared in a number of KISS documentaries.
  • Contrary to what some people believe, Stanley did not sing backup vocals on Redd Kross' song "1976". The vocal in question was preformed by that band's guitarist Robert Hecker.

External links

1952 births | American guitarists | Jewish-American singers | Living people | Members of KISS | People from New York | People known by pseudonyms | Family Guy actors | Rock guitarists | American rock guitarists

Paul Stanley | Paul Stanley | Paul Stanley | Paul Stanley | Paul Stanley | Paul Stanley | Paul Stanley | Paul Stanley

 

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