First Time Hearing KISS - Detroit Rock City Reaction - THEY WERE BASED ON COMIC BOOKS CHARACTERS?! 

The fans in the accident was on their way to the KISSshow that night in Detroit. They never made it due to the accident on their way there. So this is a "tribute" to them and every KISS fan out there. 😎🤘

KISS needs to be "seen" as well as heard. Just listening to the studio version, you lose more than half of what KISS is all about. 👹⭐️👨‍🚀😺

You need to listen to them live and, if possible, watch them. Their stage show is superb. Kiss Alive and Kiss Alive 2 are awesome.

KISS wanted to be the band they never saw.Lots of pyro,fake blood,smoking guitars.The NY bands in the early 70's wore women's make up,satin,lace. KISS wanted their make up to reflect their personalities.Gene Simmons "The Demon" (bass co vocals) loved comic books & horror Paul Stanley"The Star child" wanted to be a rock star from an early age.Ace Frehley "The Spaceman" (lead guitar) loved science fiction,Peter Criss "The Catman"(drums) thought he had 9 lives like a cat,growing up in a rough section of Brooklyn.70's songs "Shout it out loud" "Strutter" "Beth" "Nothing to lose" The 80's they took off the make up 80's songs "Lick it up ,Heavens of fire,Crazy Crazy nights"

This is the first time I've heard anyone do the album version..... I think it's great.

Ace Frehly: Lead guitar Gene Simmons: Bass Paul Stanley: Vocals and rhythm guitar Peter Criss: Drums The first two live albums, Alive I and Alive II, are golden. The live version of Detroit Rock City leads off Alive II. Well worth checking out. 'I Was Made For Loving You' was definitely a disco song. That's when KISS lost me and I moved on to Rush.

God of Thunder, Love Gun, Rock and Roll All Night, Black Diamond. All good ones.

......when they first came out, Kiss did not portray themselves after any particular comic book characters. Their look was inspired by comic books and later on after they were famous there was a Marvel comic book series that starred them. I saw them in 1975 on their first tour. Rush and Fanny opened up for them at the Michigan Palace in Detroit...... 🤠

My first concert ever 1975 Kiss . I was never the same . 🤘🏼🤘🏼 They actually had their own comic book made . The big thing back then was that all the members poured a vial of their own blood into the red ink for the comic… So badass

A KISS concert was considered the apex of a good time for a 14-16 year old in the mid 70s. Concerts were cheap and rowdy.

I was a KISS fan back then. Had the shirts...the belt buckles. I had all of their albums up to, but not including, Dynasty; the one with the Disco song on it. I highly recommend trying their songs: Deuce__Black Diamond__She...all from 'Live - Midnight Special - 1975.' I saw them live three times...all with the original members. I recommend reacting to Live videos; those with the original members when possible.

Long time kissfreak here, happy you did the audio with all the original members ✌️

You need to watch their earlier Live shows. Detroit Rock City has been a standard opening song for over 45 years !

This was the first album of KISS I got from my parents back in 1976. I had heard the previous albums through a neighbour.

Yes, Yes, YES! KISS Army member here, so glad you reacted to my 2nd all-time fave rock band! This is the classic KISS line-up: Paul Stanley - lead vocals, rhythm guitar; Gene Simmons - bass; Ace Frehley - lead guitar; Peter Criss - drums. They're touring right now, Paul & Gene still, with Tommy Thayer - lead guitar, Eric Singer - drums. "I Was Made for Lovin' You" has a great music video, & does have a slight disco sound. Paul was told that he couldn't write disco music, & wrote the song in less than an hr. "Detroit" IS their signature hard glam rock style, though their ballad, "Beth", is a beautiful & sad love song, written about Peter's wife. They put on a PHENOMENAL live show, & the live videos are a real eye-opener. Thanks for your reaction.

KISS were the original "shock rockers" after Alice Cooper. he was more horror, while KISS was pyrotechnic, although they *did* have a demos (Gene Simmons) and blood.....also Gene Simmons. Their make-up was based on the Japanese kabuki make-up and yes, comic books. The biggest thing about them though, was the fact that in the 70s, we didn't know what they looked like! That might seem silly today, but you NEVER saw them without the make-up! And that was super cool for kids growing up then. The whole mystery behind them. What were they? Was Gene really a demon?! Did he *really* sew a cow's tongue on his own??!! 😂 Was their comic book written in their own blood!!!??? Yup, those were the rumors going around back then! And yes, they *did* come out with a disco album which offended a lot of their fans. Interestingly enough, that was my first introduction to KISS as a kid. "New York Groove" was the very first KISS song I heard on the radio, and I liked it. I didn't know it was KISS. When I found out, I thought, "They don't LOOK like they would be playing disco." I then saw their Japan concert which was televised. They never played that song or any disco songs. I was disappointed! 😄

This was like our national anthem back in the day. Kiss adopted Detroit because at the time it had the loudest and best crowd's 🎸 🎼🎶🎵🎵🎵🎶

When you think about the fact that this album was made back in 1976... and then you hear music from today... They Still fit. They were way ahead of their time. Been a Kiss Fan since 1974. Love it :)

Kiss - the best marketing band that ever existed.

This is their "customary" sound and where they began to get a little heavier. Give a listen to their 2nd and 3rd album This album is from 76 and this is one of their longest songs. Paul Stanley, the lead singer, wrote this after he learned of a KISS fan who died, in a car accident, on his way to a KISS concert in Charlotte North Carolina. I remember you did a few groups with orchestral arrangements. Check out this arrangement of this song, from 2003, with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The voice at the beginning, reading the news story, is Gene Simmons.

Detroit is where all the best muscle cars were built. A hemi roadrunner cost less than $3000 back then. And this was the first thing I listened to when I got it!

Paul Stanley wrote this song about a kid who was on his way to a concert and got into a crash and died. Detroit Rock City is one of KISS's best songs, and Destroyer is one of their best albums.

Destroyer is my favourite KISS album.... it's so diverse...from the classical orchestral "Beth" ,to "God of Thunder" &"Detroit Rock City" & "Shout it out loud"...all classics...

Thanks for taking a listen and being positive 😊

The Loudest band in the world. I saw them live New Year’s Eve 1975 at Nassau Coliseum in NY. The Leslie West Band opened followed by Blue Oyster Cult and then Kiss. What a great concert !!! Anyway, early Kiss is great. “C’mon and Love Me”, “Deuce”, “Strutter”, “Black Diamond”, “100,000 Years”, “Firehouse”, “Hotter Than Hell”, “Cold Gin”, “Rock Bottom” and “Rock and Roll All Nite”.

Finally onto KISS. Great job as always from you two. First off I am a Maiden super fan. Including part of the KISS army. I have been since late 70s. When I was around 8. HBO was introduced. The opening for it was KISS alive 2. My dad hated them. Devil worshippers he said. To the adults Kiss stud for Kings in saintens survives. So me and my older brother waited till they went to bed and watched the concert. I was hooked for life. Now in my 50s I've seen Kiss 12 time and Maiden 19 time's. Met Gene Simmons of Kiss and Steve Harris of Iron Maiden and yes They had a big influence on Maiden. Kiss asked Iron Maiden to open for them on Maidens first album. On their European leg of the tour. Gene told Steve to be the headliner because he knew the were onto bigger things. In witch he was right. Steve Harris watching them every night getting ideas on everything thing Kiss did. Especially the stage show. Aces that Kiss was responsible for their discovery included Rush, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Extreme, Bob Segar, ACDC, Van Halen Motley Crue, And as Paul Stanley said "the list goes on and on ". Kiss is very important to the Rock and Metal history. Just think if Gene Simmons wouldn't have put these bands on their tours and onto labels with his managers and record companies.

My first ever Concert in Oct. 1980 .... KISS and as Supporting Act ... Iron Maiden 😀

Another massive rabbit hole here. "Strutter" has always been one of my fav KISS songs, that would be my suggestion for a future reaction. The mics sound prestine. \m/

They used to be great in concert. ❤ them ,thank you for reacting to KISS ❤❤❤❤

You need to watch this song live from a show during 1977 or '78! Seeing them perform this live is so much better than listening to the studio version. KISS's visual aspect is what makes them one of the most popular bands in the world and have been since the mid 70's.

Yes to doing... I Was Made For Loving You 👍👊💯

I will never forget my 1st time hearing KISS. As a 14-year-old, I went to the local outdoor ice skating rink to skate with friends, and the only 45 record they had and played over and over was "Rock and Roll All Nite". I still have that "Destroyer" alblum.

This album came out, I was 7th grade, KISS was the rage 🤘😆🤘🎸🎸🎤🥁👍😎👌

Ten years old in 1976 I bought this album and Sweet’s Give us a wink album when those albums were totally fresh on the market. I still love both albums, 58 years old. 👍⭐️🥂❤️

Kiss debuted in 1974 and built an audience on their explosive live shows before they even had a hit record - That came in late 1975 when their double-live album 'Alive!' sold platinum... 'Detroit rock city' came in 1976 from their 4th studio album 'Destroyer'... Paul Stanley paid tribute to Detroit, the city where 'Alive!' was recorded and Kiss was playing arenas early in their career... The lyrics also paid tribute to a Kiss fan on the East Coast who was killed in a car accident. Stanley said it was the best Kiss song he had written. Summary of Kiss: Paul Stanley (Stanley Eisen) and Gene Simmons (Gene Klein) were both college-educated Jewish guys who were polar opposites - Gene was an immigrant from Israel, while Paul was born & raised in America. They both played in the same band in NYC in the early 70's called Wicked Lester where they realized that they worked well together - they had the same influences and the same work ethic. However, Wicked Lester was not working out by 1972, so they the duo decided to start over... They wanted to make a spectacular hard rock band. Peter Criss (drums) was a jazz/ swing drummer in NYC and he was picked after auditioning... Ace Frehley (lead guitar) was an odd character, but a very striking stage presence... They wanted to use makeup like the 70's glam bands, but they looked scary drag queens. After seeing Alice Cooper in concert, they thought each member could make a character like Alice... So, Paul Stanley became the rock star 'starchild'... Gene Simmons the 'demon'... Peter Criss the 'catman' and Ace Frehley the 'spaceman'... Paul Stanley named the band Kiss, and Frehley drew their original logo. A TV producer named Bill Aucoin saw Kiss perform and offered to develop the band visually and get them signed... He funded the band and made Gene split blood and breathe fire during shows... Ace would shoot bottle rockets from his guitar... Peter's drums would lift off the stage... pyro and bombs would go off on stage... Kiss wanted to be a visual and musical experience. They were signed quickly in 1974, but 3 albums sold poorly ('Kiss' ... 'Hotter than hell' ... 'Dressed to kill') and the band and label were near bankruptcy in 1975... Their double live album 'Alive!' was released that year and the fans they had made touring the US bought the record in droves and saved the band. Kiss became a huge commercial commodity in 1976... they trademarked the band's image and marketed Kiss through merchandising everything from comic books to pinball machines. 3 platinum hits came by 1977 ('Destroyer'... 'Rock and roll over'... 'Love gun') w/ another major double live album 'Alive II'... Kiss also got their own TV movie 'Kiss meets the Phantom'... However, Peter and Ace were struggling w/ fame, drugs and alcohol and the band needed a break. In 1978, Kiss released 4 solo albums from each member - Ace Frehley got the biggest seller... By 1979, disco was huge, so Kiss released the disco album 'Dynasty' and got a huge single "I was made for lovin' you"... but their draw in the US was dropping by 1980 going into another disco album 'Unmasked'... Drummer Peter Criss was no longer playing on Kiss record and was out of the band by early 1980. That marked the end of the original Kiss. In 1980, Kiss was still huge internationally and Eric Carr (drums) joined the band... but the next album ('Music from The Elder') in 1981 was a commercial failure after Kiss recorded w/ an orchestra, choir and keyboards... Ace Frehley ended up quitting Kiss in 1982 as they recorded the album 'Creatures of the night'... It was a return to hard rock, but few would listen anymore... Vinnie Vincent (lead guitar) joined for the '83 tour, but the US run was a disaster and poorly attended... But when Kiss played S. America, they were doing stadiums and fans there knew the new songs... It was obvious that the makeup band had run its course without 2 original members. In 1983, Kiss relaunched their career by taking off the makeup and releasing the album 'Lick it up'... The album became a platinum hit and Kiss was back in big business... Bruce Kulick (lead guitar) joined in 1984 and Kiss enjoyed the 80's as a premiere rock band and score numerous gold & platinum records... Tragically, drummer Eric Carr was diagnosed w/ cancer in 1991 and passed away... His thunderous drumming was a huge attraction in the non-makeup Kiss era. Eric Singer (drums) joined in 1992 for the 'Revenge' album, but Kiss was facing decline again by 1994. After an 'MTV Unplugged' set w/ Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, the band decided to reunite the original Kiss w/ makeup + costumes in 1996 for a massive reunion tour into 1997... But the same issues w/ the original members plagued the next album 'Psycho circus' in 1998. The original Kiss did a 'farewell tour' in 2000/ '01... but parted ways w/ both Ace Frehley (in 2002) and Peter Criss (in 2004). Paul & Gene decided to put Eric Singer (drums) and Tommy Thayer (lead guitar) in Peter & Ace's makeup and costumes and tour, releasing 2 more albums - 'Sonic boom' (2009) and 'Monster' (2012)... Kiss recently announced their 'End of the Road' final tour and plans to end their career in their native NYC in late 2023.

Rock and Roll All Night is a good live song by KISS to check out.

Kiss live on Midnight Special is awesome

BTW that was a Kiss song on the radio.... Rock'n and Roll all Night ? ... I think.

You need to see Kiss live 1974 to 1978 young hungry raw 🔥🔥🔥

I am 60 years old. I started listening to KISS when I was 12 or 13 years old. I was totally blown away and I've been KISS Army for decades. This was my first KISS album. The band was based in New York city. They are in their 70's and doing The End of the Road Tour. This album is who KISS is. The Dynasty album had the disco song. It was great. Showed their versatility and Paul Stanley's lead vocals are off the charts. He is so great. That will be Gene playing the guy on the radio doing the news. This is the correct version to listen to. Car crash at the end is a must.

Fun fact that's gene Simmons voice reporting the News at the beginning 😊the song started as a tribute to Detroit.but when Paul heard that a fan had died on his way to the concert.they made more a tribute to the fan that died. I'm from Detroit and been a fan since 73.

Wow, I got a cassette tape of their greatest hits for a Christmas gift. I listened to it over and over again. Thanks for reacting... Darealdeal

Detroit Rock City is an ode to the city, Detroit was the first city to embrace KISS.

They are on their last tour. It ends in December at Madison Square Garden which is fitting because they formed in New York. I will see them November 3 at the Hollywood Bowl which is their 2nd to last show of this tour. They are officially retiring after this as Gene and Paul are 72 years old.

Detroit was the mecca for all things rock in the Midwest. The crowds were the biggest and loudest there.

Thank YOU for leaving the intro in on this one. So many reviewers leave it off. Worried about "feelings" I suppose.

I Was Mad For Loving You is still well worth watching/listening too. Not popular with the hard core fans but one of their best ever selling tracks. Biggest Hits were Rock No Roll All Night and Shout It Out Loud. Awesome ballads sung by Drummer Peter Criss are well worth the listen - Beth and Hard Luck Woman. These are all great tracks and I am sure that your viewers will recommend other tracks that have the trademark heavy sound - and all are worth listening to but gotta start somewhere :-)

One of the top two live acts I've ever seen.

The song that was heard on the radio is also a KISS song called Rock and Roll All Night.

I've been into kiss since I started back in the early 70s. The the comic book characters you're talking about. We're based on them because the band started first. Then the comic book came outhese guys were a master of merchandising.

I got this album in 1977 by my cool uncle that was a rock guitarist and he taught me to play most the songs at 15 yrs old then my cool aunt got my kiss concert tickets in 1978 and she got us back stage. It would have made coagula blush. They had to stop the concert that was banging by the way because they said Peter criss the drummer that he was hit in the eye with a drum stick. But back stage the real story was somebody gave him some horse tranquilizers and he was to messed up to even stay on the drum stool. They had another drummer backstage right behind Peter and Peter pretended to play and the other guy was really playing. I seen the other drum kit but the powers that be run is off. I seen Peter and he was playing the drums but not very good he kept falling. They brought another chair that had a back on it and I think they maybe even tied him in it. My cool aunt disappeared as the band came off stage I didn't see her for a week. But it was cool I had a couple of extraordinarily beautiful girl in a bad ass 302 boss hoss mustang take me home. Not my home there apartment.. 😂lol seen my aunt a week later I ask her where she went she just smiled and that was it.. what a night it was. ❤❤❤❤

I’m glad that you did the intro to this song, you’re the first reactors I’ve seen use this version

KISS Army is watching you! KISSes from Deutschland!

That is Gene reading the news on the radio when he starts the car that is Kiss playing on the radio Kiss was never the same after Ace Frehly left. Ace's solo is so goooood

Oh My Lord the the Ultimate BAND .....KISS❤❤❤

God Of Thunder, if you want something heavy. Or for something fun, the live version of Firehouse. Watch Gene blow flames into the air. Saw a video of him do it in Brazil flames must of gone 12 feet into the air. The makeup and fire and other stuff was becuase they had been disappointed in some of the live performances of other bands they had seen. They wanted to be more entertaining for their fans

How in the WORLD can you not know KISS, they are one of the greatest bands of all time; I have seen them live in concert 17 times. Ace Frehley, the original lead guitarist , was amazing

Back in 1977 I asked my mom to buy me their spirit of 76 tour poster. After that I then got to hear what they sounded like and it blew my mind and since then kiss has been my favorite band of all time. The look and the sound for me was the perfect combination. Beginning in 2009, my now 20 year old son and I have met all four original members and got autographs.

You have to see this song live from the 70's!

I saw Kiss in Abilene, Texas in 1976. It is still one of the best concerts I ever went to! True entertainers with a hell of a pyro show! Tickets were $15 back then.

KISS' costumes and make up were not based on comic book characters. Once KISS started to get big, they made comic books based on KISS' characters.

Really good reaction and insights into the song. Good catches halfway through with the story and getting the Maiden influence also.

They are still touring I've seen them 3 times. And going to see them Nov 8th in Vancouver British Columbia Canada 🇨🇦

The live version is even more powerful and it's always fun to see them acting on stage! *fireworks

Saw KISS twice in the 70’s .. Anaheim Stadium with Ted Nugent & Bob Seger opening AND Fabulous Forum with Peter Frampton & Cheap Trick opening!! Great show .. I love ‘em 😜🔥🩸 The Demon is my favorite KISS member! Gotta do GOD OF THUNDER live 🔥 PULEAZE 🙏🏻🙏🏻 My friend & hairdresser is Ace Frehley’s sister!🤘 Small world.

You should review their 2023 End Of The Road Tour Detroit Rock CIty is the intro...the concert starts: You Wanted The Best, You Got The Best! KISS

Thank you for listening to the album version. It's the only part where you get the news report intro and the accident outro.

My first concert was Kiss with Queensryche in NY in 1984 when I was 14. This song is based on a Kiss fan who was killed in a car accident on the way to a Kiss concert.

I have been to 38 concerts, and one other cruises. I love this band.

The guitar is “spaced out”…how apropos! Love it. This is based on a true story. I feel uptight on Saturday night Nine o’clock, the radio’s the only light I hear my song, it pulls me through Comes on strong. Tells me what I got to do! Get up! Everybody’s gonna move their feet Get down! Everybody’s gonna leave their seat Ya gotta lose your mind in Detroit Rock City!

Even though they're from NY, Detroit was where they seemed to gain a lot of their early success.

Detroit Rock City from East Rutherford 2000. Best version short of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra version. Either one and you’ll see the best version of KISS: aLIVE! The purists will prefer the East Rutherford version because it has all four original members.

Kiss puts on great live shows. Listen to studios, then go live. You wont be disappointed. Calling dr love, shout it out loud are a couple others. N if you want to hear paul Stanley vocal range, check out I Still Love You. 🙂

Kiss : I love it loud is one of their best . Gene on lead vocals

Played the entire song. Good job!

This song was a warning against driving under the influence . He said he was drinking and smoking before he started driving.

Check out their cd "Psycho Circus" and the title track (same name). Then for a live version of D.R.C. check out KISS live at the forum at the start of the Psycho Circus tour.

Four KISS characters are Star Child / The Demon / The Cat Man / Space Ace.

KISS... The most FUN band EVER!!!

KISS must be seen live, videos dont begin to capture their stage presence and showmanship. I liked them but wasn't a huge fan till I saw them live then was like "Oh now I get it!" They want to give the fans everything you would want to see at a show, costumes, fireworks, smoking guitars, rising platforms, band members in the air etc. Every song is done like a finally.

The sound effects for the crash at the end lead straight into the next song on the Destroyer album, 'King Of The Night Time World'

"I still love you" unplugged version is great.

Would love to see you do I WAS MADE FOR LOVING YOU by KISS music video!!!

I am glad you did the album version, vs the radio cut.

To truly understand what KISS is all about you need to see a live performance from a real concert not a made to look like a concert video. Their whole thing is to give the fans the show they never got to when they were young going to other bands concerts most bands at the time didn't have much of a stage show so they decided to take it over the top with their shows to make sure the fans got a show they would never forget. I'm going to see them in November in Toronto they were also my first concert back in 1983 at Cobo Hall in Detroit

This must be a remastered version because it sounds even more killer. Almost forgot how great this song is. So glad you chose a studio cut

So glad you did the album version.

Need to do the live performances.

this is first reaction to this that left the 'crash' in. nice

They didn't base their personas on comic book characters per se, though there were comic books made later based on their personas. They initially based them on personal passions or fascinations. Paul-Starchild/Rock god, Gene-Demon, Ace-Space alien, Peter- Catman

Thee is TONS of live Kiss footage out there!

Most channels are reacting to this song with the live performance from 2006 - 30 years after the album was released.

There is a professionally shot Live concert 1977 Houston The absolute apex of their live shows. Any song from that show is great.

This song, and the intro was based on a real tragic story. One of their well known fans, was driving to a KISS concert and died in a car accident. This was on their next album.

“I Was Made For Loving You” is a great tune but certainly not a good example of their “sound”. The whole “Destroyer” album is awesome, so I hope you get a few KISS hits under your belt before you go disco (but you won’t be disappointed when you do!) 😄

They were not based on comic book characters. There was a comic book made about them long after they started. The idea for the makeup was along the lines of Japanese Kabuki.. They created characters to be different to stand out.

YESSSSS 🤘🤘🤘 I grew up on this one and best memories, air guitars at their finest 👌 😅😅😅

That guitar solo ❤

This song was written about an actual fan who was in an accident on his way to their concert, as a tribute to their fans

Kiss performed with a VOICE contestant!!! Look it up!!!!