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1976 Early January: Kiss wraps up recording their fourth studio album "Destroyer". This is the eagerly anticipated follow-up to the multi-million selling "Alive!". January: Kiss signs a new deal with Casablanca for two more studio albums. January 25-27: Kiss plays a record three straight sold-out nights at Cobo Hall in Detroit. Before the encores of the third night, Kiss receives Gold record awards on stage for sales of "Alive!". February 23: Kiss place their footprints in cement outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, CA as the "Alive!" tour continues across the country. March 1: "Shout it Out Loud" / "Sweet Pain" from "Destroyer" is released as an advance single. It reaches #31 in the charts. March 15: "Destroyer" is released and reaches #11 in the album charts. April 30: "Flaming Youth" / "God of Thunder" is released as a single but fails to break the top 50 in the singles charts. This is the first Kiss single to feature a picture sleeve. May 10: Ace Frehley marries his longtime girlfriend Jeanette. An unmasked Kiss play a jam session at the reception party. May 12: Kiss flies to England to begin their first European tour. The tour features the "Alive!" stage set and costumes and the first live performances of songs from "Destroyer". June 4: The European tour concludes in Germany. Kiss returns to the U.S. and begin rehersals for the Can/Am leg of the tour. The new tour features a new stage set and costumes. June 15: A summer tour Kiss album is released to radio stations as a promo. It contains the songs "Beth", "Do You Love Me?", "Flaming Youth", and "Detroit Rock City". July 3: The "Spirit of '76" tour begins in Norfolk, VA. The "Destroyer" costumes are used for the first time. July21: The Originals is released. A repakaging of the first three studio albums that sells 250,000 copies, earning it a Gold certification from the RIAA. July 28: "Detroit Rock City" is released as a single and while it fails to chart, the B-side "Beth" gets airplay in several markets. August: "Beth" is released as an A-side single and eventually reaches #7 in the charts. It goes on to sell over 1 million copies becoming Kiss' first Gold single and major hit. August 20: Kiss plays Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, CA. It is their largest show to date playing before approx. 45,000 people. September 6: A riot with several injuries occours just prior to Kiss' show in Toronto at C.N.E. Stadium. The fans were upset when the security for the show refused to open the doors for the show early. September 15: The Destroyer tour concludes in Springfield, MA. Late September: Kiss recieves their Platinum awards for "Alive!". The band go on an all day photo shoot throughout Manhattan to take photos with the awards. This session produces the famous Empire State Building photos. Late September: Kiss rents the closed down Star Theatre in Nanuet, NY to record their next studio album. They wanted a "live" feel to the album and bring Eddie Kramer (Alive!) in to produce. October 29: Kiss appear on national television (ABC) on the "Paul Lynde Comedy Hour". They lip-synch to "Detroit Rock City", "Beth", and "King of the Night Time World". The band also appears in a short comedy sketch with Paul Lynde and Margaret Hamilton (the Witch from Wizard of Oz). November 1: "Rock and Roll Over" is released. It is Kiss' fifth studio album and the first to "ship" Gold. November 11: Rock and Roll Over is certified Gold by the RIAA, while Destroyer is certified Platinum. Mid-November: Kiss rehearse at Stewart Air Force base in Newburg, NY in an airplane hangar for the upcoming "Rock and Roll Over" tour. During these rehersals the band experiments with an elictric version of "Beth". The idea is quickly dropped in favor of a pre-recorded backing track. December 1: "Hard Luck Woman" / "Mr. Speed" is released as a single and it reaches #15 in the singles charts. December 3: The "Rock and Roll Over" tour kicks off in Memphis, TN. December 11: Ace Frehley is electrocuted during the opening song "Detroit Rock City" at a show in Lakeland, FL. After a short recovery he continues the show. Doctors say he was lucky to live through the experience. Later in the same show Gene Simmons sets his hair on fire. Mid-December: Kiss appears on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert. Three promotional videos, "I Want You", "Love 'Em, Leave 'Em", and "Hard Luck Woman", shot during the band's rehersals for the "Rock and Roll Over" tour are shown for the first time. Late December: Kiss and Casablanca negotiate their biggest contract extension, for five albums between January 1977 and July 1979. Solo albums would count as 1/2 an album.
1977 Early January: The Originals is released in Japan in preparation for their first tour of the Orient later in the year. January 5: "Rock and Roll Over" becomes Kiss' second album to be certified Platinum by the RIAA. February 10: Kiss wins the "People's Choice Award" for "Beth" for best song of the year for 1976. Lydia Criss, Peter's wife, accepts the award for the band who are performing in Chicago. They do a live acceptance from onstage at the concert. February 18: Kiss plays their first show at Madison Square Garden in their hometown of New York. February 21: Kiss donates a vial of blood each, following a performance at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. The blood is to be used in the ink for their upcoming comic book release. February 28: "Dressed to Kill" becomes the first pre-"Alive!" album to be certified Gold by the RIAA. March 3: "Calling Dr. Love" / "Take Me" is released as a single. It reaches #16 in the singles charts. March 18: Kiss arrives in Japan for their first ever tour of the country. Kiss' plane is beseiged by thousands of screaming fans upon arrival in a scene not witnessed since the Beatles arrival in America. The tour features a new stage setup that will become known as the "Love Gun stage". April 2: Kiss' show at the Budokan is professionally filmed for a local television show "The Young Musicians Show". An edited version of the performance is shown in the United States on HBO in 1978. April 4: Kiss' final show in Japan. The show is recorded and mixed by Eddie Kramer for release as a live album. This idea is later scrapped in favor of recording shows on the next tour. "Beth" from this show however, does end up on "Alive II". Mid-April: On the return flight from Japan, Paul Stanley pens "Love Gun". May: Kiss returns to the studio with Eddie Kramer to record their sixth studio album. During the sessions Ace Frehley records his first lead vocal on "Shock Me" while lying on his back in a darkened studio. May: Kiss appear in the comic "Howard the Duck" issue #12. This is their first "official" appearance in a comic. They would also appear in issue #13 the following month. May 26: The blood Kiss donated is mixed with the printing ink at the Borden Ink Plant in Depew, NY for the first Kiss comic book. June 7: "Love Gun" is released and ships Platinum. June 8: The "Can/Am Tour" kicks off in Halifax, Nova Scotia with all new costumes. Early June: "Christine Sixteen" / "Shock Me" is released as a single and it reaches #25 in the singles charts. June 30: Kiss' first Marvel comic is released. Early-August: "Love Gun" / "Hooligan" is released as a single but only manages to reach #61 in the singles charts. August 4: The United States leg of the "Love Gun" tour begins in Salt Lake City, UT. August 26-28: Kiss records their three performances at the Forum in Los Angeles for their upcoming release "Alive II". Mid-September: Kiss enters Electric Lady Studios in New York to record 5 studio tracks for "Alive II". Ace Frehley only appears on his own track "Rocket Ride". The lead guitar duties for the other tracks falls to Bob Kulick, brother of future Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick, who had tried out for Kiss' lead guitarist spot in 1973. Early-October: A live version of "Shout it out Loud" / "Nothin' To Lose" (live, from Alive!) from the upcoming "Alive II" is released as a single and it reaches #54 in the charts. October 29: "Alive II" is released and ships Platinum. November 15: The "Alive II Tour" kicks off in Oklahoma City, OK. December 14: Kiss begins a three night stand at Madison Square Garden in New York. 1978 January: "The Originals II" a repackaging of "Destroyer", "Rock and Roll Over", and "Love Gun" is released in Japan exactly one year after "The Originals" in preparation for Kiss' tour later in the year. Unlike "The Originals", "The Originals II" released only in Japan. January 10: Kiss appears on national television on an NBC special called "The Land of Hype and Glory". The band is interviewed by Edwin Newman about the "hype" surrounding Kiss' success. Mid-January: Kiss apears on national television live via satallite from Largo, MD performing "Rock and Roll All Nite". Dick Clark is the shows host. February 3: The "Alive II" tour ends in Providence, RI. February 8: "Rocket Ride" / "Tomorrow and Tonight" (live) is released as a single and manages to reach #39 in the singles charts. Late-February: Kiss enter Electric Lady Studios to re-record "Strutter" for the upcoming greatest hits double album "Double Platinum". March: A promotional only disc is released to radio stations. Called "A Taste of Platinum", the album features tracks from the upcoming "Double Platinum". "Strutter '78", "Do You Love Me?", "Beth" and "Firehouse" are included. Late-March: Kiss flies to Japan to begin their second tour of the country. March 25: Kiss begins a five night stand at the Budokan in Tokyo. This breaks the record held by the Beatles with four nights. April 24: The first Kiss greatest hits album "Double Platinum" is released. It reaches #22 on the album charts. Early-May: "Strutter '78" / "Shock Me" is released as a single but fails to chart. Early-May: The decision is made to produce four separate solo albums, one by each member of the band. The members begin studio work separately. May: Kiss begin filming their first ever made-for-tv movie "Kiss Meets the Phanton of the Park" at Magic Mountain theme park in Valencia, CA. Filming would conclude in June. May 19: Kiss plays a free concert at Magic Mountain, that is filmed for inclusion in the film. Early June: On the final day of shooting the movie, Peter and Fritz Postlewaite (personal manager) are driving in a rented Porsche. Peter manages to wrap it around a telephone pole. Peter suffers lacerations and broken bones. He is very lucky to survive the crash. June: Kiss begin their first official vacation since the inception of the band. August 28: The second Marvel Kiss comic is released. September 18: The four solo albums are released simultaneously and ship five million copies. This was wishful thinking on Neil Bogart's part. While the albums sold well, they never lived up to this grandoise marketing plan. "Peter Criss" reached only #59 on the album charts while "Ace Frehley" made it to #25, "Gene Simmons" reached #30, and "Paul Stanley" reached #46. September: "Don't You Let Me Down" / "Hooked On Rock and Roll" and "You Still Matter To Me" / "Hooked On Rock and Roll" are released as singles from "Peter Criss" with neither single managing to chart. "New York Groove" / "SnowBlind" is released from "Ace Frehley" and reaches #13 for the biggest hit of all the solo albums. "Radioactive" / "See You In Your Dreams" is released from "Gene Simmons" and stalls at #47. "Hold Me, Touch Me" / "Goodbye" is released from "Paul Stanley" and stalls at #46. October 28: "Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park" premieres on NBC.
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