The KISS Army is the official

fan club A fans club is an organized group of fans, generally of a celebrity. Most fans clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to support them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the per ...

for the American rock band

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

, as well as the unofficial name used to refer to Kiss fans in general. It was started unofficially in 1975 by Bill Starkey and Jay Evans. The membership form displayed for the first time what became known as the official Kiss Army logo, which was designed by Dennis Woloch and Vincent DiGerlando of Howard Marks Inc., the advertising agency working with Bill Aucoin and Kiss at that time. According to

Bruce Vilanch Bruce Gerald Vilanch (born November 23, 1948) is an American comedy writer, songwriter and actor. He is a two-time Emmy Award-winner. Vilanch is best known to the public for his four-year stint on ''Hollywood Squares'', as a celebrity participan ...

, the president of the Kiss fan club was

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

's son when Kiss starred in "

The Paul Lynde Halloween Special ''The Paul Lynde Halloween Special'' is a Halloween-themed television special starring Paul Lynde broadcast October 29, 1976 on ABC. It featured guest stars Margaret Hamilton in a reprisal of her role as the Wicked Witch of the West from '' Th ...

", in 1976.

History

In January 1975, Starkey and Evans, two teenage Kiss fans from

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

, began contacting local radio station WVTS in an effort to get Kiss music played. After being repeatedly turned down by program director

Rich Dickerson Rich Dickerson is a retired talk radio host for WRLX, WZZR 94.3 FM in South Florida and presenter of the show The Love Doctors. In 1975, while program director at WVTS, Rich is attributed with inadvertently inciting fans of the band Kiss (band), ...

, Starkey and Evans began calling WVTS claiming to be "the Kiss Army." They also sent letters to the station and signed them, "Bill Starkey–President of the Kiss Army," and "Jay Evans–Field Marshall."Gooch, Curt and Jeff Suhs. ''Kiss Alive Forever: The Complete Touring History''. Billboard Books, 2002. By July 1975, WVTS had begun to play Kiss records, often referring to the Kiss Army. Some of the letters included threats to blow up the station. Before long, listeners started calling the station asking how they could enlist. Dickerson worked with Starkey and Evans to provide advance promotion for a Kiss concert at the new Hulman Civic-University Center in Terre Haute. Before the show, Kiss publicist Alan Miller contacted Starkey to discuss the Kiss Army. At Miller's request, Starkey and Evans took phone calls on the air at WVTS to recruit as many members as possible for the Kiss Army. As a result of these efforts, the November 21 show sold out (10,000 seats). During the concert, Starkey was brought on stage and given a plaque by Kiss. Soon after the Terre Haute concert, the Kiss Army became the official fan club of the group. In 1976, Kiss manager Bill Aucoin requested Howard Marks Inc. to create an official Kiss Army logo. The logo was designed by Dennis Woloch, longtime KISS art director from a concept by his co-worker Vincent DiGerlando. Order forms for the Kiss Army first appeared with this new official logo in 1976's ''

Destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

''. Former head of Kiss merchandising Ron Boutwell estimated that the fan club (at its peak) earned

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

5,000 per day, and had nearly 100,000 members.Leaf, David and Ken Sharp. ''Kiss: Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography'', Warner Books, 2003. After a period of inactivity, Kiss announced the relaunch of the Kiss Army as the group's official fan club on August 23, 2007. On May 29, 2008,

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...

, the United States Secretary of State, enlisted in the Kiss Army. In celebration of the Kiss Army's 35th anniversary, November 21, 2010 was declared "Kiss Army Day" in Terre Haute. Starkey served as a guest DJ for local rock radio station

WWVR WWVR (98.5 FM, "The River") is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. Licensed to Paris, Illinois, United States, the station serves the Champaign, Illinois, and Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county ...

Notes and references

{{Kiss

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Music fan clubs Organizations established in 1975

History

See also

Notes and references