Author:Gene Simmons
KISS has released thirty-seven records and sold 80 million albums worldwide. Gene Simmons has also acted in films and on television, has written and produced albums for other recording artists, has managed the recording career of, among others, Liza Minelli, and was founder and president of his own recording label, Simmons Records/RCA. He also launched his film and TV producing career with Detroit Rock City for New Line Cinema. Gene Simmons lives in Beverley Hills, California, and was recently the rock star teacher on Channel 4's Rock School.
Here for the first time Gene Simmons, the notorious mainman of the explosive rock and roll group KISS, tells his story. Delivered in Gene's own honest, outrageous and uncensored voice, he tells of his early beginnings in Israel, of his arrival in New York at the age of eight, his first taste of 1950s pop culture and his developing thirst for fame, fun and girls. Undoubtedly one of the most infamous rock and roll legends alive, Gene tells the never before revealed story of KISS's reign as the biggest and most popular band in the world. Finally, the real story of the man behind the make-up.
Readers may be surprised by Simmons's clarity and candour. How did Chaim Witz, the overprotected Israel-born son of Hungarian Jewish Holocaust survivors, become Gene Simmons, fire-breathing, tongue-flexing, blood-spitting rocker?
—— New York TimesGripping
—— News of the WorldRevealing
—— The PeopleAn entertaining book that any Weatherfield anorak would be pleased to own
—— The OldieWill Self dismissed rap as unmelodic, inarticulate ranting - until Jay-Z's eloquent memoir and an anthology of lyrics came along to change his mind
—— The TimesGripping...a classily produced mash-up of memoir, lyrical analysis and coffee-table art book..this book is eye-opening...Both fans and newcomers alike should be left with a deepened appreciation for the verbal dexterity of a conflicted man
—— The Daily TelegraphA riveting insight
—— The News of the WorldA must-read for anyone seeking insight into why hip hop has been the essential musical narrative of recent decades
—— Neil McCormick , Daily TelegraphSiblin's intricate book interleaves the stories of Bach, Casals, the suites themselves and his own research. Transposing the shape of his narrative on to the structure of the six suites and their six movements enables him to move lightly back and forth across the centuries.
—— Judith Rice , The GuardianThis quirky, word of mouth success follows former pop writer Eric Siblin as he attends a recital of Bach's cello suites and suitably smitten by some of the greatest music ever written, teases out a history that invites intrigue, mystery and genius
—— Belfast TelegraphInsightful [and] engaging . . . Eric Siblin puts us in touch with the joy of discovering a new passion in life
—— Toronto StarJoyful and informative
—— MetroThe story of Bach's six Cello Suites is an insightful narrative populated by musicians and myth, animating history through centuries
—— Good Book GuideVivid biography...This brilliant book is not just about Jamaica, but also about ourselves, no longer the country of The King's Speech but a post-imperial nation, many of whose citizens have a buried history of slavery
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—— Rob Fitzpatrick , Sunday Times