Before he rocked and rolled all night, Gene Simmons had humble beginnings. The Kiss front man recently stopped by Us Weekly and opened up about everything from his first job to the reason he wanted to get into music at a young age. Watch the exclusive video above to see what the rock legend had to say as he played a game of “My First Time!”
Simmons, 68, who has been making music for more than five decades, recalled the reason he wanted to get into the business in the first place. “My first concert was a Beatles tribute band that played on the playground of 79th Street and 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens, in the New York area, and this was 1964,” the musician explained.
“I heard all the kids – I was in seventh grade or whatever – were going, ‘Oh, there’s gonna be a concert’” Simmons, who recently partnered with the Canaccord Cannabis Conference, reminisced. “And I knew The Beatles and I was fascinated by it, but when I saw these guys on stage, they were just pretending to be Beatles.”
Something clicked for the then middle schooler. “I was noticing that … all the chicks in the audience were going crazy about these guys, but if they step off stage, they wouldn’t be anybody. And I started to put the pieces together. And they weren’t the best-looking guys,” he continued. “I went, ‘Wait. There’s a chance for me.’ And [I said], ‘Oh, that’s a good job. Girls like you. They’re having fun. People like you.’ Maybe that’s a good idea.”
Thanks to a Beatles tribute band, the Kiss rocker got the idea that music may be the way to a girl’s heart. The Moneybag soda creator added: “It was only later that I found out that you also get paid!”
For more fun with the rocker, watch the exclusive video above to find out his first job, first kiss and more.
