Peter Criss Biography
George Peter John Criscoula, 20 December 1945, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. Peter Criss' major claim to fame is that he was the original drummer with Kiss. During his initial period with the band, from 1972 to 1980, they played to sell out crowds worldwide, always presenting themselves in full make-up as part of their over-the-top image and never revealing their true appearances. Criss was known as "The Cat". In September 1978 all four members of Kiss recorded solo albums although still in the "Kiss character' of full make-up. While this project gave the band members the chance to do their own thing, Criss" release was most at odds with the Kiss hard rock sound. It showed that he was quite disillusioned with his colleagues who more often than not refused to consider his compositions as suitable material. The recording was a mix of rock, jazz, rock 'n' roll and lightweight ballads, signalling his split from Kiss two years later. His first solo release proper, Out Of Control, was pure pop muzak while the 1982 follow-up Let Me Rock You offered more of the same with just a smattering of heavier moments.
Criss remained quiet for much of the 80s, and despite dabbling in a number of projects his only recorded appearances came on albums by Black 'N' Blue, King Kobra and his former Kiss bandmate Ace Frehley. In 1991 he was forced to refute allegations that he was homeless, when it transpired that a fraudster had been using his name and identity. Criss returned to the studio in the early 90s to record his fourth solo album, Cat #1, which was released to a muted response in 1994. The following year he rejoined Kiss and stayed with the reunited band until 2001. He returned to the line-up again at the end of 2002, this time staying with the band until the start of 2004.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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