After 14 years of being snubbed, KISS was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last night, April 10, 2014. But it hasn’t been smooth sailing since the news broke that the legendary band was going to be honored — and the choppy waters continued onstage as each of the original four members (Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss) gave their acceptance speeches.
But the evening’s “pointing the finger at the HOF” didn’t begin with the actual members of KISS; it started with Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, who inducted the band and, as Stanley said in his speech, “championed [KISS] shamelessly and unapologetic.” As Morello introduced and inducted KISS, he said:
You can kiss my KISS-loving ass because KISS wasn’t a critics’ band. It’s the people’s band… Impact, influence and awesomeness — KISS have all three in spades… Tonight, this isn’t the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s the Rock and Roll All Nite and Party Every Day Hall of Fame.
All in all, the four members were gracious and friendly on the stage as they accepted the honor. Sure, Criss said he’d always be the Cat Man, in or out of the make-up (much to the chagrin of the fan shooting the video in the player above). And sure, Stanley went off on a tangent about the HOF being an elitist club making the decisions when it should be the fans who spend the money to buy the records. But they were all surprisingly cordial.
As a fan, I’m thrilled that KISS is finally in the HOF, because as Stanley said, it’s validation and vindication. The only thing that could have made it better is if Ace and Peter showed up in make-up to show everyone who the real Cat Man and Space Ace are!
What’s your take on they’re acceptance speeches? How do you feel about KISS being in the HOF?
Rock Hard \m/
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