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Paul Stanley
Background information
Birth name	Stanley Harvey Eisen
Born	January 20, 1952 (1952-01-20) (age 56)
Origin	Queens, New York, United States
Genre(s)	Hard rock, heavy metal, glam metal
Occupation(s)	Musician, Songwriter, Producer, Painter, Actor
Instrument(s)	Vocals, Guitar, Bass and Drums
Years active	1970 – present
Label(s)	New Door Records/Universal Music Group
Associated acts	Kiss, Wicked Lester
Website	Official website KISS Online
Notable instrument(s)
Ibanez PS10 Washburn PS2000 Silvertone Paul Stanley Signature Models Ibanez Iceman

Stanley Harvey Eisen (born January 20, 1952, Queens, New York) known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American Hard rock guitarist and vocalist for the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of most of the band’s highest-charting hits, including “Let’s Put The X In Sex”,”Everytime I Look At You”,”Love Gun“,”Detroit Rock City,” “Rock and Roll All Nite,” “Hard Luck Woman,” “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” “Crazy Crazy Nights,” and “Forever.”

 Biography

Before Wicked Lester, Paul Stanley was in a local band, Rainbow (not to be confused with Ritchie Blackmore‘s Rainbow) and Uncle Joe. Through a mutual friend of Gene Simmons, Stanley joined Simmons’ band Wicked Lester in the early 1970s. The band recorded an album in 1971, but as of 2005 it has never been officially released (although songs from the album appeared on Kiss’s 2001 box set). Wicked Lester soon fell apart and Stanley and Simmons placed ads for a drummer and a guitarist in various New York papers. This resulted in Peter Criss and Ace Frehley joining the group, and they named themselves Kiss. Kiss released their self-titled debut in February 1974.

Paul’s persona in Kiss is “The Starchild.” Wearing Spandex and platform boots, Stanley’s persona is that of a Don Juan-esque lover, combining effeminate elements with elements of extreme masculinity, rather than mere androgyny. Although Stanley’s voice is generally very soft and eloquent during normal conversation, he uses a specific “stage voice” which is like a “Rock N’ Roll Preacher”, much like Gene Simmons adopts an animalistic growl on stage for his demon persona. Unlike most leading rock frontmen, he gets the crowd to join the band in many of their classic hits and also tends to give a speech or “scripted” story for certain songs (e.g. having sexual encounters with nurses and other women he’s met on tour and how much he supports U.S. troops overseas).

In his book Sex Money Kiss, Gene Simmons admits that Paul was the driving force for Kiss during the makeup-free 1980s, while Simmons was feeling lost without his demon makeup and attempting to launch a film career.

In 1999 Stanley starred in a Toronto production of The Phantom of the Opera, in which he played the role of The Phantom. He appeared in the musical from May 25 to August 1, and again that year from September 30 to October 31. While in Toronto, Stanley was contacted by AboutFace, an organization that provides support and information to individuals with facial differences, and asked to help raise awareness for them. Although he was approached due to his role as The Phantom, Stanley was in fact born with microtia, a congenital deformity of the pinna (outer ear). He has appeared at fundraising events and in videos for the organization.

In 2001 Stanley’s wife, Dallas native Pamela Bowen, filed for divorce. They have one son, Evan Shane Stanley, born June 6, 1994.

Stanley badly needed hip replacement surgery but suffered through the Rock The Nation tour first, finally getting the surgery in October 2005. Complications from the surgery required a second in December of that year, and in December 2005 it has been announced that a third hip surgery will be necessary. Stanley regards the degeneration of his left hip as partly the product of thousands of shows performed since the early 1970s. In the “Rock The Nation Live” DVD he spends much more time standing in one place than he has on previous DVDs and tours.

On November 19, 2005, Paul Stanley married longtime girlfriend Erin Sutton at The Ritz-Carlton, Huntington in Pasadena, California. They welcomed their first child, 8 lb. 6oz. Colin Michael Stanley, on Wednesday, September 6, 2006.

Stanley made his debut as a painter in 2005, exhibiting and selling original works of art.

In 2006, Stanley resumed his association with Washburn Guitars and using the Washburn PS2000. Previously, he has had four signature guitars made by Silvertone, and tweaked the Ibanez Iceman to his specifications, calling it the PS10.

Stanley’s most recent performances with Kiss were a group of shows in July 2007, dubbed the Hit ‘N Run Tour. Prior to the final show on July 27, Stanley was hospitalized with an extremely rapid heartbeat. In his absence, Kiss performed live as a trio for the first time. Previously, Kiss performed as a trio at Studio 54 in New York City for an international satellite broadcast on January 28, 1982, lip-syncing the song “I” from Music from “The Elder” for the Italian Festival della canzone italiana, also known as the Sanremo Festival, when Ace Frehley failed to show for the performance due to what was described at the time as a mystery “illness.” The July 27, 2007 concert is the first Kiss concert Stanley has missed during his 34-year tenure with the group.^[1] In September 2007, Stanley took part in Rock ‘n Roll Fantasy Camp as a guest star for his second time in New York City.

Paul Stanley while showing some of his paintings in San Diego, September 2007.