On 20. January 1973 Ace Frehley drew the Kiss logo. Paul Stanley took his sketch and used it as the basis for a series of Kiss logos, ultimately arriving at the one that has adorned all things Kiss.
The names for the band before Kiss was decided on included “Albatross”, “Rainbow”, and “Crimson Harpoon”. Gene was once quoted as saying that he wanted to call the band “FUCK” but thought it wouldn’t fly with record companies. This was later shown to be just a joke.
Gene Simmons:
“We started handing out little leaflets. ‘Come see Kiss on Jan. 30,’. We also had this picture of us in which we looked like the Sons of the Dolls. One of Peter’s friends blew it up into a big 5-foot picture. We wanted to put it in the window at Popcorn, but I said to Ace, ‘We can’t do that. Nobody will know what it is. They’ll think it’s a drag show. Put the name of the group on it and make it look fancy.’ And Ace did it, just created our logo.”
Ace Frehley:
“The week we decided to call ourselves Kiss, I went home and made a button, I created a logo on it, and the only difference between that button and the logo as it is today is that I had a dot on the ‘i’ like a diamond. Despite what people say, I wasn’t thinking of the [Nazi] SS when I designed it. I was thinking more of lightning bolts. In fact, my first boots had lightning bolts down the side.”
“Designing one of the most recognizable rock logos in history wasn’t really that difficult. Everyone loved it. Paul was a trained artist, so when things got really serious he polished my design, making everything nice and neat. (Thanks, Paul!)”
Peter Criss:
“When Ace came in a week later with his sketch for a Kiss logo, the name was confirmed in heaven, Ace is a great artist, and his Kiss rendition, with the last two letters as lightning bolts, was totally bitching. … Then Paul refined the logo, made the K a little straighter, and we had a name and logo.”
Paul Stanley:
“Ace had jotted down a logo for the flyer for our Bleecker Street Loft shows, (These shows took place several months later, in May and June 1973.) He was a pretty decent artist. I took his sketch and used it as the basis for a series of Kiss logos I designed, ultimately arriving at the one that has adorned all things Kiss for the past 40 years.”
The sketch was auctioned 1. May 2022, and sold for $50.000.
Auction description:
Kiss Logo Original Artwork 1973 Hand Drawn and Designed by Ace Frehley with COA Signed by Ace Frehley — For years now, we have all heard the story of the creation of the Kiss band name and Kiss logo — Paul Stanley thought of the name, Ace designed the logo, and then Paul refined the logo — But from the Paul and Gene perspective, we were never shown what the original version of the logo looked like — It’s clear now, the reason it was never shown to us, was because Gene and Paul didn’t have it to show anyone; the artwork was buried within Ace’s personal collection. Ace unveiled the original logo artwork for the first time in 2011 within the middle interior color page section of Ace’s No Regrets Book and discussed its creation on page 77 of his book. Ace designed the logo in early 1973 using graph paper in order to properly draw out the perfect proportions in a consistent scale. The logo needed to be created for obvious band identity reasons but Ace also thought a logo was needed for the purpose of selling a potential pinback button as a piece of merchandise or as a giveaway memento to friends, family, crew members, and supporters of the upcoming band at early Kiss club shows. This is why the artwork was taped by Ace to a button for the sake of example; he basically built a prototype button to show the other band members in order to get everyone’s feedback and approval. As for condition, the paper of the artwork is super delicate because it’s going on 50 Years old. The paper is frail and was never kept as a collectible so there’s tiny tears all around the edges. Due to its fragility, the button will be shipped to the new owner within a mylar sleeve inside a mini plastic case. Understand something here, by winning this auction, you will become both curator and steward of one of the most significant pieces of rock and roll history. Here’s your chance to own one the most historically significant Kiss items ever offered for sale…..This purchase does not come with ownership rights to the logo design and does not give you any right to make duplicate copies of the logo for resale. This is being sold strictly as a collectible for you to enjoy within your personal collection. Measures 3.5 x 3.5. Comes with a Ace Frehley Signed Certificate of Authenticity and a Gotta Have Rock & Roll Certificate of Authenticity.
