Kiss is certified Gold for the first time

On 4. December, 1975, Kiss’ first live album, “Alive!”, was certified Gold by the The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making it their very first Gold award by reaching 500,000 sales of an album. The award was presented at the Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York, backstage before their sold out show on New Year’s Eve 1975. By 26. January, 1976, the album had sold over a million and Kiss was presented with their first (unofficial) Platinum awards, for their “Alive!” album.

Larry Alan Harris:
“Alive! had won Gold status in early December 1975, and we’d received the plaques marking this achievement soon afterwards. This was a first for KISS, and I don’t know who was more thrilled—us or the band. It was our first legitimate Gold record, too; Carson’s album had technically qualified for that status, but I don’t think there was a soul alive who didn’t know that was a sham. KISS was on the road when the plaques arrived at the office. (When weren’t they on the road?) To surprise them, I flew to New York on New Year’s Eve and went to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the big arena out on Long Island, where the band was playing. Just prior to the show, I gave them the awards backstage, and we made a little photo-op of the impromptu event.”
– “And Party Every Day: The Inside Story of Casablanca Records” by Larry Alan Harris.

Ken Sharp & David Leaf:
“Alive!, Gene points out, “was in the charts for over sixty weeks. On New Year’s Eve ’75/’76, we got a Gold album, and within another month, sales doubled and it became a Platinum album. Two months later, it was double Platinum.”To Paul, that first Gold record “brought tears. I shed tears of joy when Alive! went Gold.” It also brought tears of relief to Neil Bogart and Casablanca Records. Gene: “Casablanca was literally going broke until the album happened.”
– “Kiss Behind The Mask: The Official Authorized Biography” by Ken Sharp & David Leaf.

Paul Stanley:
“Getting a gold album was what I’d aspired to and what I’d worked towards since I was a little kid. That was really the pinnacle to me as far as I was concerned. To get a gold album for Alive! meant much more to me than when it went platinum. The success of Alive! happened so quickly. That album became gold in the blink of an eye and then went platinum very quickly, and it just kept selling. The doors just broke open.”
– “Nothin’ to Lose: The making of Kiss (1972-1975)” by Ken Sharp, Gene Simmons, and Paul Stanley.

Gene Simmons:
“Alive! stayed on the charts for over sixty weeks. In January of ’76 we got a gold album and within another month sales doubled and it became a platinum album. Two months later it was double platinum. Casablanca was literally going broke until the album happened. Getting our first gold record was amazing. It felt like a dream. All of a sudden we had a gold record and bands that we loved were now opening for us. It’s one thing being up onstage and seeing KISS fans go out of their minds, but getting a gold record was a stamp of legitimacy by the world. We felt we had arrived.”
– “Nothin’ to Lose: The making of Kiss (1972-1975)” by Ken Sharp, Gene Simmons, and Paul Stanley.

Peter Criss:
“Halfway through the Alive tour, we were informed that we would be rich beyond our dreams. All I ever wanted was a gold record on my wall and a nice living. Maybe sign a couple of autographs when I went out to eat with Lydia. I had no idea that we would become bigger than life itself.
I was thrilled for Bill. We signed a new deal with Casablanca and we got a lump-sum payment as an advance. Bill had invested so much time and effort, maxing out his Amex card to make us stars, that he couldn’t pay his rent and had to rely on friends to eat. And now he was sitting in his office, staring at a check from Neil for $2 million. One of the first things Bill did was move out of the offices he had shared with some business part- ners for years and rent a magnificent new office for seventy K a month.
Then he told Lydia and me to move to Manhattan. Our dream had always been to live in a brownstone in the city, so Sean took Lydia out in a limo one day and they found a cute little brownstone on Thirtieth Street, complete with a spiral staircase and a fireplace. We put that first gold album over the fireplace in the living room. Then I went out and bought myself a chocolate-brown Camaro.”
– “Makeup to Breakup: My Life in and out of Kiss” by Peter Criss.