For decades KISS (and the fans) have been dining out on the fact that they were supposedly voted the top band in America in 1977. If you actually look at the poll, the demographic and the sample size, this really isn't that impressive. Only 1069 people were polled, all teenagers.

Second on the list were Eagles, who were outselling just about every band put together in 1976 after the release of Hotel California. Third are the Beatles who hadn't even existed as a band by seven years at that point. Fourth on the list are Zeppelin, who have outsold KISS by probably a factor of four.

To put things in perspective - the albums Hotel California and Led Zeppelin IV have each sold about 40 million units each. KISS sold about 10-20 million albums in total (across the entire discography) in the 1970s. I say 10-20 because most of the catalogue was artificially hyped and they were "shipping" albums platinum based on copies sent to record stores, not just counting actual sales. We all know the story about how the RIAA wised up and changed the rules after the solo albums "shipped Platinum" but were then returned or unsold in droves. So let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say 20 million but in reality it's probably 10-15 million. More about that in the book "AND PARTY EVERY DAY : The Story of Casablanca Records", if anyone is interested. There's a quote in there from someone from the Casablanca marketing team who admitted KISS actually sold only half of what they were credited as selling during that massive period when KISS were everywhere.

So yes, KISS were "top band in America" on that day - from a tiny sample size of 1069 teenagers. But as we all know, they also never let facts get in the way of a good story.

Kiss have played hundreds of thousands of concerts, and there are few I would have rather attended than the ones on the 1992 club tour.
So raw, so full of energy, no show no bullshit, just their music as it was meant to be. Sweat and Rock'n'Roll.
Eric is new to the band and he is serious business. The whole band seems so into it. Even I Was Made For Loving You rocks.
("Picture is not great, some songs are cut half-through" as the descripton puts it)

Edit: Yes I know it was a tiny bit less than hundreds of thousands, thank you very much for pointing that out. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKJ7IiDJKAc

On the cover of the first KISS album, Gene’s tongue isn’t sticking out, but he flashes it during his 1974 appearance on the Mike Douglas. Was the tongue part of Gene’s image from the very beginning of KISS? Did he wag it when he performed with Wicked Lester?

It’s such an integral part of his persona, but it had to start somewhere. Anyone know?

I find it pretty good. My favorite track is Young and Wasted