Peter Criss

Peter George John Criscuola (born December 20, 1945), better known by his stage name Peter Criss, is an American musician, best known as a co-founder, original drummer, and a vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. Criss established the Catman character for his Kiss persona. In 2014 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Kiss.

Criss was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Loretta and Joseph Criscuola, who raised their five children (of whom Peter was the eldest) as Roman Catholics. Joseph Criscuola's family came from Scafati, Salerno, Italy. Criss grew up in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn and was a childhood friend of Jerry Nolan, who would later find success as the drummer of the New York Dolls. He was an avid art student and a swing aficionado. While playing with bandleader Joey Greco, Criss ended up studying under his idol, Gene Krupa, at the Metropole Club in New York.

Criss was involved with several bands through the mid-to-late 1960s, starting with the Barracudas from 1962 to 1966 and including Chelsea, who had a two-album deal with Decca Records. The group released their self-titled debut in 1970, and never recorded a second album. In August 1971, Chelsea evolved into Lips (a trio consisting of Criss and his Chelsea bandmates Michael Benvenga and Stan Penridge). By the spring of 1972, Lips was reduced to just the duo of Criss and Penridge.

Around 1973, ex-Chelsea members Pete Shepley and Mike Brand recorded an unreleased album which included post-Chelsea Michael Benvenga, and pre-Kiss Peter Criss and Gene Simmons as session musicians. It was titled Captain Sanity.

Another early band featuring Criss was The Sounds of Soul, notable for also featuring Nolan on drums and The Elegants guitarist Joe Lucenti, whom Criss met in his previous band The Barracudas. The core of the band – Criss, Lucenti and keyboardist Peppi Genarelli – played together from 1966 to 1969. In the summer of 1968, they performed as Brotherhood, and from late 1968 under the name The Vintage. Criss and Genarelli then continued to the band Nautilus which existed until late 1970. In 1972-73 Criss and Lucenti were playing together again in Infinity.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.