Peter Criss Biography

As is standard in the music world, Peter Criss was not the name that this famous drummer and vocalist was born with. George Peter John Criscuola was the name given to the man we know as Peter Criss when he was born on December 20, 1945. Born into an American-Italian home in Brooklyn New York, he is the oldest of 5 children he was an artist and jazz musician, with music always taking the forefront. Although it was a good home, Peter's parents were quite poor and the family struggled financially.

Early on in his musical life, Peter had the opportunity to study under Gene Krupa, a famous jazz musician and drummer, which gave Peter a solid footing in both the jazz and music scenes. Throughout the 1960's, Criss played for a number of bands including Chelsea, during which they recorded an album before changing their name to Lips. After Lips folded Criss did something that seemed like a long shot – He placed a classified ad in Rolling Stone advertising his skill as a drummer. Although a long shot, the ad was actually answered by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley who were in the process of creating a new band. By adding Criss to their band they had only one more spot to fill, which was filled by Ace Frehley and the band KISS was founded with Peter taking on the role of “The Cat”.

While Criss was trained as a drummer, he could also be used as a lead vocalist and he eagerly took the lead on such hits as Hard Luck Woman, Black Diamond and Beth, which turned out to be one of their biggest hits. Criss himself is credited with being a co-writer of the song and it quickly hit #7 in the charts in 1976 and also earned the band a People's Choice Award. Although recorded by KISS, Peter Criss actually wrote Beth when he was a member of Chelsea and it was co-written with Chelsea band member Stan Penridge.

Although life seemed bright for Criss due to the popularity and wealth that came along with being part of KISS, in private Criss struggled with drug abuse. In 1980 Peter Criss left Kiss and went out on his own in a solo career. Unfortunately his first album, Out of Control was poorly received, as was his second album, Let Me Rock You. For Criss the 1980's and early 1990's were difficult, bouncing from band to band without any lasting influence. Rumors circulated that his drug abuse had caused him to be homeless and Roseanne Bar and Tom Arnold were even scammed by a homeless man, claiming to be Criss whom they were trying to help. Despite all the rumors, it was proven to be false and Peter won a lawsuit against The Star for encouraging the rumor.

For Criss and Kiss fans, 1995 marked a great year when he returned to the band for the Kiss Konvention. He toured with the band and played for a studio album released in 1998. Unfortunately the reunion didn't last and in 2000, in a dramatic stunt on stage, Criss left the band. At a concert in North Charleston, North Caroline, Criss destroyed his drum kit at the end of the show. While fans thought it was all part of the show, it wasn't. It was an act of frustration toward the band and his contract was abruptly ended. Despite these issues, he briefly rejoined the band one more time in 2002 for a DVD and CD release before departing once again.

Today Peter Criss has is own website where he interacts with his fans through a blog and also uses this forum to answer questions from his many dedicated fans. It contains pictures of past shows as well as pictures of his friends, family and career highlights. He is married to Gig Criss, whom he married in 1998 and has a daughter from one of his previous marriages. In total Criss has recorded over 15 albums, some with Kiss, as well as Chelsea, and other as part of his solo career. Since leaving the band for good, Criss has tried to stay out of the public eye and has settled in New Jersey. In 2007 he released a solo album called One For All, which had some mild success. As for the future, Criss is scheduled to appear in major motion picture called Frame of Mind, which is a movie about the assassination of John F. Kennedy.