Kiss onstage at Detroit's Cobo Hall on May 16th, 1975. This was one of the shows they taped for Alive, though they later went into the studio to add in crowd noise and fix some of the musical imperfections. The exact extent of the overdubs has been debated for decades. 

Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, and Gene Simmons pose on a rooftop circa 1975. That's the year their live album Alive finally brought the New York rock band to a mass audience. 

Weeks after Alive hit the charts, Kiss visited a high school in Cadillac, Michigan. The football team used their music for warm-ups and Kiss knew the appearance would make for great press. They were given a key to the city and many town officials even wore Kiss make-up. There's talk right now of turning the crazy day into a movie. 

Gene Simmons with a student at Cadillac High School in 1975. People from all over town wore Kiss make-up on the big day, even the mayor. 

Kiss had a huge global audience by 1976, and their stage show grew more bombastic as their budgets swelled. Here is the band in London. 

Kiss with the Cadillac Vikings. The high school football team had a rough start to their season, so the coach began pumping them up with Kiss music. The group got wind of this and came for homecoming the following year. 

Paul Stanley meets a little girl at a Muscular Dystrophy event at Peaches Records in Atlanta, Georgia in August of 1976. 

Gene Simmons on the Destroyer tour in 1976. He spat blood every single night from the stage. Schoolyard rumors spread that his giant tongue was actually transplanted into his mouth from a cow. 

Elton John went backstage at a Kiss show circa 1977 to meet the band. 

With ticket and record sales declining, Kiss made the bold decision to take their make-up off to promote their 1983 LP Lick It Up. By this point, Vinnie Vincent and Eric Carr had joined the band to replace Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. Here is the band in London. 

A reunited Kiss were inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999. They had just wrapped up their highly successful Psycho Circus world tour. 

Gene Simmons, girlfriend Shannon Tweed and their son Nicholas backstage at a Kiss concert in 1988.  They latter starred together on the "reality show" Gene Simmons Family Jewels. 

Gene Simmons, Shannon Tweed, their song Nick and daughter Sophie at the premiere of Oblivion on April 10th, 2013. Their reality show is ending next year. 

Gene Simmons at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria during their 2013 Australian tour. The group went on a "farewell" tour in 2000, but they still hit the road most every year – even though Ace Frehley and Peter Criss are long gone.