On This Day In METAL History – December 20th… And A Rockin’ Birthday Salute To Peter Criss!
On December 20th, 1981 – RUSH performed at the Hartford Civic Center, in Hartford, Connecticut. This was the Exit…Stage Left Tour, with RUSH supporting their newly released live album Exit…Stage Left. RUSH were also touring in support of their eighth studio album, released in 1981: Moving Pictures.
On this day in 1985 – Enemy Mine, the Science Fiction/Adventure film was released to wide-screen theaters. Enemy Mine stars acting legends Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr., with the film’s director being Wolfgang Petersen. I haven’t seen this movie in years and I remember really liking it. I remember HBO having Enemy Mine in its rotation, back in the day, therefore I did see it a few times. Enemy Mine is… Metal.
On December 20th, 2006 – The mighty IRON MAIDEN performed at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. This was one of many tour stops for IRON MAIDEN’s A Matter Of Life And Death Tour. The fourteenth studio album from IRON MAIDEN, A Matter Of Life And Death, was released in August of 2006.
On this day in 2013 – Hard Rockers Pop Evil performed at The Intersection in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Pop Evil were touring in support of their third studio album: Onyx. If you don’t own any Pop Evil CD’s you are maybe… constipated. Truth.
On December 20th, 2014 – Pop Evil returns to The Intersection in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to kick some live Hard Rockin’ ass. Whoa! Long live Pop Evil.
On this day in 2014 – Ian Anderson and The Best Of Jethro Tull performs at The Civic in Auckland, New Zealand. Built in 1929, The Civic is one of the few remaining Atmospheric Theatres in the world. Whoa! Jethro Tull was named after an eighteenth century English agricultural pioneer; this individual invented the seed drill. Whoa again!
Above: 1978 Platinum selling solo album (Casablanca)
PETER CRISS
On December 20th, 1945, Peter George John Criscuola aka Peter Criss was born, in Brooklyn, New York. Happy Rockin’ birthday, Peter! Whoa, man, yeah! Peter Criss is world-famously known as the co-founding member and former drummer for the iconic KISS.
As a breast cancer survivor, Peter Criss donates his time to the breast cancer cause; two charities Peter Criss has been involved in are the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and as artist ambassador for Hard Rock’s Pinktober Campaign for breast cancer awareness.
Back in 1976, the ballad Beth was released as a single. Co-written and sung by Peter Criss, Beth sailed through the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, peaking at #7. This song marked the first Gold single for KISS. Beth is featured on the fourth studio album from KISS, released in 1976: Destroyer.
Above: Peter Criss – One For All (2007/Megaforce)
Peter Criss has a solo career on his Rockin’ resume as well; with 6 solo studio album releases of: Peter Criss (1978), Out Of Control (1980), Let Me Rock You (1982), Cat #1 (1994) and One For All (2007). On April 10th, 2014, Peter Criss along with Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Ace Frehley were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, together as KISS.
In October of 2012, Peter Criss released his autobiography, Makeup To Breakup. This Peter Criss autobiography broke the top ten on the New York Times Best Seller List, landing at number seven. I’ve read this book and believe me, it’s a tell-all. I highly recommend Makeup To Breakup to all KISS and Rock fans alike. Long live Peter Criss and… Metal be thy name. – Stone
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Peter Criss Fact source:
LONG LIVE METAL.
LONG LIVE THE ROOTS & FAMILY TREE OF METAL.
Stone.
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