KISS was recognized (on 12/7) at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington D.C. A day earlier, the original KISS surviving members were among the latest Kennedy Center honorees presented with their medals by President Donald Trump during an Oval Office ceremony. The 2025 Kennedy Center Honorees, front row from left, Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, Gloria Gaynor and Michael Crawford; back row from left, are KISS’, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss, Formed in New York City in 1973 by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, KISS rose to prominence in the mid-’70s with Shock Rock–style live performances that featured fire-breathing, blood-spitting, smoking guitars, levitating drum kits and pyrotechnics.  KISS has also earned 30 Gold albums, the most of any band from the U.S. They have earned 14 Platinum albums, three of which reached multi-Platinum status. The four original members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in ’14.  Guitarist Ace Frehley, who died in October, was only the third person to receive this honor posthumously, following Glenn Frey (Eagles) and Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead). Frehley was in KISS from 1973–1982 and returned for another stint that ran from 1996–2002. Ironically, for a cultural institution named after a slain president, the Kennedy Center has a policy that its honorees must be living. That ceremony is set to air on CBS on December 23rd. Ace Frehley ### The post KISS Receive Kennedy Center Honors appeared first on RockinTown.