Kiss traces its roots to Wicked Lester , a New York City–based rock band led by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. That band recorded one album, which was shelved by Epic Records , and played a handful of live shows. Simmons and Stanley, feeling a new musical direction was needed,…
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After breaking up Wicked Lester late in 1972
Hopkins briefly joined that band in 1972 as a replacement for founding guitarist Mick Walsh
in July the band released Master of Reality , just six months after the US release of Paranoid .
Production completed in April 1971
The band recorded a two-song demo “Good Time Woman” and “We’ll Stay Together” and eventually gained a three-album recording contract with the label Immediate in late 1969 after a gig in Walsall , but the label went out of business before an album could be recorded, and the band split…
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The album reached No. 12 in the US in March 1971, and would go on to sell four million copies in the US with virtually no radio airplay.
In February 1971, after a one-off performance at the Myponga Pop Festival in Australia, Black Sabbath returned to the studio to begin work on their third album. Following the chart success of Paranoid , the band were afforded more studio time, along with a “briefcase full of cash” to buy…
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The US release was held off until January 1971, as the Black Sabbath album was still on the chart at the time of Paranoid ‘ s UK release.
In 1971, Bobby Liebling and Geof O’Keefe left their previous groups (Shades of Darkness and Space Meat, respectively) to form a new band that reflected their interest in the emerging genres of metal and heavy rock . Liebling suggested naming the group “Pentagram” to reflect the gloomy subject matter of…
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