Long before Gene Simmons became the famous bassist and co-lead singer of KISS, he spent several months teaching sixth-grade students at a New York City public school.
Simmons, born Chaim Witz in Haifa, Israel, moved to Queens with his mother when he was 8. He later studied education in New York and graduated from Richmond College in Staten Island in 1970.
Before the stage lights, costumes and famous Demon makeup, Simmons worked several ordinary jobs to make a living. One of those jobs was teaching.
According to People, Simmons taught sixth grade at a public school on Manhattan’s Upper West Side for about six months. A separate account from Mental Floss says he taught in East Harlem.
His short time in the classroom came before he helped form KISS, the rock band that would become one of the biggest acts of the 1970s.
Kiss Bass Guitarist and founding member Gene Simmons performs at The Forum, Inglewood, California.Photo by Mark Sullivan/Getty Images
Simmons did not enter the classroom without preparation. He studied education at Richmond College in Staten Island after attending Sullivan County Community College in New York.
After graduating in 1970, he took different jobs around New York City while continuing to pursue music.
Teaching sixth grade became one of those jobs.
In a 1978 interview with the Lakeland Ledger, Simmons explained why he eventually left the classroom.
“The reason I quit after six months is that I discovered the real reason I became a teacher,” Simmons said. “It was because I wanted to get up on stage and have people notice me. I had to quit because the stage was too small. Forty people wasn’t enough, I wanted 400,000.”
The comment offered a clear look at where Simmons wanted his life to go. Teaching gave him a job, but performing was the goal he wanted to chase.
Years later, Simmons also recalled what it was like to stand in front of a sixth-grade class.
In a 2023 interview with Good Morning Britain, he remembered teaching students about the United Kingdom.
“I know I don’t look like your next door sixth-grade teacher. I used to tell the kids about this astonishing little island that comprises Wales, Ireland… Yes, I know all the different parts and the history.”
His path from the classroom to rock stardom was not immediate.
Before KISS, Simmons worked as a typist and held positions with organizations and magazines. According to Mental Floss, he worked as an assistant at the Puerto Rican Interagency Council and also had jobs connected to Glamour and Vogue.
Simmons was already active in music while working to support himself. He and Paul Stanley, who was then known as Stanley Eisen, were part of Wicked Lester in the early 1970s. The two eventually decided to leave the group and create what they envisioned as the “ultimate rock band.”
That plan became KISS.
KISS was formed in 1973, with Simmons and Stanley joined by Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. The group released its self-titled debut album in February 1974.
Simmons became known as the Demon, while Stanley became the band’s Starchild. Their makeup, costumes and theatrical concerts helped KISS stand out from other rock groups of the era.
KISS went on to become an iconic 1970s rock act, with Simmons serving as bassist and co-lead singer. He and Stanley remained the band’s constant members until KISS ended its touring career with the conclusion of its End of the Road tour in December 2023.
Simmons’ time as a teacher is now an unusual part of the story behind his rise to fame. Before the makeup, stage effects and massive audiences, he was a young New Yorker with a degree in education who spent part of his working life teaching children.
Related: ’70s Rock Legend, With Five Grammy Awards, Worked in a Birmingham Slaughterhouse
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