Paul Stanley is the rhythm guitarist of the hard rock/heavy metal band Kiss. Before his days with Kiss, Stanley played in various local New York City bands, including Uncle Joe and The Post War Baby Boom. He then joined a band called Tree in 1969 which featured Stephen Coronel on guitar. It was through Coronel that Stanley was introduced to Gene Simmons, though their first meeting was anything but amicable. Eventually, Coronel, Stanley and Simmons would form Wicked Lester, and Stanley and Simmons would become friends. Their friendship would eventually lead to the formation of Kiss.
Stanley's first solo album was the Paul Stanley solo album of 1978. It featured some great tracks, including "Wouldn't You Like To Know Me?", "Tonight You Belong To Me", and "Hold Me, Touch Me (Think Of Me When We're Apart)". However, the album had a mostly Kiss-like sound instead of a true solo album, since the songs sounded so much like his Kiss material. This was probably due to the fact that Stanley is the lead vocalist on most Kiss songs.
Like his bandmate Gene Simmons, Stanley has remained committed to Kiss through its many ups and downs over the course of nearly 30 years. When Simmons tried to pursue an acting career in the late 1980s, Stanley launched a solo club tour, but no solo recordings were issued at that time. Stanley was also involved in a few non-musical projects, including a stint in the play "The Phantom Of The Opera" and voiceovers for commercials.
In 2006, Paul Stanley released his second solo album, Live To Win, on New Door Records. Unlike Gene Simmons' second solo album, which featured all kinds of musical directions, Stanley stuck to what he does best, straight ahead hard rock. The album turned out to be a pleasant surprise, with the title track having a modern day anthemic quality, something that graces most of his popular Kiss songs. Stanley is currently on a club tour, promoting his new solo album, while Kiss is on hiatus.