Birthday: Paul Stanley

KISS singer/guitarist Paul Stanley celebrates his 57th birthday today.

Stanley was born Stanley Eisen on Jan. 20, 1952 in Queens, New York. He formed his first band, Rainbow, in the '60s before forming Wicked Lester with KISS bassist Gene Simmons in the early '70s. After the band broke up, Stanley and Simmons began looking for a drummer and guitarist, and found Peter Criss and Ace Frehley.

Stanley and Simmons are the only original members of KISS, which also currently includes guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer. Stanley has appeared on every KISS album, from their 1974 self-titled debut, to 1998's Psycho Circus.

Stanley released a solo album while a member of KISS (all four members released solo albums on the same day in 1978, titled after themselves) and then launched a solo career in 1989, when he went on the road playing KISS songs with Bob Kulick and Singer, who was not KISS' drummer at the time. He had written more solo material in the two years prior to the tour, but it wasn't released. Stanley didn't release another solo album until 2006's Live To Win.

The KISS guitarist also appeared as The Phantom in The Phantom Of The Opera in 1999, while it was still being staged at Toronto's Pantages Theatre.

Stanley has been married to Erin Sutton since 2005. They have one son, Colin Stanley, and are expecting a baby girl sometime early this year.