KISS Army Marks 49th Anniversary

11-21-2024

The KISS Army was born on this day 49 years ago in Terre Haute, Indiana by two fans who banded together in an attempt to get a local radio station to play the band's music and it would eventually go on to become the group's official fan club.

KISS marked the anniversary via social media this morning. They wrote, "Happy Birthday #KISSARMY! The KISS ARMY was born today in 1975. #KISSTORY. On this day in KISSTORY - November 21, 1975 - Indiana natives Bill Starkey and Jay Evans founded the legendary KISS Army after a local radio station refused to play KISS. During KISS' 1975 show at Hulman Civic-University Center in Terre Haute, Starkey was brought on stage and honored with a plaque from the band!"

Starkey recalled how it all began in a 2005 interview with antiMusic's Morley Seaver. He shared, "I had befriended some of the DJ's at the station. They told me that the program director hated the band when he first saw the cover of the first album. He supposedly called them 'a New York f*g band' and threw the album out. So they couldn't play any KISS because he threw the records away. We knew who we had to direct our letter campaign/phone call assault on. One evening we, (Jay Evans and myself) called his request line and he told us that, 'KISS was just a mediocre Bachman Turner Overdrive.' I think that's when we really got pissed and started writing nasty letters about artists that the program director favored. Yes it was obvious. When KISS Alive came out in September then we knew we had a just cause for our actions. Yes another radio popped up and was looking for listeners. They gave in and the dj would say, "This song goes out to the KISS Army." People would immediately call the station and ask how they could join.

"The program director at the other station wasn't ready to budge. The station asked to borrow my records to dub some singles off of them. It was funny. I had to borrow my mom's car to deliver the albums. I didn't own a car or have a job. Eventually the program director played a KISS song right before they went into a new break which was normal back then for an FM rock station.

"The first song he played was 'Love Theme.' When we called back to complain he just laughed at us said, 'Hey, you wanted a KISS song.' He was still screwing with us over the air. Soon enough others started to call requesting KISS and he had to give in. That's when KISS announced that they were coming to Terre Haute in November. The program director/dj had an idea. He wanted me to continue writing my letters and he would read them over the air to promote the upcoming November concert. I would gladly do it explaining the greatness of KISS over the airwaves while I trashed the artists they played. So in a way the program director, Rich Dickerson, was as much a monumental figure in all of this too. Without his idea KISS would have never heard about us or our plight. So when the concert sold out we were given credit for our persistence. To think that it all started in my basement. Yes, the movie Detroit Rock City was too REAL for me."