"tonight on our show, we have the Beatles," Simmons explains that for all he knew, it was going to be one of those novelty acts like a flea circus featuring bugs or cock- roaches. Then the Fab Four took the stage. His initial reaction was that they looked silly and dressed like girls, but when his mother ex- pressed her disapproval, he changed his tune, saying "No, Mom, I think they look cool." He recalls that as a moment of rebellion; a pro- found insight. At a time when a sense of rebellion was on the rise among American youth, he discovered and understood the cultural relevance of rock and roll and how it would capture and form a long- lasting grip on a new generation. It would be an insight that he would use to capture his bands place among music fans and in rock-and- roll history. At a far less cerebral level, something else would catch Genes attention that night-the hoards of screaming girls, hanging desper- ately on every note the Beatles sang. Simmons explains, "My first thoughts about pop music were born that night, and they were sim- ple thoughts: If I go and start a band, maybe the girls will scream for me. Dont let anyone tell you any different-that same impulse launched a thousand bands."2 Inspired by the impulse almost universal among teenage boys, Gene Klein started a band with two friends. He also learned that being in a band brought him friends that he never previously had- including, yes, some girls. It was these girls who asked him during class, "Hey Gene, will you show us that weird thing you do with your tongue?" Of course, being an obliging kind of guy, he did, and it landed him in the principals office because it was interpreted as a sexual act. From that time on, regardless of the voice or guitar skills he would develop, it would be his unusually long tongue that would bring him the most recognition. It also eventually became the most recognizable symbol of Gene Simmons,* although it never was     *We have chosen not to explain the entire story behind Gene Simmonss famous tongue, nor of the pictures of the 4,600 girls who serve as references for its significance. If you dont want to leave this story to your own imagination, you can read about it in Simmonss autobiography, KISS and Makeup (New York: Crown, 2001).     introduced as a part of the official KISS logo. The Rolling Stones had already done that. As much attention as he was getting from being in a band, Sim- mons says that it never occured to him that he could make a living with a band, so he worked at whatever jobs were available. Delivering newspapers, he learned the need for responsibility and hard work as ingredients of success, but his ability to sing and his unusual tongue got him places that most paper carriers never go-in the long run. Beyond earning money, he was a disciplined saver, the importance of which he learned from his mother, who urged him to save and to go to college. Her approval was so important, Simmons states, that he never smoked or drank or got high as a teenager, a value he continues even now-and as the old adage states, "Two out of three aint bad." Gene Klein entered Sullivan County Community College in South