Biography
Although Wicked Lester never put out any official recordings across their short-lived existence, the ensemble provided an early platform for Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, who would soon establish Kiss, one of the decade’s most prominent hard rock acts. The pair first crossed paths in the late ’60s via mutual acquaintance Steve Coronel, yet it was only after forming Wicked Lester in the early ’70s that they achieved modest recognition. Alongside Simmons on bass and vocals and Stanley on guitar and vocals, the original lineup included Coronel on lead guitar, Tony Zarella on drums, and Brooke Ostrander on keyboards; the five-piece secured a deal with Columbia following a limited number of local performances in the New York region.
Columbia, however, conditioned the agreement on replacing Coronel with a stronger guitarist. Despite the longstanding friendship between Simmons and Coronel, the change was made, bringing Ron Leejack into the group. This revised configuration tracked a full album at Electric Lady Studios in 1971, the facility once operated by Jimi Hendrix. The resulting material bore little resemblance to the heavy-metal arena anthems Kiss would later champion; instead, Wicked Lester leaned toward the prevailing soft-rock sound exemplified by Rod Stewart and similar acts, blending multiple styles in a manner that left Simmons and Stanley dissatisfied. Unwilling to continue under those circumstances, the two founding members exited, leaving the completed album unreleased.
Once Simmons and Stanley achieved widespread success with Kiss during the mid- to late ’70s, the shelved Wicked Lester recordings attracted considerable attention from fans. Two of its songs, “She” and “Love Her All I Can,” were subsequently rerecorded by Kiss for the 1975 album Dressed to Kill, while “Goin’ Blind,” credited jointly to Simmons and Coronel, also surfaced in the band’s early repertoire. In 1977 Casablanca acquired both the album and its accompanying artwork from Columbia specifically to block any opportunistic release that might exploit Kiss’s rising profile and feature the musicians without makeup. Unofficial copies nevertheless circulated among collectors until 2001, when three tracks—“Keep Me Waiting,” “She,” and “Love Her All I Can”—appeared for the first time on an official Kiss release, the five-disc box set.
Columbia, however, conditioned the agreement on replacing Coronel with a stronger guitarist. Despite the longstanding friendship between Simmons and Coronel, the change was made, bringing Ron Leejack into the group. This revised configuration tracked a full album at Electric Lady Studios in 1971, the facility once operated by Jimi Hendrix. The resulting material bore little resemblance to the heavy-metal arena anthems Kiss would later champion; instead, Wicked Lester leaned toward the prevailing soft-rock sound exemplified by Rod Stewart and similar acts, blending multiple styles in a manner that left Simmons and Stanley dissatisfied. Unwilling to continue under those circumstances, the two founding members exited, leaving the completed album unreleased.
Once Simmons and Stanley achieved widespread success with Kiss during the mid- to late ’70s, the shelved Wicked Lester recordings attracted considerable attention from fans. Two of its songs, “She” and “Love Her All I Can,” were subsequently rerecorded by Kiss for the 1975 album Dressed to Kill, while “Goin’ Blind,” credited jointly to Simmons and Coronel, also surfaced in the band’s early repertoire. In 1977 Casablanca acquired both the album and its accompanying artwork from Columbia specifically to block any opportunistic release that might exploit Kiss’s rising profile and feature the musicians without makeup. Unofficial copies nevertheless circulated among collectors until 2001, when three tracks—“Keep Me Waiting,” “She,” and “Love Her All I Can”—appeared for the first time on an official Kiss release, the five-disc box set.
Albums