Vincent John Cusano (born August 6, 1952), better known by his stage name Vinnie Vincent, is an American guitarist. He is a former member of the rock band

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

from 1982 until mid-1984 during the band's transition out of their 1973–1983 makeup period. Vincent was the last member to wear a unique makeup/costume configuration, as the character of The Wizard (a design created by

Paul Stanley Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who was the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss from the band's inception in 1973 to their retireme ...

), until he and the band were first shown without the makeup during an interview on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

in September 1983. He founded his own band, Vinnie Vincent Invasion, which had minor hits in the

hair metal Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fi ...

genre.

Early life

Vincent John Cusano was born on August 6, 1952 in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the List of cities in New England by population, fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Loc ...

, the son of Theresa "Terri" (Ferraro) (1930–2021) and Alfonso Cusano, musicians. Both of his parents were of Italian descent. He picked up the guitar at an early age and was inspired by bluegrass and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

. Cusano's first introduction to working with internationally renowned artists was working with

Felix Cavaliere Felix Cavaliere (born November 29, 1942) is an American musician. He is best known for being the co-lead vocalist and keyboard player for The Young Rascals. Although he was a member of Joey Dee and the Starliters, known for their hit " Pepperm ...

(mostly widely known from The Rascals and their hit " Good Lovin' ⁠") as part of the band "Treasure". This resulted in an album of the same name being released on Epic Records in 1977. It was recorded in New York City at Sound Ideas recording studios In 1980, Vincent moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

where he became a staff songwriter for the television series ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...

'' and '' Joanie Loves Chachi''. Many of the series songs were written on Vincent's

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

while sitting at the Cunninghams' kitchen table on the ''Happy Days'' set, during off-time from the show's rehearsal schedule. Vincent has said the times of working at the Paramount lot were genuinely "happy days". According to the site "Kiss Related Recordings", Vincent has played with Dan Hartman as well as the bands Hunter, Warrior, Hitchhikers and Heat going as far back as 1970.

Career

Kiss

After being introduced to the band by songwriter Adam Mitchell, Vincent was brought in as the replacement for guitarist

Ace Frehley Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (, ; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician who was the original lead guitarist, occasional lead vocalist and founding member of the rock band Kiss (band), Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. ...

. Vincent's personality meshed well with

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; ; born August 25, 1949) also known by his stage persona "The Demon", is an Israeli-born American musician. He was the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss, which he co-founded wit ...

and

, thus enabling him to play lead guitar on six of the nine tracks on the ''

Creatures of the Night ''Creatures of the Night'' is the tenth studio album by American rock band Kiss, released in 1982. It was the band's last for Casablanca Records, the only label for which Kiss had recorded up to that point. The album was dedicated to the memor ...

'' album as well as co-writing three. After a commercially disappointing Creatures of the Night/Tenth Anniversary tour, that finished on a high at what ended up being the "last" makeup show (and Kiss' largest crowd attendance) at Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Vincent returned to the studio with Kiss to record the ''

Lick It Up ''Lick It Up'' is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Kiss (band), Kiss. Before its 1983 release, the band members appeared on MTV without their trademark make-up. It was the first public appearance without make-up by the band, and ...

'' album. His work was productive, yielding eight co-writes out of the ten songs on the album (a record for any member until Bruce Kulick's nine out of 12 on ''

Carnival of Souls ''Carnival of Souls'' is a 1962 American psychological horror film produced and directed by Herk Harvey and written by John Clifford from a story by Clifford and Harvey, and starring Candace Hilligoss. Its plot follows Mary Henry, a young woman ...

'' and Stanley's 10 out of 13 on ''

Monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

''). Though contributing to ''Creatures of the Night'' as a session player before being named as Frehley's replacement in December 1982, Vincent, for all the public knew, was the official guitarist in Kiss and played all the lead guitar tracks on ''Lick it Up''. In what was a frequent occurrence for former guitarist Frehley, a "ghost player" was asked to play on the album, with Rick Derringer recording the solo on the opening track. Though Vincent performed well live with Kiss, he refused to sign an employment contract which strained the relationship with Simmons/Stanley. This arose because of disputes over his role in the band and pay (some reports indicated that Vincent had asked for, and was denied, a percentage of the band's gross profits). Consequently, Vincent never formally became a member of the band. This ultimately led to him leaving after the North American leg of the "Lick It Up" tour.Black Diamond: The Unauthorized Biography of KISS , Dale Sherman , 1997 He was replaced by

Mark St. John Mark Leslie Norton (February 7, 1956 – April 5, 2007), better known as Mark St. John, was an American guitarist best known for his brief stint with the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss from April to November 1984. His work can be heard on the ...

. Despite parting on bad terms, Vincent reconnected with Kiss years later as a songwriter on the 1992 album ''

Revenge Revenge is defined as committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Vengeful forms of justice, such as primitive justice or retributive justice, are often differentiated from more fo ...

'', contributing to the songs " Unholy", "Heart Of Chrome" and "I Just Wanna". Vincent again fell out of favor with Simmons and Stanley, as they claimed that Vincent again began "making all kinds of crazy demands and pulling the same kind of crazy stuff all over again". In 2022, Kiss released a super deluxe multi disc version of the ''Creatures of the Night'' album, which featured demos and outtakes with Vincent as guitarist and songwriter, as well as two full CDs of live recordings from the Creatures of the Night/10th Anniversary Tour, the first officially released live recordings with Vinnie Vincent.

Vinnie Vincent Invasion

Following his departure from Kiss in mid-1984, Vincent used the money he made from his tenure in the band to take a long vacation, traveling the world for a full year and visiting places like

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, including a visit to the small town of Mora in

Dalarna Dalarna (; ), also referred to by the English exonyms Dalecarlia and the Dales, is a (historical province) in central Sweden. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Nor ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. That same year Vincent was hospitalized for mental health related issues, and also wrote songs and recorded demos of six new songs intended for Kiss with drumme
Hirsh Gardner
Then he formed the band Vinnie Vincent Invasion with, among others, former Journey singer

Robert Fleischman Robert Fleischman (born March 11, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for briefly working with the rock band Journey as their lead vocalist in 1977 and occasionally thereafter as a songwriting collaborator. Biography Fle ...

in the mid-1980s and released two studio albums: '' Vinnie Vincent Invasion'' in 1986 and '' All Systems Go'' in 1988. The band broke up in 1989. After that, the band's singer Mark Slaughter and bassist

Dana Strum Dana Strum (born Dana Strumwasser on December 13, 1957) is an American musician who is a co-founder, bass player, and one of the two primary songwriters of the hard rock band Slaughter, an American Music Awards winner, formed in 1988. He firs ...

formed Slaughter.

Later career

In 1996, Vincent released a solo EP from the studio sessions he did in 1990 (some say 1989–91), called ''

Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...

'', once again with Robert Fleischman on vocals. Vincent, as well as playing all the guitars, played bass and did the drum programming under the guise of "V. Meister”. Andre LaBelle provided drum tracks to the CD but they were replaced by Vincent's drum programming. LaBelle can be heard on various tracks on the bootleg ''Guitarmaggedon/Guitars from Hell'' CD that featured five more songs than the ''Euphoria'' EP. A tribute album entitled '' Kiss My Ankh: A Tribute to Vinnie Vincent'' was released by SplitScreen Entertainment on August 27, 2008. The album consists of new recordings of songs from Vincent's careers with Kiss and the Vinnie Vincent Invasion. Featured artists include Steve Brown of Trixter,

Troy Patrick Farrell White Lion is an American glam metal band that was formed in New York City in 1983 by Danish vocalist Mike Tramp and American guitarist Vito Bratta. Mainly active in the 1980s and early 1990s, they released their debut album ''Fight to Survive ...

White Lion White Lion is an American glam metal band that was formed in New York City in 1983 by Danish vocalist Mike Tramp and American guitarist Vito Bratta. Mainly active in the 1980s and early 1990s, they released their debut album ''Fight to Survive ...

, T.J. Racer of

Nitro Nitro may refer to: Chemistry *Nitrogen, a chemical element and a gas except at very low temperatures, with which many compounds are formed: **Nitro compound, an organic compound containing one or more nitro functional groups, -NO2 **Nitro ligand ...

, Mike Weeks of

's band, Sheldon Tarsha of Adler's Appetite,

Chris Caffery Christopher Caffery (born September 9, 1967) is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal guitarist, best known for his work as a member of Savatage and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Caffery has been releasing solo records singing and playing g ...

Savatage Savatage () is an American heavy metal band founded by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1979 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The band was first called Avatar, but, shortly before the release of their debut album '' Sirens'' (1983), they changed t ...

and

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill (producer), Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-pr ...

Ryan Roxie Ryan Roxie (born Ryan Rosowicz, December 1, 1965) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a solo artist and for playing guitar with Alice Cooper, Casablanca, Gilby Clarke, and Slash's Snakepit. Roxie is the primary found ...

from the

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

band and rock and roll comic C.C. Banana, who performs a parody of the Kiss song " Unholy" (rewritten as a roast of

Danger Danger Danger Danger is an American hard rock band formed in Queens, New York, in 1986. History Danger Danger was formed in 1986 by former Hotshot members lead vocalist Mike Pont (joined in 1987), bassist Bruno Ravel, and drummer Steve West (joine ...

vocalist Ted Poley).

Appearances in 2018–2023

After 22 years of being off the radar, Vinnie Vincent agreed to appear at the 2018 Atlanta Kiss Expo in January. Vincent fulfilled his commitment and appeared at the sold-out expo, playing a four-song set including the live premiere of Kiss's "A Million to One" from ''

'' and a VVI song "Back on the Streets" where he was joined by original VVI vocalist Robert Fleischman. He said he considers Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley family, wishing them nothing but the best. After some e-mail exchanges with Gene Simmons, Vincent agreed to appear with Simmons on stage in April 2018 which was the first time they have met in person in over two decades. He also gave an exclusive interview to

Eddie Trunk Edward Scott Trunk (born August 8, 1964) is an American music historian, radio personality, talk show host, and author, best known as the host of several hard rock- and heavy metal-themed radio and television shows. Biography Trunk was born o ...

for

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...

, which was his first in over two decades, and held multiple question-and-answer sessions with fans. On February 16, 2018, it was announced via Facebook that Vinnie would appear at the Days of the Dead convention in Charlotte, North Carolina in May 2018. Vinnie Vincent's first concert in 30 years was scheduled for December 7, 2018, at Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee. However these shows were postponed until February 8–9, 2019 in Nashville, before being canceled. These shows were promoted by Derek Christopher, who despite never having finalized or fulfilled a contract with Vincent, continued to sell tickets nevertheless. This left everyone wondering where the money went, and ultimately blamed Vincent. Vincent then announced another show in Nashville called "Speedball Jamm", which was scheduled for June 7, 2019. This show was ultimately canceled. Two months later, Vincent hosted Vinnie Vincent's Birthday Bash on August 10 in Nashville, TN, followed by Vinnie Vincent's Merry Metal Christmas on December 14–15, 2019. On May 22, 2022, Vinnie played for the first time live together with his lead guitar colleagues from Kiss,

and Bruce Kulick, performing a 4-song all Kiss set at Creatures Fest (hosted by Neil Davis, Brian Bell, Dale Walter) in Nashville. In May 2023, Vincent held an album listening party, at Starstruck Studios. The upcoming album was well received; several bands opened for Vincent, and he played with backing band Leo Roriz of Sleeper Signal and Ben Hanz of Trixter.

Personal life

Vincent was married to AnnMarie Peters, and they had twin daughters born in 1982. Peters was reported missing at age 43 on January 2, 1998, after failing to pick up her daughters from a sleepover with friends. Her remains were found two years later after Gregory McArthur pled guilty to the crime. Peters had been working part-time as an escort, and McArthur had a history of crimes related to prostitution. In 1996, Vincent married his second wife Diane Kero, a former girlfriend of Ace Frehley; Vincent and Kero had first met at a Kiss convention in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

the previous year. The two resided in

Smyrna, Tennessee Smyrna is a town in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. Smyrna's population was 53,070 at the 2020 census, making it the largest town in Tennessee by population in that census. Smyrna is part of the Nashville metropolitan area. Histo ...

until her death from alcohol-related complications on January 13, 2014. She was 47 years old.

Discography

With Kiss

*''

'' (1982) *''

'' (1983) *''

'' (1992) songwriting credits only

Compilation

*''

Smashes, Thrashes & Hits ''Smashes, Thrashes & Hits'' is a compilation album by the American hard rock band Kiss. It was the fourth hits album overall but the second hits album released by the band in the United States ('' Killers'' and '' Chikara'' were not released the ...

'' (1988) *'' Alive III'' (1993) songwriting credits only *''

Kiss Unplugged ''Kiss Unplugged'' is a live album by the American rock band Kiss, released in 1996. It was recorded in studio for the television program ''MTV Unplugged'' and released as part of a series of live and video albums. It is the first Kiss live al ...

'' (1995) songwriting credits only *'' The Box Set'' (2001) *'' The Very Best of Kiss'' (2002) *'' Kiss Symphony: Alive IV'' (2003) songwriting credits only *'' The Best of Kiss, Volume 2: The Millennium Collection'' (2004) *'' The Best of Kiss, Volume 3: The Millennium Collection'' (2006) songwriting credits only *'' Kiss Alive! 1975–2000'' (2006) songwriting credits only *''The Best of KISS: Green Series'' (2008) *''Playlist Plus'' (2008) *''Playlist Your Way'' (2008) *'' Jigoku-Retsuden'' (2008) songwriting credits only *''15 Classics'' (2008) digital download only *''15 Discoveries'' (2008) digital download only *''45 The Complete Collection'' (2008) digital download only *''

Alive! The Millennium Concert ''Alive! The Millennium Concert'' is a Album#Live, live album by the United States, American hard rock Band (rock and pop), band Kiss (band), Kiss. It was released on November 21, 2006, as part of the ''Kiss Alive! 1975–2000'' box set. Album i ...

'' (2008) songwriting credits & digital download only

With Vinnie Vincent Invasion

*'' Vinnie Vincent Invasion'' (1986) *'' All Systems Go'' (1988) *''

'' (EP) (1996) *''Judgement Day'' (2023)

With Black Satin

* ''Black Satin featuring Fred Parris'' (1976)

With The Hitchhikers

* ''The Hitchhikers'' (1976)

With Wendy O. Williams

*'' WOW'' (1984 Passport) "Ain't None Of Your Business" Songwriter (Simmons, Carr & Vincent) & Guitar

With Peter Criss

*'' Let Me Rock You'' (1982)

With John Waite

*'' No Brakes'' (1984 EMI) Songwriter "Tears" (1981)

With Dan Hartman

*''

Instant Replay Instant replay or action replay is a video reproduction of something that recently occurred, both shot and broadcast live TV, live. After being shown live, the video is replayed so viewers can see it again and analyze what just happened. Spo ...

'' (1978) Rhythm & Acoustic Guitars, Tambourine, Backing Vocal

With Laura Nyro

* ''

Nested ''Nested'' is the seventh studio album by Bronx-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro. It was released in 1978 on Columbia Records. Following on from her extensive tour to promote 1976's ''Smile'', which resulted in the 1977 live albu ...

'' (1978)

With Treasure

*''

Treasure Treasure (from from Greek ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions legally define what constit ...

'' (1977

Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

) Guitar & Lead Vocals on "Innocent Eyes" & "Turn Yourself Around" (with Felix Cavaliere: of The Rascals)

With Felix Cavaliere

* ''Castles in the Air'' (1979)

With HEAT

* ''Still Waiting'' (1981)

Tribute albums and singles

*'' Kiss My Ankh: A Tribute to Vinnie Vincent'' (2008) *''Virtual Invasion – Gypsy in Her Eyes'' (2017) *''Virtual Invasion – Young Blood, Young Fire'' (2018) *''Virtual Invasion – Forbidden'' (2018) *''Virtual Invasion – Tears'' (2020)

With the Bangles

*''

Everything Everything, every-thing, or every thing, is all that exists; it is an antithesis of ''nothing'', or its complement. It is the totality of things relevant to some subject matter. Without expressed or implied limits, it may refer to . The uni ...

'' (1988) Songwriting credit & Guitars for "Make a Play for Her Now"

With Was (Not Was)

* ''

Born to Laugh at Tornadoes ''Born to Laugh at Tornadoes'' is a 1983 album by the art-funk band Was (Not Was). ''Rolling Stone'' declared it "conceptually, the best album of the year" shortly after its release. Despite the glowing reviews, ''Tornadoes'' made little commerc ...

'' (1983)

With Warrior

* ''Warrior'' (2017 HNE Recordings). Collection of Demos. * ''Warrior II'' (2019 HNE Recordings). Another Collection of Demos. * ''The Complete Sessions'' (2024 HNE Recordings). Boxset of the previous two albums.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vincent, Vinnie 1952 births Living people Musicians from Bridgeport, Connecticut American people of Italian descent American heavy metal guitarists American rock guitarists American male guitarists American lead guitarists Glam metal musicians Kiss (band) members Vinnie Vincent Invasion members Guitarists from Connecticut 20th-century American guitarists