After wrapping up KISS’s farewell tour with a final show at Madison Square Garden on December 2, Paul Stanley took some time to chat with Classic Rock about ‘the soundtrack of his life.’ When asked about a song that made him cry, he named an aria from Giacomo Puccini’s ‘Turandot’:
“‘Nessun Dorma’ is incredibly emotional for me. The first time I heard it, as a kid, it was spine-tingling. It showed me the power of music in that you didn’t have to know the lyric to understand the depth of it. And even now, it can still get the tears running down my face.”
The Track Affected His View On Music
Stanley’s first encounter with ‘Nessun Dorma’ was as a ten-year-old, through the voice of Jussi Bjorling. He discovered the song in a stack of records his father had brought home. In a chat with Forbes, the singer recalled:
“My dad brought home one of a series of albums. He subsequently brought the other ones. They were on Capitol Records, and they were compilations of a Swedish tenor, Jussi Bjorling, and just a gorgeous voice. Perhaps not the most powerful that I would be introduced to later. But Jussi Bjorling’ Nessun Dorma,’ to hear a gorgeous melody against this beautiful accompaniment.”
Leaving a lasting effect on him, the song played a role in shaping Stanley’s understanding of music. It also helped him explore and enjoy different genres, as he said:
“Even at a young age, it was clear that music is the language. That not knowing what is being said doesn’t keep you from understanding what is behind it. So that certainly led me to being lucky enough to go to the original Metropolitan House and see Franco Corelli, who’s, to my mind, one of the greatest Italian tenors who ever lived. To see and hear him in ‘Tosca.’ So that album my dad brought home was an introduction to another musical style and to Verdi and Puccini.”
He Loved Both Classical Music And Rock
While he grew up in a family where music was a part of daily life, the KISS vocalist’s interest in classical music started after hearing Beethoven at age five. With classic pieces on one hand, he turned to rock and roll with the effect of The Beatles.
