Wicked Lester

Although the band Wicked Lester never issued an official recording during their brief tenure together, the group would serve as a stepping stone for both Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, both of whom later went on to form one of the '70s biggest hard rock outfits, Kiss. Simmons and Stanley met in the late '60s through a mutual friend, Steve Coronel, but it wasn't until Wicked Lester was formed in the early '70s that they reached any degree of success. In addition to Simmons (bass and vocals) and Stanley (guitar and vocals), the group also originally featured Coronel (lead guitar), Tony Zarella (drums), and Brooke Ostrander (keyboards), as the quintet received a recording contract from Columbia after only playing a handful of gigs in the New York area.



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