KISS has officially won more gold records than any other American band

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Keith Spera | Mass Live

Amanda Schwab

Amanda Schwab

As of this summer, Kiss has accumulated more gold-certified albums than any other American band. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the trade group that certifies gold albums for sales of more than 500,000 copies and platinum albums for sales of more than 1 million copies, announced that Kiss has 30 gold albums to its credit. Those include 26 full band albums and the four solo albums released simultaneously by the four original band members in 1978.

“The Very Best of Kiss,” a compilation released in 2002, and “The Best of Kiss 20thCentury Masters (Millennial Collection),” from 2003, were certified gold in June. Those new certifications for these two vintage greatest-hits collections were apparently enough to anoint Kiss “America’s No. 1 Gold Record Award Winning Group of All Time,” with a total of 30 gold albums. Kiss also has 14 platinum albums, and three multi-platinum albums.

Kiss, now in its 41st year as a band, was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. Original members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley continue to tour and record with current guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer – had the good fortune to come to prominence in the decades before file sharing and such streaming services as Spotify decimated sales of recorded music.

While more than 100 digital singles were certified multi-platinum, platinum or gold in June by the RIAA, only one album achieved platinum or multi-platinum status – Taylor Swift’s 2014 blockbuster “1989,” which has sold more than 5 million copies and counting – and only five were certified gold. Those included the two Kiss albums, R&B singer Miguel’s 2012 release “Kaleidoscope Dream” and a pair of compilations: the “Disney Lullaby Album,” from 2000, and the 52nd edition of the ever-popular “Now That’s What I Call Music” series.

Unless Taylor Swift puts out another 30 albums over the next three decades, it seems unlikely that any contemporary act will ever rack up enough gold certifications to displace Kiss at the top spot.