KISSGene Simmons certainly stirred the pot with his comments in an Esquire magazine article in which he proclaimed, "Rock is finally dead." There have been a number of rockers who have weighed in on the topic and Simmons himself has now elaborated on the topic during another interview.

Speaking with Joel Nichols of KSHB's 'Kansas City Live' television show, Simmons was asked about his comments and he responded, "Rock and roll is dead. I'm gonna ask you a question, and you decide, okay? From 1958 until 1988, it's 30 years, name hundreds and hundreds of classic rock acts. Okay, I've got Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin… on and on and on. Even Motown… Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson. From 1988 until today, just give me five. You can't name [them]. Iconic? No. Nobody. How about that?"

Nichols then asked Simmons if the economics of the music business played into that and he responded, "No, I don't think it's the economics. I think it really comes down to when technology outpaces the laws of the land, it's the Wild West; people just go and grab territory and don't pay for it. It devalues new bands. It doesn't affect me -- I make a living -- but it's sad, because the next Beatles or the next KISS, it does not have a chance."

Simmons, who is no stranger to making controversial statements, finished by defending his right to voice his opinion. He explained, "It's called America. You're allowed to say stupid things. You're allowed to voice your opinion. And I'm not better or worse than anybody else."

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