Saturday, November 7: Happy Birthday Tommy Thayer of Kiss

Happy Birthday today (Nov. 7) to Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer. He's 55. Tommy replaced Ace Frehley as lead guitarist in Kiss and he is the former lead guitarist of 80's metal band Black 'n Blue.

Thayer was born in Portland, Oregon, and grew up in the nearby suburb of Beaverton, Oregon. His passion for early 70's hard rock drove him to pick up the electric guitar at age 13. He eventually formed the band Black 'n Blue with high school classmate and friend Jamie St. James in 1981. The band was signed to Geffen Records. The band's debut album was released in 1984 and they saw moderate success at radio and MTV with the song "Hold On to 18".

Black 'n Blue opened for Kiss on tour in the fall of 1985. Gene Simmons would go on to produce one of the band's albums. Fast forward to 2002. Tommy Thayer would became lead guitarist for Kiss, and take over the "Spaceman" role as a permanent replacement for Ace Frehley.