The night KISS and its army battled a snowstorm at the Richfield Coliseum
Updated Mar 12, 2021;
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CLEVELAND, Ohio – KISS was so big in 1978 the only thing that could slow down the classic lineup of Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss was the weather.
The band’s epic “Alive II Tour” loaded with pyrotechnics, fire, smoke bombs and platform risers was rolling along in early 1978 when it ran into a roadblock or, better yet, a blizzard at the Richfield Coliseum. The show proved to be one of the more memorable during KISS’ peak run.
“The concert was oversold,” remembers Simmons. “The fire department was nice, so they allowed 2,000 or 3,000 people more than the capacity. But then they had the snowstorm of the century that night. The parking lot had five or six feet of snow.”
THE REV. DARRELL W. CUMMINGS
When I was going to ClaraTag Elementary School in Miles Heights, a neighborhood in the Cleveland, Ohio area, we had a show and tell in school. I was excited because I finally had something to show and tell.
My mother and I went to pick up my father from the Cleveland Hopkins Airport. For those who remember, this is pre 9/11. Back then for those who can remember you could go to the actual gate and watch the passengers leave the plane.
One of the passenger’s was a man named Cassius Clay. He would later change his name to Muhammad Ali. His proper name is Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.