Vinnie Vincent

background vocals · guitar

b. 1952 in Bridgeport

Vincent John Cusano (born August 6, 1952), better known by his stage name Vinnie Vincent, is an American guitarist. He is a former member of the rock band Kiss from 1982 until mid-1984 during the band's transition out of their 1973–1983 makeup period. Vincent was the last member to wear a unique makeup/costume configuration, as the character of the Wizard (a design created by Paul Stanley), until he and the band were first shown without the makeup during an interview on MTV in September 1983. He founded his own band, Vinnie Vincent Invasion, which had minor hits in the hair metal genre.

Early life

Vincent John Cusano was born on August 6, 1952 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Theresa "Terri" (Ferraro) (1930–2021) and Alfonso Cusano, musicians. Both of his parents were of Italian descent. He picked up the guitar at an early age and was inspired by bluegrass and rock and roll. Cusano's first introduction to working with internationally renowned artists was working with Felix Cavaliere (most widely known from The Rascals and their hit "Good Lovin' ⁠") as part of the band "Treasure". This resulted in an album of the same name being released on Epic Records in 1977. It was recorded in New York City at Sound Ideas recording studios In 1980, Vincent moved to Los Angeles, California where he became a staff songwriter for the television series Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi. Many of the series songs were written on Vincent's acoustic guitar while sitting at the Cunninghams' kitchen table on the Happy Days set, during off-time from the show's rehearsal schedule. Vincent has said the times of working at the Paramount lot were genuinely "happy days". According to the site "Kiss Related Recordings", Vincent has played with Dan Hartman as well as the bands Hunter, Warrior, Hitchhikers and Heat going as far back as 1970.

Personal life

Vincent was married to AnnMarie Peters and they had twin daughters born in 1982. Peters was reported missing at age 43 on January 2, 1998, after failing to pick up her daughters from a sleepover with friends. Her remains were found two years later, after Gregory McArthur pled guilty to the crime. Peters had been working part-time as an escort, and McArthur had a history of crimes related to prostitution. In 1996, Vincent married his second wife, Diane Kero, a former girlfriend of Ace Frehley; Vincent and Kero had first met at a Kiss convention in Chicago the previous year. The two resided in Smyrna, Tennessee, until her death from alcohol-related complications on January 13, 2014. She was 47 years old.