Gene Simmons, Cartoon Hero

Gene Simmons, the fire-breathing, blood-spitting KISS star, just might be the next SpongeBob, thanks to his latest project: "My Dad the Rock Star." The show recently started airing in the United States on the cable channel Nickelodeon, alongside animated favorites like "Jimmy Neutron," "Rugrats" and "The Fairly Oddparents."”

Maybe Jimi, Janis, and the Lizard King saw stuff like this coming, and decided to check out early.

Rock and Roll burst upon the scene in 1954, with the Crew Cuts’ “Life Could Be a Dream,” closely followed by Bill Haley and the Comets’ “Shake, Rattle, and Roll.” Soon, parents everywhere were shocked and disturbed to find their kids jamming to music that young white folks just shouldn’t be listening to.

Within a very short time, Rock and Roll was being used by advertisers to sell cars, shaving cream, and sodas.

In the 70’s, some parents were likewise shocked by the makeup-clad noisemakers known as KISS. Why, their very name stood for “Knights in Service to Satan,” according to some authority who never seemed to be named. As it turned out, the band had no direct connection to Satanism, but did suffer from a rather shallow creative well.

In 2002, the mainstreaming of Rock and Roll which began with 50’s advertising took a strong upward turn with the debut of The Osbournes, which took a lighthearted look at former Black Sabbath (a group who really did sing about Satan, though nobody seemed to notice) front man Ozzy Osbourne. Basically, the show, while doing horrible things like contributing to the popularity of reality TV, also performed a public service: kids, stay off drugs, or you could end up like THIS!

I haven’t seen My Dad the Rock Star yet. It has potential to educate kids in a similar fashion. By any chance, is the father hard of hearing?