Among the musicians who helped her are names such as Jimi Hendrix, Wayne Kramer and Jello Biafra; female artists also had their breasts “immortalized” by her.
Sixth studio album by Kiss, Love Gun(1977) is the last one where the original formation — Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss — plays along on all the tracks. Among his standout songs are “Christine Sixteen” (which involved Eddie and Alex Van Halen in its demo version), “I Stole Your Love” the title track of the album.
Over time, one song from this work in particular gained prominence after appearing in the group’s performance repertoire at MTV Unpluggedin 1995 — whose recording was released as an album the following year, under the title “Kiss Unplugged”. It is about “Plaster Caster”inspired by a groupie with an unusual job: she produced penis molds of rockstars.
The song title is inspired by the visual artist Cynthia Dorothy Albrittonbetter known as Cynthia Plaster Caster. She was a visual arts student at the University of Illinois Chicago and described herself as a “recovering groupie” because, since she was little, she preferred to be around boys.
One day, Cynthia was given the following assignment by a professor at college: to make a mold of something solid that could hold its shape. That’s when she got the idea to model penises—erect ones, since they could easily come out of the mold after becoming flaccid.
The concept “caught on” and the artist decided to work in this area. It didn’t take long for her to have her first famous client, since she was also a groupie: nothing more, nothing less than Jimi Hendrix.
Over time, other musicians became sources for Cynthia Plaster Caster’s work. Among them are: Noel Redding (The Jimi Hendrix Experience), Wayne Kramer (MC5) and Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys). From the 2000s onwards, the artist also began to shape the breasts of women in the segment, as was the case with Suzi Gardner (L7) and Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs).
What Cynthia Plaster Caster thought about music
In testimony recorded in the book “Kiss Behind the Mask” (via Igor Miranda website), Cynthia Plaster Caster revealed her feelings with “Plaster Caster”. The artist revealed that she was not very impressed with it at first, but began to appreciate it over time.
When someone first told me about ‘Plaster Caster’, I wasn’t too excited. It seemed like Gene Simmons (lead singer and bassist) wrote it to make people think he was modeled after it, which he never was. But years later, when the band Evan Givingyou Lemonheadsthey covered it, I started to notice how catchy the melody was. Today, I’m okay with the song. I don’t love it, but I like it. If it changed my life, I’m not aware of it.”
In fact, despite the tribute, no Kiss member had their penis modeled by the artist. Cynthia Plaster Caster died in April 2022, at the age of 74, from an unspecified cerebrovascular disease.
Contributed by: Augusto Ikeda.
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
