Paul Daniel “Ace” Frehley, co-founder and lead guitarist of the legendary rock band Kiss and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 74 after injuries sustained in a fall last month, his family said in a statement, according to variety.com.
“We are completely devastated. In his final moments as he left this world, we were fortunate to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions. We cherish all of our fondest memories, his laughter, his strength and the kindness he gave to others. The scale of his loss is epic and beyond comprehension. Ace's memory will live on forever!“
His longtime bandmates, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of Kiss, wrote in a statement: “We are devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley. He was an important and indispensable rock soldier during some of the most formative and seminal chapters of the band's history. He is and always will be a part of the Kiss legacy. Our thoughts are with Jeanette, Monique and all who loved him, including our fans around the world.“
Although Kiss, who performed in theatrical makeup and costumes, received little respect from music critics and the rock intelligentsia, their impact and influence on a generation of musicians and fans was immense and lasting. The band's songs were in many ways a gateway to their live performances and incredible mystique: In an era before MTV, their performances were almost exclusively visual and experiential, with explosions, fire-breathing, smoke-belching guitars, and fireworks. Yet Kiss's mystique was key: the band members' faces were not revealed for more than a decade, by which time Frehley and drummer Peter Criss had left the band. Frehley was known as the "Space Ace" and cultivated an otherworldly image.
Frehley joined co-founders Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss in late 1972 and remained with the group through its most significant eras: He left in 1982 for a solo career, but rejoined when the original group reunited in 1996 for a hugely lucrative tour and stayed until 2002. Over the years, he has worked as a solo artist with his band Frehley's Comet and under his own name; In 1978, when all four members of Kiss simultaneously released solo albums, many fans considered Frehley's, which included his hit cover of the song "New York Groove", to be the best.
Paul Daniel Frehley was born into a musical family in the Bronx, New York City, and received an electric guitar as a Christmas present in 1964. He never took lessons, and his main inspirations were Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and The Who. He began playing in bands as a teenager and was nicknamed by his friends for his ability to set up dates with girls.
He dropped out of high school after one of his bands, Cathedral, began making money, but later returned and earned his degree. He continued playing until 1971, when one of his bands, Molimo, signed with RCA Records and recorded several unreleased songs for the label.
But late the following year, a friend spotted an ad in the Village Voice for a lead guitar position in the fledgling band Kiss. Frehley reportedly went to the audition in Manhattan wearing one red and one orange sneaker. Stanley, Simmons, and Criss were appalled by his appearance, but impressed enough by his fiery lead guitar playing that he was invited to join a few weeks later. The group, preceded by Stanley and Simmons' Wicked Lester formation, was renamed Kiss in January 1973 and soon, inspired by the New York Dolls and Alice Cooper, began to paint their faces and wear outrageous costumes for their concerts.
Kiss resisted the cynicism and lack of interest of the snobbish New York music scene in their early months - Frehley worked as a taxi driver to pay the bills - but, crucially, they teamed up with manager Bill Aucoin in September 1973, who began to chart the band's path to stardom with the band members.
The band released their self-titled debut album in February of the following year, which included such future favorites as "Firehouse", "Black Diamond" and Frehley's composition "Cold Gin", but this album and its subsequent "Hotter Than Hell" and "Dressed to Kill" were only minor successes.
The 1975 concert, "Kiss Alive!", led by a supercharged version of "Rock and Roll All Night," combined with memorable television appearances and Aucoin's business acumen, catapulted the group to superstardom. Their primary audience was teenagers, who were delighted by their parents' embarrassed reactions to this loud and heavily made-up group of "freaks." The group's painted faces soon began appearing on denim jackets across the United States, and their iconic logo - a pair of lightning-fast "Ss" stolen from David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust era - was adopted by the British public. on thousands of high school notebooks.
The band teamed up with Alice Cooper and Lou Reed producer Bob Ezrin for the vital follow-up studio album, “Destroyer“, which would become their biggest release to date. Ezrin's intricate production (and strategic use of session musicians) spawned classics like “Detroit Rock City“ and “Shout It Out Loud“, and the band followed Cooper's lead by including the sensitive (and image-contradictory) ballad “Beth“, which was co-written and sung by Chris. The song quickly became the band's biggest hit to date.
“Destroyer“ and the band's increasingly elaborate concert productions (not to mention the abundance and well-marketed merchandise that grew to include everything) quickly made them one of the biggest rock bands in the world.
Two more studio albums followed in quick succession, Rock and Roll Over and Love Gun, the latter featuring Frehley's first vocal on "Shock Me" (inspired by an electric shock during a concert in Florida). Another live album, Alive II, was released in the fall of 1977 and featured a side of studio recordings, including Frehley's second vocal, "Rocket Ride."
The band's anonymity is a big part of its appeal. "On stage, I'm Ace Frehley, off stage, I'm a kid from the Bronx," Frehley told Rolling Stone in 1977 “I consider myself lucky in a way. Mick Jagger will always be Mick Jagger, but I can take off my makeup and know who I am.“
However, the arrogance began to creep in, not least in the form of the four solo albums the band released simultaneously in September 1978. Surprisingly – given Stanley's role as Kiss's lead singer and the stellar lineup Simmons assembled for his album – Frehley's album was widely hailed by fans as the band's best. He played a number of instruments on the album, wrote or co-wrote most of its songs, and was accompanied by some of New York's top session musicians – including drummer Anton Figg and bassist Will Lee, both of whom would later join the house band for David Letterman's late-night television show – and produced by Hendrix/Led Zeppelin/Kiss veteran Eddie Kramer. The album also featured a surprise hit single, a cover of Rod Argent's "New York Groove."
Kiss returned in 1979 with the album "Dynasty" and the disco-influenced hit "I Was Made for Loving You," but the backlash had long since begun - and any take on disco by a rock band was considered sacrilegious by most of the band's fans. Chris and Frehley also had problems with the band's musical direction and, not least, substance abuse, which led to both of them leaving the band in 1980 and 1982, respectively, although Stanley and Simmons continued the band's journey with other musicians.
Frehley's drug and alcohol abuse worsened in May In 1983, he was arrested after a high-speed chase on the Bronx River Parkway in his 1981 DeLorean. He was charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, and leaving the scene of an accident after hitting four cars in the accident (fortunately, no injuries). He spent two weeks in a hospital detox unit and was required to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
He formed his solo band Frehley's Comet and eventually signed with heavy metal giant Megaforce Records, releasing a strong album (co-produced by Kramer) in the summer of 1987. The album featured songwriting collaborations with Kiss drummer Eric Carr and "Wild Thing" writer Chip Taylor, as well as a song about his arrest called "Rock Soldiers," which sang: "I shouted: “I'm invincible“ / I said I was high above the law / But my only pleasure was just a lie / And now I'm glad I saw.“ Released during the commercial heyday of heavy metal, the album was certified gold and launched Frehley's career, which included tours with Iron Maiden and Alice Cooper. He was plagued by financial problems, and his sobriety did not last long. The band continued for several more years before Frehley dropped the name and pursued a solo career.
In 1996, he and Chris returned to Kiss for a major tour, and the band recorded the studio album “Psycho Circus“, although Frehley contributed only one song and minimal instrumental performance. In the following years, the reunited Kiss continued to tour, organizing their first “Farewell Tour“ in 2001 (Stanley and Simmons completed what was apparently Kiss' final farewell tour in December 2023), and Frehley left in 2002.
He continued his solo career, releasing five albums between 2009 and 2024, working with musicians such as Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, Cheap Trick's Robin Zander, and even Stanley and Simmons. His most recent album, “10,000 Volts“, was released in 2024.
Frehley released an autobiography titled “No Regrets – rock and roll memoirs“, in 2011 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Kiss in 2014. According to Stanley and Simmons, he was invited to join Kiss for encores during their final tour but declined, although Frehley disputes these claims.
“I never set low goals“, he wrote in his autobiography. “I have always believed that most people are ruined by the limitations they place on themselves.“
Frehley leaves behind his wife Jeanette, his daughter Monique, his brother Charles, his sister Nancy Salvner, his nieces Sancere Frehley, Julie Salvner, Skye Frehley and Andrew Salvner, his daughter-in-law Micheline and his brother-in-law Ron Salvner.