Ace Frehley, the original lead guitarist and founding member of the glam rock band Kiss, who captivated audiences along with his elaborate galactic make-up and smoking guitar, died Thursday.
He was 74.
Frehley died peacefully surrounded by household in Morristown, New Jersey, following a latest fall, in keeping with his agent.
Family members stated in an announcement that they’re “completely devastated and heartbroken” however will cherish his laughter and rejoice the kindness he bestowed upon others.
Kiss, whose hits included “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” was recognized for its theatrical stage exhibits, with hearth and faux blood spewing from the mouths of band members wearing physique armor, platform boots, wigs and signature black-and-white face paint.
Kiss’ original lineup included Frehley, singer-guitarist Paul Stanley, tongue-wagging bassist Gene Simmons and drummer Peter Criss. Frehley’s is the primary dying among the many 4 founding members.
Band members took on the personas of comedian book-style characters – Frehley was referred to as “Space Ace” and the “Spaceman.” The New York-born entertainer and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer usually experimented with pyrotechnics, making his guitars glow, emit smoke and shoot rockets from the headstock.
“We are devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley,” Simmons and Stanley stated in a joint assertion. “He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history. He is and will always be a part of KISS’s legacy.”
Born Paul Daniel Frehley, he grew up in a musical household and started taking part in guitar at age 13. Before becoming a member of Kiss, he performed in native bands round New York City and was a roadie for Jimi Hendrix at age 18.
Kiss was particularly widespread within the mid-Seventies, promoting tens of hundreds of thousands of albums and licensing its iconic look to grow to be a advertising and marketing marvel. “Beth” was its largest business hit within the U.S., peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1976.
As the Kennedy Center’s new chairman, President Donald Trump named Kiss as certainly one of this year’s honorees.
In 2024, the band offered their catalog, model identify and mental property to Swedish firm Pophouse Entertainment Group in a deal estimated to be over $300 million.
Frehley often feuded with Stanley and Simmons by means of the years. He left the band in 1982, lacking the years once they took off the make-up and had blended success. Stanley later stated they practically changed Frehley with Eddie Van Halen, however Vinnie Vincent assumed the lead guitar function.
Frehley carried out each as a solo artist and along with his band, Frehley’s Comet.
But he rejoined Kiss within the mid-Nineteen Nineties for a triumphant reunion and restoration of their original fashion that got here after bands together with Nirvana, Weezer and the Melvins had expressed affection for the band and paid them musical tributes.
He would depart once more in 2002. When the original 4 entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, a dispute scrapped plans for them to carry out. Simmons and Stanley objected to Criss and Frehley being inducted as a substitute of then-guitarist Tommy Thayer and then-drummer Eric Singer.
Simmons advised Rolling Stone journal that yr that Frehley and Criss “no longer deserve to wear the paint.” “The makeup is earned,” he added. “Just being there at the beginning is not enough.”
Frehley and Kiss additionally had an enormous affect on the glammy fashion of Nineteen Eighties so-called hair metallic bands together with Mötley Crüe and Poison.
“Ace, my brother, I surely cannot thank you enough for the years of great music, the many festivals we’ve done together and your lead guitar on Nothing But A Good Time,” Poison entrance man Bret Michaels stated on Instagram.
Harder-edged bands like Metallica and Pantera had been additionally followers, and even nation famous person Garth Brooks joined the band members for a recording of their “Hard Luck Woman” on a 1994 compilation.
Frehley would seem sometimes with Kiss for exhibits in later years. A 2023 live performance at Madison Square Garden was billed as the band’s last. While Stanley and Simmons stated they might not tour once more, they’ve been open to the opportunity of extra concert events, and they’ve stayed energetic selling the group’s music and memorabilia.