Ace Frehley, KISS Original Lead Guitarist And Founding Member, Has Died

Ace Frehley, the flamboyant original lead guitarist and founding member of legendary rockers KISS, has died at the age of 74. The guitarist had been suffering from ill health and was recently hospitalized following a fall which forced the cancelation of his scheduled tour dates for 2025.

Frehley joined Gene Simmons (bass/vocals), Paul Stanley (rhythm guitar/vocals) and drummer Peter Criss in KISS’ original lineup, which coalesced in New York City early in 1973. Renowned for inventing his famous “Space Ace” onstage persona (later known as “The Spaceman,”) Frehley also designed KISS’ famous double lightning-bolt logo, which was polished up by Stanley.

He played with the band from its inception until 1982 and also experienced success with his post-KISS project, Frehley’s Comet during the late 80s. He later re-joined KISS for a widely-acclaimed reunion tour in 1996, but he did not participate in the band’s gargantuan final ‘End Of The Road’ tour which began in Vancouver in January 2019.

Born Paul Daniel Frehley in The Bronx, New York City on April 27, 1951, KISS’ future lead guitarist hailed from a musical family. Both his parents played piano and his brother and sister both played piano and guitar. A self-taught musician, Frehley began playing guitar aged 13, drawing inspiration from pioneering guitarists including Jimi Hendrix, Albert Lee, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck and Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page. He acquired the nickname “Ace” at high school from friends who described him as “a real ace” due to his ability to win dates with girls in his neighborhood.

Frehley played in a series of local NYC acts during the early 70s including a band briefly signed to RCA Records called Molimo. His tenure with KISS began late in 1972, when he spotted an ad for a lead guitarist in The Village Voice. This led to an audition with the fledgling band at New York’s East 23rd Street. Frehley’s playing impressed his band mates, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and Peter Criss and several weeks later, he was confirmed as KISS’ lead guitarist.

After KISS decided to paint their faces for live performances, Frehley began to paint silver stars on his eyes, leading to him adopting his “Space Ace” stage persona, inspired by his interest in science fiction and space travel.

Frehley wrote or co-wrote several of KISS’ best-loved early songs, including the long-time fan favorite “Cold Gin” from the band’s self-titled 1974 debut. However, he initially lacked confidence in his singing voice and only performed lead vocals on a KISS song for the first time on “Shock Me” from 1977’s Love Gun – a song inspired by an incident when Frehley was nearly fatally electrocuted during a show in Florida.

KISS became the first act to sign with Neil Bogart’s Casablanca label in 1973. Early releases sold relatively slowly, but the quartet scored a major breakthrough with its first live album Alive! released in 1975. Going gold, the record became the first in a series of mega-selling albums – also including Destroyer, Rock And Roll Over, and Love Gun – which turned KISS into one of the world’s biggest bands during the late 70s. Frehley’s melodic, but aggressive playing was central to KISS’ sound during this period and he was also associated with his use of special effects guitars including a Gibson Les Paul that emitted smoke and spinning pyrotechnics.

Frehley remained a key part of KISS until the early 1980s, though by then he found himself increasingly at odds with the band’s musical direction and he played only a limited role in the recording of 1981’s Music From ‘The Elder’. In December 1982, he left KISS and was replaced by guitarist Vinnie Vincent for the tour in support of the Creatures Of The Night album.

By 1984, Frehley had formed his own band, Frehley’s Comet, with his band mates including drummer Anton Fig and former Peter Frampton bassist John Regan. A satisfying mix of hard rock and pop, the band’s self-titled 1987 debut performed well, making the top 50 of the Billboard 200 and selling close to half a million copies. However, its follow-up Second Sighting was less successful. Frehley then embarked on a solo career with 1989’s Trouble Walkin’: a critical success featuring Skid Row’s Sebastian Bach and a guest appearance from Frehley’s old KISS band mate Peter Criss.

Frehley’s solo career went on hold after he re-joined KISS for a highly successful reunion tour, on which all the original four band members performed live together for the first time since Peter Criss’ departure in 1980. The tour led to a further world tour and a new studio album, 1998’s Psycho Circus, featuring Frehley’s song “Into The Void.” Frehley stayed on-board for KISS’ first ‘Farewell Tour’ in 2001 and again performed with the band during the closing ceremonies for the 2022 Winter Olympics. He was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a member of KISS in 2014.

Following his late 90s KISS reunion, Frehley returned to his solo career with 2009’s Anomaly: a Billboard 200 Top 30 success featuring a cover of The Sweet’s “Fox On The Run.” He went on to record a further half dozen solo albums during his lifetime, with his most recent collection, 2024’s 10,000 Volts drawing critical acclaim and topping Billboard’s Hard Music and Rock Album charts.