Ace Frehley, the visionary lead guitarist who helped define the hard-rock sensation Kiss, has passed away at 74 in Morristown, N.J. Known for his iconic white-and-silver face paint and explosive stage presence, Frehley was a cornerstone of the band during two significant periods: from 1973 to 1982, and again from 1996 to 2002, selling millions of records worldwide.
His family confirmed his passing on Thursday, attributing it to a recent fall at his home. Further details regarding his exact location of death in Morristown were not immediately disclosed.
Like all members of Kiss, Frehley was a master of spectacle. He captivated audiences with guitars famously equipped for pyrotechnic displays and cultivated a unique stage persona. Adorned with silver stars on his face, he earned the monikers “the Spaceman” or “Space Ace.” His creative impact extended to the band’s iconic lightning-bolt logo, which he personally designed.
Alongside Frehley, Kiss’s original lineup included guitarist Paul Stanley, drummer Peter Criss, and bassist Gene Simmons, who recently recovered from a car crash in Malibu, California. Remarkably, all four founding members are set to be honored with Kennedy Center Honors this December.
Initially, many rock critics and fans were quick to label Kiss as mere showmen, a perception fueled by the band’s strict policy of never appearing without their elaborate stage makeup until 1983. However, their undeniably energetic and theatrical live performances quickly won over a legion of dedicated young fans, famously known as the ‘Kiss Army.’ During Frehley’s time with the band, Kiss saw eight of their singles crack the Top 40 charts, with him featuring on seven. Notable hits included “Love Gun,” “Christine Sixteen,” and “I Was Made for Loving You.” Interestingly, he was not part of their highest-charting single, “Beth,” a sentimental ballad with orchestral arrangements that soared to No. 7 on the Billboard chart in 1976.
Over his years with Kiss, the band released an impressive 11 albums, encompassing both studio recordings and live performances, all achieving gold or platinum status in the U.S. Their global sales eventually surpassed 100 million records. As time progressed and their anthemic “Rock and Roll All Nite” cemented its place as a classic party track, Kiss’s critical standing steadily rose, culminating in their induction into the esteemed Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
At the induction ceremony, Tom Morello, the celebrated guitarist from Rage Against the Machine, delivered a passionate speech, highlighting Kiss’s profound influence on a diverse range of artists, from heavy metal giants Metallica to pop icon Lady Gaga. He specifically lauded Frehley, stating that he “blazed unforgettable, timeless licks across their greatest records.”
In a 2024 interview with Antihero, Frehley proudly asserted that he was “definitely the most successful solo artist” among Kiss’s four founding members. This claim was largely substantiated by his solo hit, “New York Groove,” a Top 20 track with an undeniable stomping beat that has become an anthem, notably played at Citi Field after every Mets victory. “New York Groove” emerged as the standout success from a characteristically extravagant Kiss maneuver: in 1978, all four band members simultaneously released individual solo albums.
Mr. Frehley, right, and Gene Simmons performing with Kiss during the halftime show of the Super Bowl in Miami in 1999.
Born Paul Daniel Frehley in the Bronx on April 27, 1951, he was the youngest of three children to Carl Frehley, an electrical engineer, and Esther (Hecht) Frehley.
At 13, Paul found inspiration in bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, leading him to pick up the guitar. His parents, perhaps hoping to steer him away from mischief, gifted him his first electric guitar for Christmas. The nickname ‘Ace’ came from the drummer of one of his early bands when he was 16, a nod to Frehley’s knack for arranging dates.
In 1972, at 21 and still residing at home, Frehley answered an intriguing ad in The Village Voice that read, “Lead guitarist wanted with flash and ability.” Believing he perfectly matched the description, he auditioned for the nascent band that would soon be known as Kiss. (His mother famously drove him to the tryout.) Upon securing the role, he fully embraced the name ‘Ace’ to distinguish himself from Paul Stanley.
While Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons were Kiss’s main songwriters, Frehley also penned several tracks for the band, beginning with “Cold Gin” on their 1974 self-titled debut album. Initially hesitant about his vocal abilities, he didn’t step into the lead vocal spotlight until 1977, on the band’s sixth album, “Love Gun,” where he sang his own track, “Shock Me.”
Frehley was notably the band’s most fervent consumer of drugs and alcohol, a stark contrast to Gene Simmons, who remained a lifelong teetotaler. In the 2003 authorized biography “Kiss: Behind the Mask” by David Leaf and Ken Sharp, Paul Stanley candidly recalled instances where he questioned Frehley’s awareness of his own instrument, jokingly attributing it to “ingesting certain liquids.”
Simmons, in the same book, commented more pointedly, suggesting that Frehley’s “judgments have been clouded since the beginning, and that’s being kind.”
In his 2011 memoir, “No Regrets” (co-written with Joe Layden and John Ostrosky), Frehley articulated his growing disenchantment with the band’s escalating commercialism. He famously remarked, “There were Kiss lunchboxes, Kiss action figures, Kiss makeup kits, Kiss dolls. You name it, we sold it.” Despite his reservations, he conceded enjoying the immense financial success, citing the band’s reported earnings of $100 million annually in the late 1970s.
Peter Criss departed from Kiss in 1980, with Frehley following suit in 1982. The band carried on with various replacement members, while Frehley embarked on a solo career. He released seven additional albums under his own name and two more with his band, Frehley’s Comet.
Mr. Frehley at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City in 2007. After he left Kiss in 1982, he released seven albums under his own name and two with a group he called Frehley’s Comet before returning to Kiss in 1996. He left again in 2002.
Both Frehley and Criss reunited with Kiss in 1996 for a highly profitable series of reunion tours. Frehley’s final performance with the band took place in Salt Lake City, during the closing ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Frehley often stated that his struggles with drug and alcohol abuse were worsened by Simmons and Stanley downplaying his contributions to Kiss. In a 2024 episode of the “Guitar Tales with Dave Cohen” podcast, he revealed that he achieved sobriety in 2006, a decision influenced by having been involved in “10 car accidents.”
He began dating Jeanette Trerotola at 18; they married in 1978 and, despite legally separating seven years later, remained married. She survives him, along with their daughter, Monique, his brother, Charles, and his sister, Nancy Salvner.
Frehley famously balanced his musical talent with an understanding of showmanship. In a 1997 interview with Fuzz magazine, he mused that if two guitarists possessed equal skill, but one was a dynamic performer while the other remained stationary, “Nine times out of 10 to an untrained ear in the audience, they’ll probably say that the guitar player who jumps around and stuff is the better musician.” This philosophy guided his entire career, as he emphatically stated, “To me, image was very important.”