Ace Frehley, founding lead guitarist of Kiss, has died at the age of 74 from injuries sustained after a recent fall at his home, a representative for the artist has confirmed to Rolling Stone. The fall had caused the cancellation of all his concerts scheduled for 2025. “In his last moments, we were fortunate to be able to surround him with words, thoughts, prayers and intentions full of love, care and peace as he left this earth,” his family shared.
Frehley, born in the Bronx, joined Kiss in December 1972, after answering an ad that Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss had published in the Village Voice, and not only contributed Kiss’s great solos in the early part of their career, but ended up designing the iconic Kiss logo. His character in the band was “Space Ace” or “Spaceman.”
Frehley played on most of Kiss’ most iconic albums, including their self-titled debut album, ‘Destroyer’ and ‘Alive!’, and his guitar seemed to catch on fire during their live performances. On the 1977 album ‘Love Gun’, Frehley recorded a lead vocal take for the first time, on the song ‘Shock Me’. Frehley left Kiss in 1982 due to creative differences.
Frehley, like the rest of Kiss, released a solo album in 1978, and his project was the most successful of all, as his version of Hello’s ‘New York Groove’ – which he initially did not want to record – reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Recently, Frehley had continued releasing albums with his band Frehley’s Comet. The latest, ‘10,000 Volts’, was released last year.
