KISS Guitarist Ace Frehley Dies at 74 

Image courtesy of Rock Cellar Magazine

By Luis Zonenberg

This year keeps piling on the incredible losses in not only the film industry but also the music industry. The lead guitarist for the rock band KISS, Ace Frehley, is now another legend gone too soon. The famous guitarist reportedly died from complications he endured after a fall in his home studio. Further investigation is currently being undergone by a New Jersey toxicologist to determine the exact cause of his death. Many celebrities have since paid tribute and reminisced on their time with Frehley. 

Paul “Ace” Frehley was born on April 27, 1951 in the Bronx area in New York City. He was the youngest of three children, growing up in a “musical family” so to speak with him even receiving an electric guitar as a Christmas present in 1964. He earned the nickname “Ace” due to his friends believing he was “a real ace” with his ability to get dates growing up. He began playing in local bands in high school before dropping out, gaining work as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix when he was 18. 

At the insistence of his family and girlfriend, Frehley eventually returned to high school and received his diploma. In 1972 though, his friend, Chris Cassone, spotted an ad for a lead guitarist and showed it to Frehley. This led him to 10 East 23rd Street above the Live Bait Bar, where he auditioned for Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Peter Criss. Wearing mismatched sneakers and casual clothes, Frehley was not dressed to impress but the crew admired the way he played and made him their lead guitarist as a result. 

By January of 1973, they began referring to themselves as KISS and spent their early days rehearsing and playing in mostly empty clubs. Frehley worked as a part-time cab driver to help them pay the bills during this time, with the band being managed by Bill Aucoin by September of that year. They dropped their debut album, Kiss, with Frehley credited for writing two tracks, “Cold Gin” and “Love Theme from Kiss.” 

With his songwriting role within the group increasing over the years, he found himself at odds with the musical direction of the band, especially after Peter Criss was voted out of the band in 1980. Frehley’s participation in the band’s ninth album was much more limited than the previous albums, with him being outvoted 2-1 in band decisions since the replacement drummer Eric Carr had no say at the time. By 1982, Frehley wanted to leave the band and even declined a $15 million contract. 

His last appearances with the band were in the music video, “I Love it Loud” and in an interview for the band’s tenth anniversary tour in November of 1982.  He appeared on the covers of the albums Killers and Creatures of the Night but had little to no involvement in both albums. Frehley was replaced by Freddie Vincent in the Creatures of the Night tour, prompting him to start his own band called Frehley’s Comet. The band recorded two albums before Frehley left in 1989 to release his solo album, Trouble Walkin’. 

In 1996, Frehley rejoined the original band members of KISS for a reunion tour. This was the first time all band members were together since Criss’ departure in 1980, with all of them even recording a new album after the tour finished. After completing their “farewell tour” in 2001, Frehley would leave the band once again and resume his solo career. 

On September 25, 2025, Frehley fell in his home studio and was forced to cancel his upcoming tour dates. TMZ reported that Frehley had been on life support with a ventilator due to a brain bleeding caused by the fall. He died in Morristown, New Jersey, several hours after life support was stopped. Frehley is survived by his daughter, wife, brother, and sister. 

Variety reported how Frehley’s bandmates, Stanley and Simmons, paid tribute to him. Simmons stated that Frehley “was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history. He is and always will be a part of KISS’s legacy.” 

Others have since paid tribute to Frehley as they mourn the loss of another industry titan. The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC will also pay tribute to him during their ceremony in December later this year. Medical Examiners are currently investigating his cause of death, with a toxicology report hopefully shedding some light on these dreary circumstances within the next few weeks. We will be on the lookout for more updates as the world continues to mourn this tremendous loss.