Ace Frehley

Early life, family and education

Paul Daniel Frehley was born on April 27, 1951, in The Bronx, New York City, the youngest of three children of Esther Anna (Hecht) and Carl Daniel 'Friebely' Frehley, an electrical engineer. His father, the son of Dutch immigrants, was from Pennsylvania. His mother was originally from North Carolina and of German and Cherokee descent.

The Frehleys were a musical family, and when he received an electric guitar as a Christmas present in 1964, Paul immersed himself in learning the instrument. "I never went to music school; I never took a guitar lesson, but everybody in my family plays an instrument. My mother and father both played piano, his father was the church organist, and my brother and sister both played piano and acoustic guitar." He was always surrounded by music, and started playing guitar at age 13. Jimi Hendrix, Albert Lee, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, B. B. King, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and The Who were his main influences. Frehley also stated on more than one occasion that Peppy Castro of the Blues Magoos was a major guitar influence.

Frehley had a troubled childhood. He joined a local street gang at age 13, although his interest in the gang waned as his interest in music grew. He was expelled from several high schools before eventually dropping out altogether. During that time he gained the nickname "Ace" because his friends believed that he was "a real ace" with his ability to get dates. Even though he dropped out of high school after his band Cathedral started getting gigs, his girlfriend and family convinced him to return to school, finish and get his diploma, which he did.

He described watching The Who and Cream live as a teenager as confirming his love of music as a professional pursuit, which he claimed "saved" him by deterring him from gang life.

Music career

Frehley began playing in local bands during high school. At age 18, he worked as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix.

Early career

Frehley's earliest bands included the Outrage, the Four Roses, King Kong, Honey (a cover band), the Magic People, and Molimo, who signed with and recorded for RCA Records. When Frehley's later band, Cathedral, began getting paying gigs, he dropped out of high school, later returning to earn his diploma. After graduation, Frehley held a string of short-term jobs, including mail carrier, furniture deliverer, messenger, taxi driver, and liquor store delivery person.

Kiss

Frehley spent the early 1970s in a series of local bands including one called Molimo who recorded half an album for RCA in 1971. In late 1972, his friend, Chris Cassone, spotted an advertisement for a lead guitarist in The Village Voice and showed the ad to Frehley. Frehley went to 10 East 23rd Street above the Live Bait Bar and auditioned for Paul Stanley (rhythm guitar), Gene Simmons (bass guitar), and Peter Criss (drums). Frehley showed up wearing one red and one orange sneaker and was less than impressive visually, but the band liked what they heard from his playing. About three weeks later the band named Frehley as their lead guitarist. By January 1973 the band came up with the name Kiss. Frehley designed the band's double-lightning-bolt logo, which was polished up by Stanley. The band quickly decided to paint their faces for live performances and Frehley decided to start painting silver stars on his eyes. When the group eventually decided to adopt stage personas to match their makeup and costumes, Frehley became Space Ace. Later his stage persona was also known as The Spaceman. Frehley stated that this persona was inspired by his interest in science fiction and space travel.

While Kiss spent their early days rehearsing and playing in empty clubs, Frehley worked as a part-time cab driver to pay bills. In September 1973, Kiss began to be managed by Bill Aucoin, and Frehley quit his cabbie job.

Kiss released their debut album, Kiss, in February 1974 – Frehley was credited for writing two songs, "Love Theme from Kiss" (the only song co-written by the four original members) and a fan classic, "Cold Gin". Due to Frehley's lack of confidence in his own singing voice, however, Simmons performed the vocals. Frehley wrote or co-wrote several of the band's songs over the next few years but did not record vocals on a song until "Shock Me" (inspired by his near-electrocution during a concert in Lakeland, Florida), which appeared on 1977's Love Gun.

As lead guitarist, Frehley was known for his frenetic, atmospheric playing, becoming one of the most popular guitarists in the 1970s and spawning a generation of new players. Frehley stated in the book Kiss: Behind the Mask that many guitarists have told him his playing on 1975's hit Alive! prompted them to pick up the instrument. Frehley is well recognized for having used Gibson Les Paul guitars, including his trademarked model conversion Les Paul Custom (that was designed and implemented by John Elder Robison, known as "Ampie", an audio engineer working with the band), which filled the stage with smoke during his live guitar solo.

Solo career/Frehley's Comet

In December 1982, Kiss began the Creatures of the Night tour without Frehley: he was replaced by Vinnie Vincent. Frehley retained a one-quarter share in the Kiss partnership until 1985, however. He received one-quarter of the profits for both Lick It Up and Animalize although he had no involvement with either record. In 1984, Frehley began his post-Kiss solo career by assembling a band that included, among others, drummer Anton Fig (who had performed on Frehley's 1978 solo album and on two Kiss albums). Bassist John Regan (who had worked with Peter Frampton), whom Frehley met in 1980, was also an original member of the band as was vocalist/guitarist Richie Scarlet and keyboardist Arthur Stead. The group, whose name alternated between 'Ace Frehley' and Frehley's Comet, recorded a series of demos throughout 1984 and 1985. The band performed their first ever live show at S.I.R. Studios in New York City on November 30, 1984, and played a handful of shows in the Northeast United States in March 1985.

After a few unsuccessful attempts at securing a recording contract, the group eventually signed to Megaforce Records and released their first album, Frehley's Comet, on July 7, 1987. The album was co-produced by Eddie Kramer, who had produced not only a number of Kiss albums, but Frehley's 1978 album and some of his 1984–85 demos. Fig, now being the in-studio drummer for David Letterman's late-night television show, performed on the album but was unable to maintain a permanent commitment to touring. He played on the 1987 tour in the United States when Frehley's band played a double bill with Y&T, and White Lion opening the shows. By the time the band began recording this album, Scarlet had left the group to pursue other projects and was replaced by Tod Howarth. In addition, at some point between the initial Frehley's Comet shows in 1984–85 and their signing to Megaforce, the band had become a four-piece, with Stead no longer playing with the group.

Frehley's Comet, a mixture of hard rock and pop metal, was a successful return to the music scene for Frehley. The album peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard 200 (selling nearly 500,000 copies), and the single, a Russ Ballard cover "Into the Night", reached No. 27 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Rock Soldiers" was an autobiographic song, written partially about Frehley's April 1982 police chase in White Plains, New York while driving a DeLorean with his friend. The music video for "Rock Soldiers" received moderate airplay on MTV, particularly on Headbangers Ball.

Reunion with Kiss (1996–2002)

In 1996, Frehley rejoined Kiss for a successful reunion tour, on which all four original members of the band performed live for the first time since original drummer Peter Criss' departure in 1980. After the tour, they announced that the original lineup would return to the studio to record a new album. The resulting record, Psycho Circus, was promoted with a successful world tour, but it was later revealed that Frehley's and Criss' involvement on it was minimal. "Into The Void" and "You Wanted The Best" were Frehley's lone contributions to the record, with the former believed to be the only song that all four original members performed on. After completing the "Farewell Tour" with Kiss in late 2001, he would leave the band and resume his solo career.

Return to solo career (2003–2025)

In 2006, Frehley performed Kiss' "God of Thunder" with Rob Zombie, Slash, Gilby Clarke, Scott Ian, and Tommy Lee at the VH1 Rock Honors in Las Vegas on May 25, 2006.

In October 2018, Frehley and Bruce Kulick reunited with Kiss on the Kiss Kruise. The six musicians performed "2,000 Man", "New York Groove", "Nothin' to Lose", and "Rock and Roll All Nite". This was the first time Frehley and the band had performed together since 2002 for the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics and Kulick's first time performing with the band live since his departure in 1996.

Frehley did not participate in Kiss' final tour, which began on January 31, 2019, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Stanley and Simmons did not rule out the possibility of Frehley and Peter Criss making appearances during the final tour, with Stanley stating that he was "open to the idea". Simmons later invited Frehley to perform encores with the band for their final tour, but Frehley turned down the invitation, also ruling out the possibility of performing at the band's final show and expressing doubt that the band would stop touring. In June 2022, Simmons reportedly told the Finnish Chaoszine that he and Stanley had met with Frehley to try to convince him to make guest appearances with the band but that Frehley was making demands (regarding his makeup and having guitarist Tommy Thayer not play encores) that could not be satisfied. It was announced on December 15, 2020, that a Kiss biopic was in the works, with hopes to release it on time with the band's final concert. Deadline has reported that Netflix has nearly finalized a deal to produce the Kiss biopic titled Shout it Out Loud, which will be released in 2026. The film will be made with close cooperation from both Simmons and Stanley, and will focus on the formative years of the band.

After the announcement of the biopic, a two-part documentary on the band titled Biography: Kisstory was also announced and aired on A&E on both June 27 and 28, 2021, with an exclusive live performance following after its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 11, 2021. Simmons claimed (in June 2022 when being interviewed by Chaoszine) that he and Stanley had invited Frehley and Criss to participate in the documentary but that Frehley and Criss told Simmons that "they might do it if they have complete control of the edit. I said, 'We can't do that, because even we don't have that. But I won't control what you say; you can say whatever you want.' The answer is no—both of them."

Death

On September 25, 2025, Frehley suffered a minor fall in his home studio and was forced to cancel tour dates after being hospitalized. One week later on October 2, he fell down a flight of stairs at his home where he severely injured his head and was rushed to the hospital. Two weeks later on October 16, 2025, TMZ reported that Frehley was on life support with a ventilator and had brain bleeding. His family considered removing him from life support after his health failed to improve. Frehley died in Morristown, New Jersey, at the age of 74, several hours after life support was stopped.

His former Kiss bandmates paid tribute to him. In a joint statement, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons described Frehley as an "essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history." Peter Criss stated that "Ace influenced and touched the hearts of millions of people."

In accordance with his wishes, Frehley was buried near his parents at Woodlawn Cemetery following a private memorial service at Sinatra Memorial Home in Yonkers on October 21. The service was attended by a small group of family and friends, including the three remaining original members of Kiss.

Personal life

Frehley was married to Jeanette Trerotola from 1976 until his death, but they legally separated in 1985. The couple had a daughter, Monique, in 1980. During the 2000s and 2010s Frehley was in a relationship with musician Rachael Gordon, who contributed lyrics to his 2014 album Space Invader, and he in turn produced her album Paper Doll. After their breakup in 2019, Gordon filed a domestic violence restraining order against Frehley in San Diego County. His last relationship was with Lara Cove, whom he met in a Kiss fan convention in 2018, and would move in with her in New Jersey until they split up in 2024.

Frehley started drinking at the age of 13, and struggled with alcoholism and substance abuse for decades. He only became sober in 2006, after a worrying call from his daughter prompted Frehley to seek the help of his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor.

Frehley released his autobiography, No Regrets – A Rock 'N' Roll Memoir, on November 1, 2011. The autobiography was authored by Frehley, Joe Layden, and John Ostrosky, and published through Gallery Books, a subdivision of Simon & Schuster. The book entered The New York Times Best Seller list in the hardcover non-fiction category at No. 10.

Technique

In a 2009 interview with Rock N Roll Experience Magazine, Frehley said, "I'm an anomaly, I'm an un-schooled musician, I don't know how to read music, but I'm one of the most famous guitar players in the world, so go figure."

"I play guitar in such an unorthodox way," he told Guitar World in 1996. "I've never taken a guitar lesson. One of our assistants brought it to my attention a few months ago that, sometimes, when I play chords, my thumb is on the fretted side of the neck. I have no idea why or how I do it, but I do." Paul Stanley added, "I remember a time early on when Ace and I would play, and I would do vibrato with my hand, and Ace would get vibrato by shaking his whole arm against the neck of the guitar [laughs]."

Discography

Kiss

Kiss (1974)

Hotter than Hell (1974)

Dressed to Kill (1975)

Destroyer (1976)

Rock and Roll Over (1976)

Love Gun (1977)

Dynasty (1979)

Unmasked (1980)

Music from "The Elder" (1981)

Creatures of the Night (1982) (credited, but does not play)

Psycho Circus (1998)

Live albums

Alive! (1975)

Alive II (1977)

Kiss Unplugged (1996)

You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best!! (1996)

Alive! The Millennium Concert (2006)

Off the Soundboard: Tokyo 2001 (2021)

Off the Soundboard: Live at Donington 1996 (2022)

Off the Soundboard: Des Moines 1977 (2022)

Dressed to Kill 50th Anniversary Box Set (2025)

Alive! 50th Anniversary Box Set (2025)

Kiss Destroys Anaheim '76 (2026)

Solo and Frehley's Comet

Ace Frehley (1978)

Frehley's Comet (1987)

Second Sighting (1988)

Trouble Walkin' (1989)

Anomaly (2009)

Space Invader (2014)

Origins Vol. 1 (2016)

Spaceman (2018)

Origins Vol. 2 (2020)

10,000 Volts (2024)

Live albums

Live+1 (1988)

Greatest Hits Live (2006)

Compilation albums

12 Picks (1997)

Loaded Deck (1998)

Solo singles

1978: "New York Groove" – from the album Ace Frehley, his 1978 Kiss solo album. This is a cover of a song written by Russ Ballard, which was recorded by the band Hello, for their album Keeps Us Off the Streets, released in 1976.

1987: "Into the Night" – from the album Frehley's Comet.

1987: "Rock Soldiers" – from the album Frehley's Comet.

1988: "Words Are Not Enough" – (from the album Live+1).

1988: "Insane" – from the album Second Sighting.

Guest appearances

"Eugene" – song on the 1981 self-titled album by Crazy Joe and the Variable Speed Band. Frehley co-wrote and co-produced the song with Joe Renda and played synth drums.

"Bump and Grind" – song on the 1984 Wendy O. Williams album WOW, Frehley played lead guitar.

"Bad Attitude", "Walk the Line", and "Blue Moon Over Brooklyn". Frehley played lead guitar on these three songs that feature on his former Kiss bandmate Peter Criss' album Cat 1 – the 1994 Criss album.

"Cherokee Boogie" – song on the 1996 compilation album Smell the Fuzz: Guitars that Rule the World 2. The song was written, produced and engineered by Frehley, who also played all guitars on it.

"Rocker Room Theme" – song on the 1998 Still Wicked album Something Wicked This Way Comes. Frehley played rhythm and lead guitar. CD also features Ron Leejack (Wicked Lester), Gordon G.G. Gebert, MaryAnn Scandiffio and Michael Sciotto.

"Foxy Lady" – song on the 1998 ESP (Eric Singer Project) album Lost and Spaced. Frehley played lead guitar.

"Freedom" – song on the 2000 Karl Cochran album Voodooland. Frehley played the guitar solo on the bonus demo version.

Insanity of Life – on the 2002 Richie Scarlet album, Frehley played guitar on "Johnny's in Love" and lead guitar on "Too Far Gone", which he co-wrote with Scarlet.

"Know Where You Go" – On the 2002 Anton Fig album Figments, Frehley played lead guitar.

"Bad Choice" – on the 2005 Kathy Valentine album Light Years, Frehley played the lead guitar solos.

"2,000 Man" (new version) – In 2005, Frehley played this new version on Eddie Trunk's Merry Kissmas special. Chris Cassone on acoustic guitar and harmony vocals. Chris suggested the song to Frehley for the Dynasty LP and recorded the demo at North Lake Sound.

Filmography

1978: Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park

1988: Frehley's Comet: Live + 4 (VHS)

1992: X-treme Close-Up

1994: Ace Frehley – Acevision Volume #1

1996: Kiss Unplugged

1998: Kiss: The Second Coming Documentary

1999: Detroit Rock City

2001: Family Guy: A Very Special Family Guy Freakin' Christmas

2004: Kiss Loves You

2005: Remedy

2006: Kissology Volume One: 1974–1977

2007: Kissology Volume Two: 1978–1991

2007: Kissology Volume Three: 1992–2000

2009: Let's Go Cobo (Documentary)

Interviews

Behind the Player: Ace Frehley DVD (2010)

A Conversation with Ace Frehley on The Pods & Sods Network EM25 – Ace Frehley

Ace Frickin’ Frehley (2023)