Ace Frehley death reason: What caused the death of Kiss’ original lead guitarist and founding member at 74?
His family said in a statement that they were “completely devastated and heartbroken” by his passing, but they will forever remember his infectious laugh and the kindness he shared with everyone around him.
Ace Frehley’s cause of death: What happened to him?
Frehley died peacefully with his family by his side in Morristown, New Jersey, following a recent fall, according to his manager.
The band members took on the personas of comic book-style characters; Frehley was known as the “Space Ace” and the “Space Man”. The New York-born entertainer and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer often experimented with pyrotechnics, making his guitars glow, emit smoke and shoot rockets from the headset.
Frehley has frequently feuded with Stanley and Simmons over the years. He left the group in 1982, missing the years during which they removed their make-up and achieved mixed success. Stanley later said they almost replaced Frehley with Eddie Van Halen, but Vinnie Vincent took over the lead guitar role.
Frehley has performed both as a solo artist and with his band, Frehley’s Comet.
But in the mid-1990s, Nirvana rejoined Kiss for a triumphant reunion and restoration of their original style, after bands such as Weezer and the Melvins expressed their love for the band and paid musical tribute to them.
He would leave again in 2002. When the original four were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, a disagreement canceled their plans to appear on stage. Simmons and Stanley objected to the appointment of Criss and Frehley to replace then-guitarist Tommy Thayer and then-drummer Eric Singer.
Simmons told Rolling Stone magazine that year that Frehley and Criss “don’t deserve to put on the paint anymore.” “Makeup is deserved,” he added. “Just being there at the beginning is not enough.”
Frehley and Kiss also had a major influence on the flamboyant style of 1980s so-called hair metal bands such as Motley Crue and Poison.
“Ace, bro, I can’t thank you enough for making great music over the years, the many festivals we’ve done together, and your lead guitar on Nothing But A Good Time,” Poison frontman Bret Michaels said on Instagram.
More forward-thinking bands like Metallica and Pantera were also fans, and even country superstar Garth Brooks joined the band members for a recording of “Hard Luck Woman” on a 1994 compilation.
Frehley would occasionally appear with Kiss for shows in later years. The concert, held at Madison Square Garden in 2023, was announced as the band’s last concert. While Stanley and Simmons said they would not tour again, they remained open to the possibility of more concerts and continued to actively promote the band’s music and memorabilia.
