Ace Frehley, Kiss Guitarist, dies at 74

Tributes celebrating the wild, remarkable talent and inimitable laugh of Kiss‘ guitarist, Ace Frehley were shared by his fellow musicians following the spaceman’s death on Oct. 16 at 74. Frehley co-founded the band in 1973 alongside lead singer Gene Simmons, guitarist Paul Stanley, and drummer Peter Criss, playing with Kiss during their Seventies heyday and returning for their reunion in the Nineties. The band’s wild performances, painted faces, outrageous glitter costumes, and pyrotechnic hijinks would cement their place in rock & roll history forever (Kiss was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014), while their monumental hits like “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” and “Detroit Rock City” would go on to sell tens of millions of records worldwide.

In a joint statement, Simmons and Stanley wrote, “We are devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley,” and remembered their bandmate as “an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history.” They added, “He is and will always be a part of KISS’s legacy.”

Simmons shared his own, separate tribute, as well. “No one can touch Ace’s legacy,” he said in a social media post. “I know he loved the fans. He told me many times. Sadder still,Ace didn’t live long enough to be honored at the Kennedy