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highplainsdem

(58,729 posts)
Thu Oct 16, 2025, 07:06 PM Thursday

Ace Frehley, Kiss Lead Guitarist and Solo Artist, Dies at 74

(Cross-post from Latest Breaking News)

From Variety:

https://variety.com/2025/music/news/ace-frehley-kiss-lead-guitarist-dead-1236554943/

Paul Daniel “Ace” Frehley, co-founder and lead guitarist of the legendary rock band Kiss, has died following injuries suffered during a fall last month, according to a statement from his family. He was 74.

Frehley’s family issued the following statement:

“We are completely devastated and heartbroken. In his last moments, we were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth. We cherish all of his finest memories, his laughter, and celebrate his strengths and kindness that he bestowed upon others. The magnitude of his passing is of epic proportions, and beyond comprehension. Reflecting on all of his incredible life achievements, Ace’s memory will continue to live on forever!”

While Kiss received little respect from music critics and the rock intelligentsia, their impact and influence on a generation of rock musicians and fans has been immense and enduring. The band, who performed in theatrical makeup and costumes were in many ways a gateway for their concerts and larger-than-life mystique: In an era that preceded MTV, their performances were almost overwhelmingly visual and experiential, with explosions, elevators and more. Yet the mystique of Kiss was key: the bandmembers’ faces were not revealed for more than a decade, by which point Frehley and drummer Peter Criss had left the band. Frehley was known as “Space Ace” and cultivated an otherworldly image.

-snip-



According to TMZ - https://www.tmz.com/2025/10/16/kiss-guitarist-ace-frehley-life-support-brain-bleed/ - he suffered a brain bleed from a fall in his studio late last month and had been on a ventilator for some time.

RIP

Although I was never really a Kiss fan, I enjoyed some of their music and know people, including musicians, who are huge fans of theirs.
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