26 Facts About Ace Frehley

Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician, best known as the original lead guitarist and co-founding member of the hard rock band Kiss.

Ace Frehley subsequently embarked on a solo career, which was put on hold when he rejoined Kiss in 1996 for a highly successful reunion tour.

Outside Kiss, Ace Frehley had commercial success, with his first solo album going platinum.

Ace Frehley's first album with his "Frehley's Comet" band was a big seller.

Ace Frehley is noted for his aggressive, atmospheric and melodic guitar playing and is known for the use of many "special effects" guitars, including a Gibson Les Paul guitar that emits smoke from the neck humbucker pickup and produces spinning pyrotechnics, and a custom Les Paul that emits light based on song tempo.

Ace Frehley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 as a member of Kiss.

Paul Daniel Ace Frehley was born and raised in The Bronx, New York City, the youngest of three children of Esther Anna and Carl Daniel Ace Frehley.

Ace Frehley has a sister, Nancy, and a brother, Charles, a classical guitarist.

Ace Frehley got the nickname "Ace" in high school from friends who said he was "a real ace" for his ability to get dates.

Ace Frehley later credited guitar playing for "saving his life" as a member of Kiss.

At the insistence of his family and girlfriend, Ace Frehley eventually returned and earned a diploma.

Ace Frehley spent the early 1970s in a series of local bands including one called Molimo who recorded half an album for RCA Records in 1971.

Ace Frehley went to 10 East 23rd Street above the Live Bait Bar and auditioned for Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Peter Criss.

Ace 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.

Ace 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.

In September 1973, Kiss members began to receive a $50 a week salary from new manager Bill Aucoin, and Ace Frehley quit his cabbie job.

Ace 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", which appeared on 1977's Love Gun.

Ace Frehley is well-recognized for using Gibson Les Paul guitars, including his trademarked model conversion Les Paul Custom, which filled the stage full of smoke during his live guitar solo.

Ace Frehley contributed three songs for 1979's Dynasty and three for 1980's Unmasked.

Ace Frehley retained a one-quarter share in the Kiss partnership until 1985, however.

Ace Frehley received one-quarter of the profits for both Lick It Up and Animalize although he had no involvement with either record.

In 1984, Ace Frehley started his post-Kiss solo career by assembling a band that included, among others, drummer Anton Fig.

Ace Frehley's Comet, a mixture of hard rock and pop metal, was a successful return to the music scene for Ace Frehley.

In contrast to the somewhat adversarial relationship Ace Frehley had with Kiss throughout the 1980s, he and Criss had maintained good ties during the decade.

In 1996, Ace 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.