KISS rockers Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are paying tribute to their former bandmate Ace Frehley after the guitarist died Thursday at the age of 74.
After Frehley died following a recent fall at home, the musician’s fellow KISS founders released a joint statement praising him as an “essential and irreplaceable rock soldier.”
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“I am devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley,” Simmons and Stanley wrote in their joint statement. “He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history.”
They continued, “He is and will always be a part of KISS’s legacy. My thoughts are with Jeanette, Monique and all those who loved him, including our fans around the world.”
Frehley co-founded the “Rock and Roll All Nite” band alongside Simmons, Stanley and Peter Criss back in 1973. The guitarist would go on to play on KISS’ first nine albums before leaving the band in 1982. Almost two decades later, Frehley reunited with the band for their album Psycho Circus, but he made his exit once again four years later, in 2002. In 2014, KISS was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2018, Frehley played with the group on the KISS Kruise.
During the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, Simmons praised Frehley’s “iconic guitar playing,” saying that it had “been imitated, but never duplicated, by generations of guitar players around the world.”
Thursday, Frehley’s family announced that he had died in New Jersey while surrounded by family. “We are completely devastated and heartbroken,” they said in a statement. “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 family continued. “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!”
