Ace Frehley
Ace Frehley (1951–2025) was KISS’s founding lead guitarist, the Spaceman behind “Shock Me,” and a solo artist whose records include New York Groove and 10,000 Volts.
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Ace’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Overview
- Born
- April 27, 1951 · The Bronx, New York City
- Died
- October 16, 2025 · Morristown, New Jersey
- Name
- Paul Daniel Frehley
- Known as
- The Spaceman · Space Ace
- Work
- Guitarist, singer, songwriter and memoirist
- Breakout
- KISS founding lead guitarist, beginning in 1973
Mini bio
How it started.
Born Paul Daniel Frehley in the Bronx, Ace grew up in a musical family and began playing guitar at 13. He taught himself, played in local bands and auditioned for the musicians who became KISS after a friend showed him a Village Voice advertisement.
Becoming the Spaceman.
Ace helped found KISS in 1973, creating a space-inspired stage identity alongside his guitar parts. The 1975 live album Alive! helped bring the band to a wider audience. His 1978 solo debut gave fans New York Groove, a Russ Ballard song that became one of Ace’s calling cards.
His own orbit.
After leaving KISS in 1982, he built a new chapter with Frehley’s Comet and later solo releases. He rejoined KISS from 1996 to 2002. Space Invader reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200 in 2014, while the Origins albums let him revisit the musicians who first inspired him.
The later records.
For 10,000 Volts, released on February 23, 2024, Ace shared production duties with Steve Brown. He continued touring in 2025 and discussed work on Origins Vol. 3 that September. He died on October 16, 2025; fans and fellow musicians have continued celebrating his music.
Creditschronological, newest first
Music
- 202410,000 VoltsSolo artist and co-producer
- 2020Origins Vol. 2Solo artist
- 2016Origins Vol. 1Solo artist
- 2014Space InvaderSolo artist
- 1987Frehley’s CometGuitarist, vocalist and songwriter
- 1978Ace FrehleyGuitarist, vocalist and co-producer
Books
- 2011No Regrets: A Rock ’n’ Roll MemoirAuthor, with Joe Layden and John Ostrosky
Awards
Quotes
But I never take credit for anything that I didn’t write.Ace Frehley, Guitar World
In an interview published September 5, 2025, he explained that fans sometimes assumed he wrote New York Groove.
Trivia
- New York Groove was written by Russ Ballard and recorded by Hello before Ace made it his own.
- He designed KISS’s lightning-bolt logo, which Paul Stanley then refined.
- His Spaceman persona grew out of his interest in science fiction and space travel.
- He told Guitar World in 2025 that he was designing a guitar that could fit in a briefcase.
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