Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley dies at 74

By Daniel Trotta

Ace Frehley, the original lead guitarist of the rock group Kiss, whose hard-driving sound, stage theatrics and iconic makeup created one of the most popular and groundbreaking bands of all time, died on Thursday at age 74, his family said.

A representative for Frehley, Lori Lousararian, attributed his death to a recent fall at his home, Rolling Stone magazine said.

"We are completely devastated and heartbroken," Frehley’s family said in a statement, adding that their loving, caring words and prayers surrounded him in his last moments.

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"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!"

Kiss burst onto the scene in the 1970s with a sound and look widely recognized as hard rock and glam rock, given its black-and-white face paint, elaborate black and silver leather costumes and on-stage pyrotechnics.

It was also considered a forerunner to heavy metal.

Hits from 1975, such as the party anthem "Rock and Roll All Nite" and the concert album "Alive!" have become rock classics.

All 26 of their albums went gold, selling at least 500,000 in the United States, the most by any American band, and 14 went platinum, selling 1 million or more, though some of those records came after Frehley left the band.

Frehley, lead singer and bassist Gene Simmons, guitarist Paul Stanley and drummer Peter Criss each had his own look and alter ego. With a star painted on his face, Frehley was also known as "Spaceman."

He stayed with Kiss through its heyday in the 1970s and joined the band's reunion in the 1990s. As a solo artist, he recorded the 1978 hit "New York Groove."

Paul Daniel Frehley was born in the Bronx section of New York City on April 27, 1951.

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Playing guitar as a teenager, he found his calling after seeing The Who and Cream in concert, and after joining a number of bands answered a newspaper ad from a group looking for a guitarist with "flash and ability," Rolling Stone said.

He found Simmons, Stanley and Criss at their rehearsal space in Queens.