Original lead guitarist and founding member of the legendary glam-rock band Kiss Ace Frehley, 74, recently died from blunt-force head injuries to the head that occurred due to a fall earlier this year, as determined by an autopsy. Frehley passed on October 16th while surrounded by family in Morristown, New Jersey a few weeks after the fall.
Frehley’s death was an accident, according to the Morris County Medical Examiner’s Office. The report stated that Frehley had suffered facial fractures near the eyes and left ear, with bruising on his right hip and upper thigh.
Of Kiss’s four original members, Frehley was the first to pass on. Singer-guitarist Paul Stanley, drummer Peter Criss, and bassist Gene Simmons mourn and pay tribute to their fallen bandmate.
Born Paul Daniel Frehley in New York City, he grew up in a musical family and started playing guitar at thirteen. Frehley played in various local bands around New York City and even became a roadie for Jimi Hendrix at eighteen. In the 70s, Kiss blew up and became renowned worldwide. Band members would take on the personas of comic book-style characters, which became their iconic and most recognizable look for years to come. Frehley had fought with Simmons and Stanley over the years and eventually left Kiss in 1982, dodging the years when the band had taken off their makeup. At that time Frehley was performing with his new band, Frehley’s Comet, and also performed on his own as a solo artist.
Frehley rejoined Kiss in the 90s for a positive reunion and discovered a rejuvenation in their sound with tributes paid from Weezer, Nirvana, and the Melvins during this period. Frehley left Kiss again in 2002, and in 2014, when the four original members entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, there was a dispute scrapping their plans to perform. Stanley and Simmons had objections to Criss and Frehley being admitted instead of then-drummer Eric Singer and then-guitarist Tommy Thayer.
Photo Credits: cnn.com, variety.com
About the Author
