Ace Frehley
| Ace Frehley | |
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Frehley in 2011
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Paul Daniel Frehley |
| Also known as | "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" |
| Born |
April 27, 1951 The Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Hard rock, heavy metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1964–present |
| Labels | Casablanca, Mercury, Megaforce, Bronx Born |
| Associated acts | Cathedral, Molimo, Kiss, Frehley's Comet, Ace Frehley Band |
| Website | www |
| Notable instruments | |
| Gibson Les Paul | |
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 , Loudwire |
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, Loudwire |
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Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (/ˈfreɪli/; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known as the former lead guitarist and founding member of the rock band Kiss. He invented the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" and played with the group from its inception in 1973 until his departure in 1982. After leaving Kiss, Frehley embarked on a solo career, which was put on hold when he rejoined Kiss in 1996 for a highly successful reunion tour.
His second tenure with Kiss lasted until 2002, when he left at the conclusion of what was originally purported to be the band's Farewell Tour. His most recent solo album, Origins, Vol. 1, was released on April 15, 2016. Guitar World magazine ranked him as the 14th Greatest Metal Guitarist of All Time. His solos often incorporate the minor pentatonic scale and the use of vibratos. Outside of Kiss, Frehley has continued to be commercially successful, with his first solo album going platinum. Frehley is also known for the use of many "whimsical" 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.
Frehley was born and raised in The Bronx, the youngest of three children of Esther Anna (Hecht) and Carl Daniel Frehley. His father, from Pennsylvania, was the son of Dutch immigrants, and his mother, originally from North Carolina, of Cherokee blood. He has a sister Nancy and a brother Charles, a classical guitarist. As a youth, Frehley was part of the Ducky Boys street gang. The Frehleys were a musical family, and when Frehley received an electric guitar as a Christmas present in 1964, he immersed himself in learning the instrument. "I never went to music school; I never took a guitar lesson, but everybody in my family plays an instrument. My mother and father both played piano, his father was the church organist, and my brother and sister both played piano and acoustic guitar." Frehley was always surrounded by music. Frehley started playing guitar at age 13. He lists Jimi Hendrix, Albert Lee, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and The Who as his main influences.
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