44°
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley, who has owned a home in Wilton, turns 65 on Wednesday. The musician was born April 27, 1951, in The Bronx, N.Y.
Frehley is best known as the former lead guitarist and founding member of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace", and played with the group from its inception in 1973 until his departure in 1982.
Along with the three other Kiss members, he released an eponymous solo album in 1978 and was the best-selling of the four, and the album's lone single – the Russ Ballard-written "New York Groove", originally recorded by Hello — reached the Top 20 in the United States.
He contributed three songs for 1979's Dynasty and three for 1980's Unmasked.
After leaving Kiss, he embarked on a solo career. Frehley's Comet, a mixture of hard rock and pop metal, was a successful return to the music scene for Frehley. The album peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard 200 (selling nearly 500,000 copies[1]), and the single, a Russ Ballard cover "Into the Night," reached No. 27 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Two 1988 Frehley's Comet albums—the live EP Live+1 and second studio album Second Sighting peaked at No. 84 and No. 81, respectively.
In 1996, he rejoined Kiss for a successful reunion tour, on which all four original members of the band performed live for the first time since original drummer's Peter Criss departure in 1980.
His second tenure with Kiss lasted until 2002, when he left at the conclusion of what was purported to be the band's Farewell Tour.
His album Anomaly, was released on September 15, 2009. Guitar World magazine ranked him 14th Greatest Metal Guitarist of All Time.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Wilton and receive free news updates.
