The 20th century saw the birth of rock music and dozens of instrumentalists, guitarists and drummers. Ace Frehley is one such musician. He took the fourteenth position in the list of the best heavy metal guitarists of all time according to the American music magazine Guitar World Magazine.
Ace Frehley is one of the few musicians who has managed to forever remain in the hearts of fans of rock music. The American guitarist and vocalist mastered playing the guitar on his own. And later he created his own unorthodox style of playing the instrument, which conquered millions of people.
Biography
Ace Frehley, at birth Paul Daniel Frehley, was born on April 27, 1951 in the Bronx, one of the districts of New York. He became the youngest of three children in the family of Karl Daniel and Esther Anna Frehley. His father was the son of Dutch immigrants, his mother was German, who grew up in the United States.
Karl Daniel was a talented classical pianist. He dreamed of making music and building a musical career. But the "Great Depression" forced him to change plans and find a job that could provide for his family. Ace, like her husband, also made music. Parents - musicians managed to instill a love for music and their children. Ace's brother Charles plays guitar and sister Nancy plays piano.
Bronx District, New York Photo: Dan DeLuca / Wikimedia Commons
Young Ace Frehley began his education at Theodore Roosevelt High School, which was located in the Bronx. But after being dropped out, he continued his education at DeWitt Clinton High School and finally graduated from Grace Lutheran College.
Ace never took guitar lessons from professional teachers. Raised in a family of musicians and possessing an innate talent, he simply listened and watched his parents, brother and sister. On April 27, 1965, he received an electric guitar from his father, which became a gift for his fourteenth birthday. From that moment on, the history of the formation of the future rock star, musician and songwriter began.
Career and creativity
After unsuccessful collaboration with several musical groups, Ace's career came to a turning point. In late 1972, Frehley's friend spoke of a music audition advertised in the weekly newspaper The Village Voice. Together they went to the casting, where they had to perform in front of the members of the American rock and roll and glam rock band Wicked Lester.
Ace Frehley managed to impress the members of this musical group. Soon he received an invitation to take the place of the lead guitarist. The band was later renamed KISS. In addition to musical contributions, Frehley also designed the logo for this new rock band.
Gene Simmons and Ace Frehley perform in New Haven Photo: Carl Lender / Wikimedia Commons
In the early days of his participation in the musical group, Frehley was forced to get a job in order to earn money for a living. However, in 1973, the band members managed to find a manager who paid each KISS member a weekly salary of $ 75. Soon Frehley her job to do only music.
In 1974, the band released their first self-titled album. In addition to playing the guitar, the musician co-wrote two songs, namely Love theme from KISS and Cold Gin. The song Cold Gin was highly acclaimed by critics, and Frehley continued to write lyrics and play the guitar.
In 1977, he performed as vocalist for the song Shock Me, which appeared on the sixth studio album, Love Gun. Later he performed several more compositions and wrote many songs for the albums Dynasty and Unmasked. However, things fell apart when Peter Criss left the band. The disagreements that arose in the collective led to the fact that Frehley did not go on the Creatures of the Night tour.
American musician Peter Criss Photo: Casablanca Records / Wikimedia Commons
In 1984, Ace formed his own band, Frehley's Comet, with Anton Fig and John Regan, who played drums and bass, respectively. After a series of concerts, the band received the support of the American independent label Megaforce Records. In 1987, Megaforce released the band's debut album, which sold over 5,000 copies and secured itself # 43 on the Billboard 200.
In 1988, Frehley's Comet released two other compilations, Second Sighting and EP Live + 1. Both albums were highly acclaimed and secured good positions on the Billboard countdown charts.
However, after a split that lasted more than ten years, Frehley and the other members of KISS reunited. In 1998, they released an album called Psycho Circus. In the first week, over 110,000 copies of the album were sold.
KISS Group, 2013 Photo: Llann Wé² / Wikimedia Commons
In 2009, Ace Frehley released his next solo project called Anomaly. The album debuted at # 27 on The Billboard 200. Five years later, another collection of songs, Space Invader, was released.
Personal life
There is not much information about the personal life of the famous rock musician. It is known that on May 10, 1976, he married a girl named Janet Tretorola. On June 9, 1980, the couple had a daughter, Monique. Frehley, however, was not distinguished by his loyalty to his wife.
He also had a romantic relationship with Wendy Moore. The girl was Frehley's assistant. They had a daughter, with whom the musician cannot see each other by a court decision.
