Written By Ken Hulsey
It's a sad reality when childhood heroes start passing away one by one. This morning, I was shocked to learn that the legendary guitarist and founding member of the influential rock band KISS, Ace Frehley, had succumbed to injuries sustained in a recent fall at his home. I remember the first time I saw an image of KISS; it was an ad for their "Love Gun" album on the back of a Starlog magazine. I bought that issue because it featured an article about how the special effects for the series "Land of the Lost" were created. I found myself staring at that image, having no idea what KISS was. I assumed they were comic book heroes. The sight of the four band members surrounded by half-naked women certainly stirred some budding emotions within me. Of the four, I thought Ace’s look was the coolest, so he quickly became my favorite.
At school, all the kids were collecting KISS trading cards, so I felt compelled to join in. From those images, I learned that KISS was actually a rock band made up of real people, not comic book characters. I became a superfan before I had even listened to a single KISS song. Eventually, I convinced my mom to buy me a copy of "KISS Alive," and that’s when I truly became a fan of their music. From that point on, most of my allowance went towards KISS albums, t-shirts, toys, and more trading cards.
KISS came to Albuquerque, where I lived in the late 70s, but I was still too young to attend the concert. Then came the terrible "KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park" TV movie, which was disappointing; Ace had very few lines and mostly squeaked like a bird. Shortly after that, KISS released four solo albums, and of course, Ace's was my favorite. His cover of "New York Groove" remains one of my favorite songs to this day.
As time went on, I kind of outgrew KISS and moved on to bands like Journey, RUSH, and Van Halen. However, I rediscovered KISS in the 1990s when they reunited, and I finally saw them in concert in the early 2000s. I had waited 20 years for that moment. Now, I have KISS songs on my online playlists, and I occasionally buy vinyl albums from the band.
In a way, musicians and actors achieve a form of immortality because their work lives on beyond them. I will always be able to hear Ace’s riffs in a multitude of classic KISS songs. Rest in peace, Spaceman; your impact on rock and roll will never be forgotten.
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