Ace Frehley

Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley ( /ˈfreɪli/; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician best known as the former lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics. Frehley 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 purported to be the band's Farewell Tour. His latest album Anomaly, was released on September 15, 2009. Guitar World magazine ranked him 14th Greatest Metal Guitarist of All Time.

In a 2009 interview with Rock N Roll Experience Magazine Ace stated, "I'm an Anomaly, I'm an un-schooled musician, I don't know how to read music, but I'm one of the most famous guitar players in the world, so go figure."

Frehley was born and raised in the Bronx, the youngest of three children. His father, Carl, was the son of Dutch immigrants and his mother Esther's family originated from Germany. He has a sister Nancy and a brother Charles, a classical guitarist. As a youth, Frehley was in a New York street gang called The Duckies with Steven Edward Duren (aka Blackie Lawless, who would later become frontman for heavy metal band W.A.S.P.). 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.

When Frehley's band, Cathedral, started earning a series of paying gigs, Frehley dropped out of high school. At the insistence of his family and girlfriend, Frehley eventually returned and earned his diploma. After graduation, Frehley held a string of short-term jobs-mail carrier, furniture deliverer, messenger, and liquor store delivery boy.

Growing up on the corner of Marion Avenue and 201st Street, off Bedford Park Boulevard (a/k/a 200th Street) and Webster Avenue in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx, Frehley graduated Grace Lutheran School at age 13. However, he was thrown out of two high schools and dropped out of the third. Two of the high schools he attended were DeWitt Clinton High School on Mosholu Parkway and Theodore Roosevelt High School on Fordham Road. It was in his high school years that he got the nickname "Ace" when he had the ability to get his friends dates. His friends said, "You are a real ace." It was also in his high school years that a guidance counselor encouraged him to get into graphic arts. His family did not have a lot of money, and in his teen years, Frehley got involved in street gangs. He would later credit guitar playing for "saving his life" as a member of Kiss.