Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready is among those mourning the loss of original KISS guitarist Ace Frehely, who died Thursday, Oct. 16 at the age of 74.
Frehley suffered a fall in the studio in September, which resulted in a brain bleed and he was placed on life support.
McCready shared on his and Pearl Jam’s official Instagram accounts a photo of himself, Frehley and Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder shot by photographer Danny Clinch. “Ace Frehley, Eddie, Me in awe…,” McCready captioned the photo, before adding a lengthy heartfelt tribute.
“I heard about Ace Frehley‘s passing from Rick Friel who I played with in a band called Shadow. Rick was also the first guy on the bus in 1977 with a KISS lunchbox to tell me about Ace…just changed my life. I got a guitar in 1978 to join Rick‘s band Warrior which turned into Shadow. We covered ‘C’mon and Love Me,’” he wrote, referring to the 1975 single featured on Dress to Kill, the third KISS studio album.
“All my friends have spent untold hours talking about KISS and buying KISS stuff. Ace was a hero of mine and also I would consider a friend. I studied his solos endlessly over the years…,” he added.
“Just listen to ‘Alive,’ I used his solo from ‘She’ as a template. Ace jammed on ‘Black Diamond’ with Pearl Jam at Madison Square Garden…a dream come true for me.
“I would not have picked up a guitar without Ace and KISS’s influence,” McCready added before ending his tribute with, “RIP it out Ace, you changed my life. Thank you.”
Fans were there to comfort McCready for the loss of his guitar hero in the comment.
“I thought of Mike immediately when I heard this sad news. RIP to a rock legend,” wrote one.
“3 of my heroes in one photo ♥️ Endless love to Ace ♥️♥️♥️,” added another.
“I was at the MSG shows to catch Ace, but the much smaller crowd at The Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 2005- that was something I could only describe as electric. The original Spaceman from KISS on stage with Pearl Jam- in that tiny little room- they blew the roof off that place ! 🙌,” added a third fan.
Others who have paid tribute to Frehley include his former KISS bandmatesGene Simmons and Paul Stanley, and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Oct 17, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
