Mötley Crüe guitarist John 5 has shared details of one of his final conversations with the late Ace Frehley, revealing that the legendary KISS guitarist was “so happy” and “over the moon” about his upcoming Kennedy Center Honor, particularly because President Donald Trump had pronounced his name correctly.
Speaking on SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” in a special episode dedicated to Frehley, John 5 recounted the conversation, which took place shortly before the fall that ultimately led to the guitarist’s passing.
“Everybody’s very sad [about Ace‘s passing], but then you think back of all the fun stories and all the funny stories, but one of the very last times I talked to him — it was right before his first fall,” John 5 said. “And we were talking, and what he said — he was so happy, he was so excited about the Kennedy Center Honors. He was just so over the moon about this. And what he told me is he was so excited that the president said his name and said it correctly. At this point of his life, he was over the moon. He was so happy. And that’s, I think, something really, really important.”
The tribute was a personal one for John 5, who explained the close bond he shared with the legendary guitarist.
“I became very close with Ace. I would talk to him just all the time on the phone. We hung out, we went to the movies, went to pawn shops, we did everything,” he recalled. “And it was such a magical time and he had just such a kind heart and he was a a kind soul. He really was. He was just such a good person and caring person.”
The Kennedy Center Honor was a major, career-capping achievement for the four founding members of KISS. Frehley himself had called it “a dream come true that I never thought would materialize.” The other original members had also expressed their immense pride, with Peter Criss calling it the “greatest honor of our career.”
Frehley‘s former bandmate, Gene Simmons, lamented the tragic timing in his own tribute last week. “Sadder still, Ace didn’t live long enough to be honored at the Kennedy Ctr Honors event in Dec. Ace was the eternal rock soldier. Long may his legacy live on!” Simmons wrote.
Ace Frehley passed away on Thursday, October 16, at the age of 74, after being hospitalized following a fall in his studio that resulted in a brain bleed.
