Vinnie Vincent Pays Tribute To Ace Frehley: ‘Ace Was The Every Man Rock Star’

In a lengthy, complex, and deeply personal tribute, former KISS guitarist Vinnie Vincent has mourned the passing of his legendary predecessor, Ace Frehley, sharing the surreal story of their first meeting and the “full circle” moment when they finally bonded, 40 years later.

Frehley, the iconic “Spaceman” of KISS, passed away on Thursday, October 16, at the age of 74. Vincent, who famously replaced him in 1982, shared his thoughts in a detailed post, reflecting on their unique and intertwined legacies. He described his one and only meeting with Frehley during his initial KISS tenure, which took place at the 1982 video shoot for “I Love It Loud,” a song Vincent co-wrote.

“I remember knocking on Ace‘s door to his dressing room to introduce myself and say hi. I was nervous meeting the bigger than life legend himself,” Vincent recalled. He said Frehley‘s only words to him were a prescient warning: “Hey kid. Good luck. You’re gonna need it.” Vincent added, “He was more right than he could have imagined.”

After that brief handshake, the two guitarists did not cross paths again for four decades. Their “full circle” moment finally came in 2022 at a special legacy show in Nashville.

“Ace and I shared a belated moment of bonding that felt good. Real good. No pretense. We liked each other!!!” Vincent wrote of the reunion.

He concluded his tribute with a powerful definition of what made Frehley a true legend in the eyes of his fans.

“Ace Frehley possessed that special something…. a magic that touched his fans, and they loved him deeply… Even during Ace‘s more difficult moments, his legion of fans did not abandon him. They stood with him and cheered him on… You can’t buy that… Everyone loved him. Ace was the every man rock star. That’s what a legend is. That’s Ace Frehley,” he wrote.

Vinnie Vincent‘s Full Statement:

“Ace Frehley gone too soon. The loss of a loved one.

I wanted to say the right words that could describe the loss of a loved one but nothing I could muster would begin to comfort the millions of fans who idolized worshiped and adored Ace, the man and the legend, and make their pain go away.

Ace‘s passing brought me back many long miles away to the beginning of my own journey, strangely replacing Ace in KISS, a band whose music I knew little about, aside from a few radio singles, and had no fan interest in, aside from the magnitude of their massive success, yet I wanted it more than life itself.

My religion as a 12-year-old were The Beatles…. which was ten years earlier than the KISS beginning of 1974. My addiction grew from The Beatles to Zeppelin.. Jeff Beck to Mahavishnu jazz rock fusion of the 70’s. So I was a decade early in sharing the nostalgia with the KISS fan base, who as adults will forever embrace KISS through their own childhood memories. Yet in the strangest twist of irony, I found myself replacing Ace, as KISS guitarist in an ‘odd couple gone berserk sitcom’ like setting, writing songs and rehearsing with the revamped KISS with Eric Carr on drums and being served contracts to sign as Ace‘s replacement….. wondering in disbelief, how the hell in the world did this happen? Here I was, stepping into the bigger than life legend Ace Frehley‘s boots (literally) which was similar to learning to walking on stilts. Once I got used to them it became as normal as playing my guitar.

Oddly, my one and only encounter with Ace was in 1982 at the video shoot for ‘I Love It Loud‘. In utter disbelief, the band whose records I was unfamiliar with were recording a song Gene and I wrote and here I was, the new kid watching the magical persona Ace on stage rocking out to a song I wrote??? Surreal? Way past that. I remember knocking on Ace‘s door to his dressing room to introduce myself and say hi. I was nervous meeting the bigger than life legend himself. I was green, lost for words and overwhelmed by Ace‘s presence and the magnitude of fame Ace achieved in his amazing career. Yet in my one and only fleeting encounter with him I read a person who lost their heart. His only words to me were ‘hey kid. good luck. you’re gonna need it.’ He was more right than he could have imagined. We shook hands and wished each other luck and said goodbye.

Those are the only words I ever shared with Ace from 1982 until we met again in 2022 for a memorable music performance weekend in Nashville. During those years I never heard from Ace, we never crossed paths. Not unusual for me as I’m not a social person. But suddenly it all changed in 2022. Ace and I shared a belated moment of bonding that felt good. Real good. No pretense. We liked each other!!! We came full circle from our beginning handshake in 1982 to meeting up for a very special KISS legacy show in Nashville. It was a weekend I will forever remember fondly shared with [former KISS guitarist] Bruce Kulick, Ace, Peter Criss and myself as band members coming together for the first time in support of our individual legacy as we gave tribute to the band we were historically intertwined: the greatest band in the world, known as KISS. The band whose sum was greater than its parts.

Could words adequately eulogize the ‘legend’ of Ace Frehley? I think not. To me a legend is all encompassing and all consuming, embracing the heart soul and mind of their individual audience. A legend is everlasting, emoting the same fan pride, well being and warmth to the person they have touched thru their artistry thru the passage of time. Thru light and dark, the effect of that artist remains steadfast in the fans he touched. Ace was all of that and much more.

Ace Frehley possessed that special something…. a magic that touched his fans, and they loved him deeply. And they are crying for him now. Those are the qualities of a legend that are indescribable. Even during Ace‘s more difficult moments, his legion of fans did not abandon him. They stood with him and cheered him on to let Ace know they had his back and to show Ace he was loved no matter what. You can’t buy that. Ace brought the gift of everlasting childhood to all the fans who loved him. Everyone felt that way about Ace from rockstars music gear companies and fans alike. Everyone loved him. Ace was the every man rock star. That’s what a legend is. That’s Ace Frehley.

Ace‘s journey here is complete. He has walked through the portal into eternity. A door we all walk thru at some point. But what he leaves for all of us here are the images, the recordings, the performances, the happy memories of Ace the person, the man, the musical works and a magic character persona that was loved by everyone, young and old alike and a stage presence that will live forever. I’m forever proud and grateful to have shared the same KISS ‘forever legacy’ as Ace….we were one f**king hell of a great band.

Cheers, my friend. You will be sorely missed by everyone and by me. I will hurt tomorrow and always as I am hurting now.

Love light and peace, Vinnie Vincent.”