With the passing of original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley this week, fans have been revisiting the songs that made him a legend: the riffs, the attitude, and the swagger that shaped KISS’ golden era and inspired generations of guitar players.
To mark his legacy, Tone Deaf looks back at five of his greatest moments on record: the tracks that distilled exactly why The Spaceman mattered, and the impact he left behind.
KISS – “Cold Gin”
The first true Ace classic.
“Cold Gin” was Ace Frehley before Ace Frehley was fully formed: swaggering, sloppy, and already iconic. It’s the lone track he wrote for KISS’ 1974 debut, a boozy ode to self-medication that captured everything chaotic that would follow. Ace didn’t sing it (he didn’t feel ready yet) so Gene Simmons handled the vocals — an ironic twist considering he’s famously straight-edge. The live version on Alive! is the definitive take: huge crowd, bigger attitude, and Paul Stanley riling everyone up like tequila is a religion. It became a staple because it summed up what Frehley did best: turn chaos into hooks.
KISS – “Parasite”
Proto-grunge before grunge existed.
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Hotter Than Hell is where Frehley really announces himself as a songwriter, and “Parasite” is the moment everyone else caught up. Heavy, grimy, and sprinting like the wheels are about to come off, it’s a track that quietly became a blueprint for a generation of Nineties guitar players raised on distortion and sneer. Simmons takes the vocal again, but the DNA is pure Frehley: bruising riffs, street-level attitude, and zero polish in the best possible way.
KISS – “Shock Me”
The near-death experience turned breakthrough.
Frehley had been setting off pyrotechnics onstage for years — sooner or later it was going to end badly. In Lakeland, Florida, it almost did: he was electrocuted onstage and knocked unconscious. Out of that came “Shock Me”, his first lead vocal for KISS and one of the band’s most beloved guitar showcases. Instead of turning the incident into trauma, he turned it into a sly, swaggering rock song about lust and danger. It’s Frehley at his best: almost dies … writes a banger.
KISS – “Rocket Ride”
High camp, zero subtlety.
Alive II tried to recapture the lightning of the original Alive!, but the real standout was one of the studio cuts: “Rocket Ride”. Frehley sings it, co-writes it, and swings for the fence with pure innuendo. It’s a sleazy, riff-driven joyride that doubles as a mission statement: Space Ace blasting off and not bothering with metaphors. It peaked at No. 49 on the US charts, but its legacy is bigger than its numbers — it’s the moment Frehley became myth in real time.
Ace Frehley – “New York Groove”
A cover that became his song.
“New York Groove” technically isn’t a KISS track — it’s from Frehley’s solo album released the same day as the other three members’ records — but it might as well be canon. Originally a Russ Ballard track, he initially didn’t even want to record it. But then he cut it, and managed to walk away with the biggest hit of the whole experiment. It’s swaggering, street-lit, and pure Frehley: a Bronx kid returning to home turf like a conquering superhero. The song didn’t just revive a glam deep cut, it became inseparable from Frehley himself.
