Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons led the tributes on Friday for fellow KISS founding member Ace Frehley who died on Thursday at the age of 74.
He passed away peacefully, surrounded by his wife, Jeanette, and daughter Monique, in Morristown, New Jersey, his agent said.
Stanley and Simmons, who started the band with Frehley and Peter Criss, said in a joint statement: “We are devastated. He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history.
"He is and will always be a part of KISS’s legacy. Our thoughts are with Jeanette, Monique and all those who loved him, including our fans around the world.”
Mike McCready, one of the co-founders of the Seattle grunge band Pearl Jam, said: "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 … I would not have picked up a guitar without Ace and KISS’s influence. RIP it out Ace, you changed my life.”
Chic legend Nile Rodgers said: “Ace RIP was the 1st person I met when we were forming CHIC! @KISS were playing at a spot called Le Jardin.
"Without his make-up nobody recognised him as he sat at my table. Only a few minutes before the crowd were losing their shit over him. I learned a lot that night. Truly historic #rock."
Tributes roll in for beloved musician and producer Quincy Jones, who died at 91
Musical family
Born Paul Daniel Frehley in the Bronx section of New York City on 27 April 1951, Frehley grew up the youngest of three children in a musical family.
He was given an electric guitar as a Christmas present in 1964 and set about learning the instrument citing Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, B B King, Led Zeppelin and The Who as his influences.
After joining a number of bands, he answered a newspaper advert from a group in New York looking for a guitarist with "flash and ability," Rolling Stone magazine said.
He found Simmons, Stanley and Criss at their rehearsal space in Queens.
KISS burst onto the scene in the 1970s with a sound and look widely recognised as a mix of hard rock and glam rock.
The band members daubed their faces with black-and-white face paint, sported flamboyant costumes atop massive platform heels.
With a star painted on his face, Frehley was also known as "Spaceman."
Hits from 1975, such as the party anthem "Rock and Roll All Nite" and the concert album "Alive!" have become rock classics.
All 26 of their albums went gold, selling at least 500,000 in the United States, the most by any American band, and 14 went platinum, selling 1 million or more, though some of those records came after Frehley left the band.
Bret Michaels, former frontman of the band Poison, said: “Ace, my brother, I surely cannot thank you enough for the years of great music, the many festivals we’ve done together and your lead guitar on Nothing But A Good Time. All my love and respect, from my family and myself - may you rest in peace!!!”
Tom Morello, of Rage Against the Machine, hailed Frehley as his first guitar hero. "His timeless riffs and solos, the billowing smoke coming from his Les Paul [guitar], the rockets shooting from his headstock, his cool spacey onstage wobble and his unforgettable crazy laugh will be missed but will never be forgotten. Thank you, Ace for a lifetime of great music and memories."
Frehley was supposed to be one of the honorees at The Kennedy Center in Washington in December.
"We will be paying tribute to this “rock soldier”, his work, and his legacy at our ceremony in December." the centre said in a statement on social media.
"We are completely devastated and heartbroken," Frehley’s family said in a statement.
"The magnitude of his passing is of epic proportions, and beyond comprehension. Reflecting on all of his incredible life achievements, Ace’s memory will continue to live on forever!"
