AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ace Frehley

Artist:Ace Frehley
Song:New York Groove
Album:The Very Best Of Kiss





Remember when the members of Kiss all released solo albums simultaneously in 1978? The most successful of these albums was by guitarist Paul "Ace" Frehley. New York Groove was a top twenty hit and the song became a regular part of Kiss concerts. Frehley had solo success after he left Kiss in 1982. He was born Apr. 27, 1951 in The Bronx, NY. His father was the church organist and his brother plays classical guitar. He was 13 when his father bought him a guitar for Christmas. Frehley is a self taught guitarist influenced by Jimi Hendrix, Albert Lee and others. The nickname Ace came from his ability to get dates with girls. He was also involved with street gangs but Frehley credits music for taking him away from that. Frehley played in several local bands. While one of those bands Molimo was recording for RCA, Frehley saw a Village Voice ad looking for a guitarist. That turned out to be Kiss. He auditioned and the rest is history. The four solo albums were part of Kiss's Casablanca Records contract. Frehley's was the most successful of the four. New York Groove reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978. The song was written by Russ Ballard of Argent and first recorded by the British group Hello in 1975. The song was a big enough hit that Kiss added it to their set list on the next tour. Frehley's album was produced by Kiss's usual producer Eddie Kramer with major input from drummer Anton Fig and bassist Will Lee from the Saturday Night Live band. You can get New York Groove on this Kiss comp. Frehley left Kiss in 1982 and his band Frehley's Comet released their debut album in 1987. Anton Fig was the drummer. That band was successful but Frehley returned to Kiss in 1996. He appeared on the 1998 album Psycho Circus and he has toured with them. And he continues to record solo. His latest album Spaceman was released in October on eOne. Here's Ace Frehley with Kiss performing New York Groove on the Brooklyn Bridge Sept. 4, 1996.