On April 27th, 1951, Ace Frehley was born in The Bronx. We all know the now 73-year-old rocker went on to make a name for himself in Kiss and with his solo career, but here are 25 things you might not know about him:

1. Ace’s real name is Paul Daniel Frehley.

2. Frehley’s father is the son of Dutch immigrants and his mother is Cherokee.

3. Growing up in The Bronx, Ace was part of a street gang called the Ducky Boys.

4. Frehley never took a guitar lesson, but music runs in his blood – his mom played piano, his dad played the organ at their church, and his brother and sister both played piano and guitar.

5. Ace got his first electric guitar as a Christmas gift in 1964.

6. Ace was thrown out of two high schools and dropped out of a third.

7. Frehley got the name Ace in high school from friends who felt he was a “real ace” at getting them dates.

8. A guidance counselor encouraged Ace to pursue a career in graphic arts.

9. Ace was once in a band with his brother called The Outrage.

10. Even though he dropped out of high school after his band Cathedral started getting gigs, his girlfriend and family convinced him to return to school, finish and get his diploma, which he did.

11. Before making it as a rocker, Ace had jobs as a mail carrier, a messenger, a furniture deliverer and a liquor store delivery boy.

12. As a teenager in 1970, Ace was a drum roadie for Mitch Mitchell at Jimi Hendrix’s final Band of Gypsys performance in New York.

13. One of Ace’s pre-Kiss bands, Molimo, actually recorded half an album for RCA Records in 1971.

14. Ace showed up to his audition for Kiss, then called Wicked Lester, wearing one red sneaker and one orange one. The band wasn’t impressed with his look, but they were wowed by his guitar skilled and hired him.

15. Ace designed Kiss’ double lightning bolt logo.

16. When Kiss decided to paint their faces, Ace chose to put silver stars on his eyes and took on his Space Ace persona, which eventually was also known as The Spaceman.

17. As Kiss was struggling to survive, Ace worked as a cab driver to help pay his bills.

18. For the cover of Kiss’ self-titled debut, Ace put silver commercial spray-paint in his hair, assuming it would wash out. It didn’t.

19. Ace penned the song “Cold Gin” on Kiss’ debut album. He didn’t write it because he liked the liquor though – in fact he didn’t drink much besides beer back then. He just wanted to write a drinking song and liked the title “Cold Gin.”

20. In 1976, Ace nearly died from electrocution when he grabbed a metal rail during a gig in Florida, and completed an electrical circuit with his guitar. He was able to break free and fell a few feet. After a 10-minute break, he came back out to a standing ovation and finished the set, even though he couldn’t feel his hands.

21. Ace’s version of the song “New York Groove” was by far the highest-charting single from any of the Kiss member’s solo albums, reaching 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. He said his take on the song was inspired by his experience with prostitutes in Times Square in the 70s.

22. Even though Ace had nothing to do with Kiss’ Lick It Up and Animalize album since he was no longer in the band, he got 25% of the profits from them since he retained a quarter share in the band until 1985.

23. In 1985, Ace performed his first live show with his solo band, Frehley’s Comet.

24. Ace made his acting debut in the 2005 crime filmRemedy, which starred Vincent Pastore and Frank Vincent fromThe Sopranos. Frehley also contributed to the movie’s soundtrack.

25. Ace’s 2014 album,Space Invader, reached number nine on the Billboard 200, marking the only time a solo album from a past or current member of Kiss ever made it into the top ten.

Happy birthday Space Ace!

Greg Kretschmar