ACE FREHLEY Pays Tribute To BOB KULICK: 'We Always Treated Each Other With Great Respect'

Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley has paid tribute to legendary guitarist and record producer Bob Kulick.

Kulick died on Friday (May 29) at the age of 70. His passing was confirmed by his brother, former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick. A cause of death has not been revealed.

"I was very saddened to hear that one of my fellow rock guitarists, Bob Kulick, passed away at age 70," Ace wrote on social media. "Bob and I were friends, and we always treated each other with great respect. We were lucky enough to jam together at a few conventions which was a lot of fun.

"Bob was an excellent guitarist and studio musician who performed on many more records than I have over the years, which didn't surprise me because of his great talent," he continued. "He will be greatly missed in the music community, and my heart goes out to his brother, Bruce, who I'm friends with, and the rest of the Kulick family."

Throughout his 40-plus-year music career, Bob Kulick has worked with an astonishing array of artists: from Meat Loaf to MOTÖRHEAD; from KISS to Michael Bolton; W.A.S.P. to Diana Ross; as well as legends such as Roger Daltrey, Alice Cooper, Lou Reed and Paul Stanley's first solo LP and tour.

Bob began his musical profession at 16 — when most high schoolers are still trying to figure out where they're going in life — appearing on the 1966 album "Winchester Cathedral" from the RANDOM BLUES BAND, the "baby band" that Bob played in that played The Café Wha in New York's Greenwich Village alongside Jimmy James and the BLUE FLAMES (later rechristened Jimi Hendrix).

1973 saw Kulick make the connection that he has been associated the most with throughout his career. He auditioned for — and got passed over by — KISS. Instead of being dejected, the six-stringer aligned himself with the band over the years, playing on the studio material on "Kiss Alive II", providing solos on the "Killers" album, co-writing "Naked City" from "Unmasked" and guesting on Paul Stanley's 1979 solo album and tour a decade later. He even suggested his brother to the band.

In a 2018 interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, Bob said he had no problem keeping his KISS involvement under wraps at the time, explaining: "In this circumstance, being friends with Gene [Simmons] and Paul, it was important to me that when they said, 'This has to be between us and us only,' that I'm going to keep my word."