Ace Frehley

The KISS years without Ace were dark, sad times for fans of Hard Rock: the band suffered severely without his powerhouse rock guitar. With the exceptions of Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen, Frehley has inspired more air-guitar sessions than just about anyone. After departing from KISS in '82, Frehley took his time to make a solo album, presumably coasting by on his fame. His solo albums debuted in the second half of the '80s (not including his '78 KISS cash-in/solo debut), and Frehley jumped right in with the Pop Metal and Hard Rock bands so prevalent at the time, with mixed results. But no other guitarist had the resume and meaty blues grit Frehley had developed with KISS -- not to mention dolls, a series of comics in their honor, and Frehley's penchant for flammables inside his guitar while he played (Spinal Tap and Hendrix excepted). Thankfully for everyone involved, KISS and Frehley were reunited on MTV Unplugged in '95, with a world tour and Pepsi commercials to follow.