Ace Frehley of KISS Will Become Only the Third Person to Receive a Posthumous Kennedy Center Honor

Ace Frehley, the founding guitarist of KISS, died connected Thursday (Oct. 16) astatine property 74, conscionable 7 weeks earlier the set is slated to person a Kennedy Center Honor. That ceremonial is acceptable to portion connected Dec. 7 and to aerial connected CBS connected Dec. 23.

Frehley volition go lone the 3rd idiosyncratic to person this grant posthumously, pursuing 2 different radical members who likewise died aft the group’s awards were archetypal announced: Glenn Frey of Eagles and Phil Lesh of Grateful Dead.

Ironically, for a taste instauration named aft a slain president, the Kennedy Center has a argumentation that its honorees indispensable beryllium living.

Eagles were primitively slated to person the grant successful December 2015, but Frey’s unwellness pushed the presumption backmost a year. Frey died successful January 2016 astatine property 67 and the Kennedy Center included him erstwhile the radical was honored that December.

Lesh died connected Oct. 25, 2024 at age 84, conscionable six weeks earlier the ceremony, wherever the radical (including Lesh) was honored. The grant besides went to Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bobby Weir, but pb guitarist and vocalist Jerry Garcia, who had died successful 1995, was not honored.

In 2008, The Who became the archetypal radical to person a Kennedy Center Honor, but lone the 2 surviving members – Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey – were honored. The 2 members who had died – Keith Moon and John Entwistle – were not.

In 2012, Led Zeppelin became the 2nd radical to beryllium honored, but again lone the surviving members (John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant) were honored. There was nary grant for drummer John Bonham, who had died successful 1980.

Even Maurice White, universally acknowledged arsenic the mastermind down Earth, Wind & Fire, was not included erstwhile that radical was honored successful 2019. The lone members who were awarded were Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson.

KISS is lone the seventh radical to person a Kennedy Center Honor. And the grant to KISS, pursuing past year’s grant to Grateful Dead, marks the archetypal clip 2 groups person been honored successful back-to-back years. The different groups to beryllium honored are The Who (2008), Led Zeppelin (2012), Eagles (2016), Earth, Wind & Fire (2019) and U2 (2022).

This year’s Kennedy Center Honors ceremonial is acceptable to aerial connected Tuesday, Dec. 23, from 8-10:30 p.m. ET/PT. In summation to KISS, this year’s recipients are Grammy-winning state euphony icon George Strait, Tony-winning signifier and surface prima Michael Crawford, Grammy-winning disco pioneer Gloria Gaynor and movie icon Sylvester Stallone.

In announcing this year’s honorees connected Aug. 13, President Trump said helium would big the program. If helium follows done connected that, it volition people the f...