During a recent episode of The Howard Stern Show, Howard and his team took a moment to pay tribute to late KISS guitarist Ace Frehley — in the most Howard Stern way possible: with chaos, jokes, and showing he is a true fanboy.
The segment began with Stern recalling the influence of Frehley’s playing on generations of guitarists. “Every guitar player, including my teacher, said, ‘If it wasn’t for Ace Frehley, I never would have played guitar,’” Howard said, as transcribed by Alternative Nation, setting the tone for what quickly turned into a mix of nostalgia and comedy.
Producer Sal Governale, a well-known KISS fanatic, entered the studio visibly emotional. “Sal’s like walking around like he’s the widow because he loves KISS,” Stern joked, as the crew laughed.
Governale, eager to prove his devotion, jumped in with trivia. “What was Ace’s real name? Paul Daniel Frehley,” he said proudly — earning rare praise from Howard, who added, “Thank you for pronouncing it properly. It’s Frehley. You said it right.”
As the discussion deepened, Sal couldn’t help but drop more obscure facts. “The great Anton Fig, Howard, on that album Dynasty, the great Anton Fig contributed to the drum work,” he noted, referencing Frehley’s longtime collaborator. Howard quickly cut him off, quipping, “All right, enough of you. I don’t think I want you on the obituary anymore.”
The banter continued as the crew shared a hilarious story about Sal’s obsession with Frehley. Stern recounted, “Ace Frehley was on our show. Sal comes in the room and asks me to take a picture of him with Ace.” Robin Quivers interjected with laughter as Howard added, “Two weeks later, we learned that Sal tried to steal Ace’s home phone number from his release form.”
Despite the teasing, Stern ended the segment on a heartfelt note. “Anyway, rest in peace. The guy could really play, and some of the stuff that he did inspired everybody,” he said, acknowledging Frehley’s lasting impact on rock music.
