The Album Ace Frehley Discovered Eric Clapton And Called It ‘His Favorite’

Ace Frehley gained his fame by adapting the Spaceman persona in his band KISS. He co-founded the band in 1973 and played with them until he departed in 1982 due to creative differences. After he quit the band, ventured off to embark on a solo career. He released nine successful albums as a solo artist and is still continuing as a musician.

Like many artists, Ace Frehley had inspirations and other musicians he was influenced by. He spoke about his influences in 2018 to Classic Rock and mentioned his favorite singers and albums. The guitarist named his top five guitar albums and guitarists in the interview and gave the names of Jimi Hendrix, the Stones, and Steppenwolf. He also revealed the first record he discovered one of his influences, Eric Clapton, with.

Ace Frehley’s Favorite Cream Album

Cream was formed in 1966 by Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton, and Ginger Baker. The band was known for its influential instrumental abilities and became an inspiration to a lot of musicians in the rock world. Unfortunately, due to tensions between the members, they disbanded in 1968 and continued to inspire the world with their solo works.

Eric Clapton influenced many guitarists with his techniques who was nicknamed ‘Slowhand.’ He sold 280 million records worldwide and became one of the best-selling musicians of all time. Like many other guitarists, Ace Frehley was inspired by his work especially on the album ‘Fresh Cream.’ Ace described Clapton as a unique rock-blues guitarist and said that he studied the guitarist.

Here are Frehley’s words about Clapton:

“This is the record I discovered Clapton on. Actually, I saw Cream. I was at their first New York appearance when they were opening up for Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. I had no idea what I was going to see, but I was blown away. Come to think of it, the Who were on the same bill. Those were great days.

I love the ‘Fresh Cream’ record. Clapton is such a beautifully unique rock-blues guitarist. I’ve studied everything he’s done, from Cream to Blind Faith to Derek and the Dominos and then the solo stuff. He’s one of those guys who has something so singular – you know it’s him, the second he plays a note. I definitely tried to take as much as I could from Clapton.”

Clapton began his long-lasting career with The Yardbirds and became well known after forming the power trio Cream. Being an influential guitarist himself, Frehley admitted that he tried to learn as much as possible by listening to Clapton’s work. Even after Cream, he continued to follow Clapton throughout his solo ventures to contribute to his career.