At the 48th annual Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday, Dec. 7, KISS was recognized alongside Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, George Strait and Michael Crawford. In interviews with PEOPLE on the red carpet, KISS founders Paul Stanley and Peter Criss open up about carrying on Frehley's legacy.

KISS founding members Gene Simmons and Peter Criss collected medals at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C. and made sure to pay tribute to late guitarist Ace Frehley.

The surviving members — Stanley, Simmons and Criss — attended the ceremony on Sunday night in Washington, D.C. to accept their honor, wearing nice tuxedos instead of spandex. Others recognized this year include George Strait, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Crawford and Gloria Gaynor.

The Kennedy Center has officially embraced its first post-“woke” class of honorees. Over the summer, Donald Trump announced that the institution will honor KISS, Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, Gloria Gaynor,

Despite a hectic week in Washington, D.C., where Gene Simmons was accepting a Kennedy Center Honor with the remaining members of KISS and preparing to testify in the Senate on radio royalty legislation, he described the moment that stayed with him most: Frehley’s private funeral on Oct. 22.

The band's co-founder issued a rare mea culpa after weighing in with his theories about what caused the former KISS guitarist's death at 74 in October.

Gene Simmons is saying sorry after he alleged that former KISS bandmate Ace Frehley’s death may have been caused by “bad decisions.” On Wednesday, Dec. 10, Simmons apologized, writing on X that he’d re-read his quotes,

Discussing the final months of Ace Frehley's life, Gene Simmons apologized after blaming it on "bad decisions.