Prince Death News Update: Gene Simmons Says Prince's 'Pathetic' Death Was Because 'He Killed Himself'

KISS bassist/singer Gene Simmons was candid about the deaths of two music icons---David Bowie and Prince.

Bowie's death was tragic "because it was [from] a real sickness," he said. But he minced no words in calling the other artistes---especially Prince---as dying out of "choice."

"His drugs killed him," the KISS co-founder said. "I think Prince was heads, hands, and feet above all the rest of them. I thought he left [Michael] Jackson in the dust. Prince was way beyond that. But how pathetic that he killed himself. Don't kid yourself, that's what he did. Slowly, I'll grant you... but that's what drugs and alcohol are: a slow death."

Simmons said that the first time he met the singer, Prince had given a "great" club gig performance though he was just launching his career. "We'd never seen anything like that," said Simmons. His girlfriend who accompanied him at that time was the renowned vocalist Diana Ross.

The singer, who has never been high on drink or drugs, explains that he does not understand how anyone who worked so hard to get what he wanted could "succumb to the cliché of clichés," drugs.

Still, he feels that the situation around the "Purple Rain" composer's death will not damage what he has left behind. "Your legacy becomes even bigger, you become more iconic if you die before your time," he explained.

Currently, Simmons is busy with a hectic schedule. The film "KISS Rocks Vegas" will be screened at movie theaters across the globe May 25, and the band's big summer Freedom To Rock  tour will start in Tucson, Ariz., July 4.