R.I.P. guitarist Bob Kulick (1950-2020)
R.I.P. guitarist Bob Kulick (1950-2020)
Very sad news for the rock n’ roll world as guitarist Bob Kulick has passed away at the age of 70. Sleaze Roxx does not know the cause of Kulick‘s death at this time. Kulick was a well known studio musician who played guitar on some key albums from world renowned bands such as KISS and W.A.S.P. while never being considered a full-fledged member in those groups.
The following message was posted on Bruce Kulick‘s Facebook page earlier today:
“I am heartbroken to have to share the news of the passing of my brother Bob Kulick. His love of music, and his talent as a musician and producer should always be celebrated. I know he is at peace now, with my parents, playing his guitar as loud as possible. Please respect the Kulick Family’s privacy during this very sad time.”
Bob Kulick auditioned for KISS back in 1972 and ended up playing uncredited on the three of the five studio tracks on KISS‘ live album Alive II (1977) and the four new studio tracks on the record Killers (1982). The guitarist also played on Paul Stanley‘s KISS solo album in 1978, toured with Stanley in 1989 and played on the W.A.S.P. albums The Crimson Idol (1992) and Still Not Black Enough (1995).
In what seemed to be a bit of a sore point, Bob Kulick was also known as Bruce Kulick‘s older brother as the latter was KISS‘ lead guitarist from 1984 to 1996. In 2017, Bob and Bruce Kulick teamed up in a band together to perform little played KISS classics on the KISS Kruise VII. Unfortunately, Bob Kulick ended up not playing on any subsequent KISS Kruises due apparently to a contractual dispute while his younger brother Bruce continued performing on KISS Kruises. In November 2019, Bob Kulick accused his brother Bruce along with KISS founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of copyright infringement. While Bob Kulick criticized his younger brother Bruce publicly in the last few years, the latter refused to comment on the rift between them in public.
Wikipedia states the following about Bob Kulick‘s musical career outside of KISS (with slight edits):
“Early in his session career, Bob Kulick played lead guitar for Lou Reed on his Coney Island Baby record. Kulick followed this up with a long-running stint in the Neverland Express, Meat Loaf‘s touring band, on and off for years, which led to appearances on several Meat Loaf albums, most notably on 1984’s Bad Attitude. He also formed a band called Balance, with Peppy Castro (aka Emil “Peppy” Thielhelm, formerly of the Blues Magoos) and Doug Katsaros (multi-platinum recording arranger and Broadway conductor), which had modest chart success in the early 1980s, followed up by playing rhythm and lead guitar on Michael Bolton‘s 1983 self-titled album.
Bob Kulick was involved with a project called Skull, releasing one album, No Bones About It, in 1991. Bruce Kulick, his brother, who would become a member of KISS, co-wrote one song and appeared as a guest guitarist on another track. In addition, Kulick played on the W.A.S.P. albums The Crimson Idol and Still Not Black Enough. He was only involved with the studio work and never toured with W.A.S.P. or became a member of the band. In 1996, he released Murderer’s Row with his band of the same name. This group included David Glen Eisley (of Giuffria and Dirty White Boy) on vocals.
Thereafter, Kulick served in various side projects such as Blackthorne and Observation Balloon. He also produced Motörhead‘s “Whiplash” (winner of the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance), produced and played guitar on the theme for WWE wrestler Triple H, and earned 11 platinum or gold records working with Kiss and Diana Ross. Kulick also composed, produced, and performed “Sweet Victory” with Eisley in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode “Band Geeks” on Nickelodeon. The song further appears on SpongeBob SquarePants: The Yellow Album.“
Sweet Victory” performance by Band Geeks on SpongeBob episode:
Bob and Bruce Kulick performing “Larger Than Life” at KISS Kruise VII on November 5, 2017: