Bob Kulick

Robert Joel Kulick (January 16, 1950 – May 28, 2020) was an American guitarist who worked with numerous acts such as Kiss, W.A.S.P., Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Meat Loaf, and Michael Bolton. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was the elder brother of former Kiss lead guitarist Bruce Kulick.

Early career and Kiss Bob Kulick took a chance in late 1972 and auditioned for the lead guitar spot in a then-new band called Kiss. The band, with Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, and Peter Criss, was very impressed by his performance, however the glitzier Ace Frehley (who auditioned immediately after him) was chosen to fill the spot. Kulick later played (uncredited) on three Kiss albums: Alive II (three of the five studio tracks), Killers (all four new studio tracks), and some minimal work on Creatures of the Night. He also played on Paul Stanley's 1978 solo album and on his 1989 solo tour.

Kulick resided in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was a regular participant in the annual "KISS Night in Las Vegas" fundraiser for music programs in Clark County, Nevada schools until his death.

His family is of Jewish background.

Kulick's death on May 28, 2020, was confirmed by his brother Bruce. On October 2, 2020, Bruce stated that his brother had died of heart disease, with the pandemic possibly having delayed treatment.

Discography

Random Blues Band Winchester Cathedral (1966)

Hookfoot Good Times A' Comin' (1972; Kulick only plays on "Sweet Sweet Funky Music")

Michael Wendroff

Southpaw (1974) Recorded Live (1976) Kiss The World Goodbye (1978)

Lou Reed

Coney Island Baby (1975)

KISS

Alive II (1977) Paul Stanley (1978) Unmasked (1980) Killers (1982)

Balance

Balance (1981) In For the Count (1982) Equilibrium (2009)

Meat Loaf

Live at My Father's Place (1977; promo only release) Live at the "Bottom Line" in N.Y.C. (1977; promo only release) Live at the El Mocambo, January 18, 1978 (1978; promo only release) Bad Attitude (1984) Bad Attitude Live (1985; VHS) Live (at Wembley) (1987) Bat Out of Hell: The Original Tour (2009; DVD; televised appearance on Rockpalast, 1978)

Michael Bolton

Michael Bolton (1983)

Diana Ross Why Do Fools Fall In Love (1981) Mirror Mirror (1981)

W.A.S.P.

The Crimson Idol (1992) Still Not Black Enough (1995)

Skull

No Bones About It (1991) No Bones About It: Expanded Edition (2018) Skull II: Now More Than Ever (2018)

Blackthorne

Afterlife (1993)

Murderer's Row

Murderer's Row (1996)

Doro

Calling the Wild (2000)

Tim "Ripper" Owens Play My Game (2010)

Solo Skeletons in the Closet (2017)

Other Sweet Victory (2001) (Production music track famously used in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Band Geeks")

Tribute albums Bob Kulick produced or co-produced, with partners Bruce Bouillet, Billy Sherwood, and Brett Chassen, multiple tribute and original concept albums, including:

Humanary Stew: A tribute to Alice Cooper (1996) Little Guitars: A Tribute to Van Halen (1999) Metallic Attack: Metallica – The Ultimate Tribute (2000) Bat Head Soup: A Tribute to Ozzy (2000) Stone Cold Queen: A Tribute (2001) An All Star Lineup Performing The Songs Of Pink Floyd (2002) One Way Street: A Tribute to Aerosmith (2002) Spin the Bottle: An All-Star Tribute to KISS (2004) Michael Schenker Group 'Heavy Hitters' classic rock covers (2005) Welcome to the Nightmare: An All-Star Salute to Alice Cooper (2005) An All-Star Tribute to Cher (2005) An All-Star Tribute to Shania Twain (2005) Numbers from the Beast: An All-Star Tribute to Iron Maiden (2005) Butchering the Beatles: A Headbashing Tribute (2006) Immortal Randy Rhoads: The Ultimate Tribute (2015) We Wish You a Metal X-Mas and a Headbanging New Year (2008, a heavy metal Christmas album created in association with Black Ion Music, a company co-owned by Kulick and talent manager Wendy Dio) — featuring a who's who of rock and roll royalty including Bruce Kulick, Ronnie James Dio, Alice Cooper, Tommy Shaw, Lemmy Kilmister, Dave Grohl, Vinny Appice, Chuck Billy, Billy F. Gibbons Sin-Atra (2011) An All Star metal tribute to Frank Sinatra