Robert Sidney Halligan Jr. (born January 3, 1953) is an American singer, musician, music producer and songwriter who has collaborated with many artists, particularly in the

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

/ heavy metal genre, throughout his career. He is currently the lead vocalist and guitarist for the band

Ceili Rain Ceili Rain is a Christian band based in Syracuse, New York that is influenced by Celtic music. It is led by Bob Halligan, Jr. and was founded in May 1995. As the group's founder, Bob Halligan, Jr. explains, in Gaelic, the word " Céili" (pronounc ...

, a group he founded which combines

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

, rock and contemporary

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely around ...

.Bob Halligan Jr. and Ceili Rain
Syracuse Post-Standard, March 12, 2007 As a songwriter, Halligan has contributed songs to two albums by heavy metal band

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

: "(Take These) Chains" from 1982's ''

Screaming for Vengeance ''Screaming for Vengeance'' is the eighth studio album by the English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released in July 1982 by Columbia Records. Considered the band's commercial breakthrough, it has been certified double platinum in the United S ...

'' and the single "

Some Heads Are Gonna Roll "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" is a song by the English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was originally released on their 1984 studio album, ''Defenders of the Faith'', and issued as a single later that year. Background "Some Heads Are Gonna R ...

" from 1984's ''

Defenders of the Faith ''Defenders of the Faith'' is the ninth studio album by English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 13 January 1984 by Columbia Records. The album was RIAA certification, certified platinum by the Recording Industry A ...

''.Herman, Michae
Christian Music's Best Kept Secret?
''Christianity Today'', August 26, 2002. Judas Priest lead singer

Rob Halford Robert John Arthur Halford (born 25 August 1951) is an English heavy metal singer. He is the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. He has b ...

included another song by Halligan, "Twist", on the album ''

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...

'' by his band Halford. Halligan worked with

Rick Cua Rick Cua (born December 3, 1948) is an American Christian rock singer, songwriter, bassist, author and ordained minister. He is a former member of the Southern rock band, Outlaws, whom he joined in 1980, but left in 1983 to pursue a full-time ca ...

focusing on Cua's solo career (f.i. album ''You're My Road'') as also extensively with the hard rock/heavy metal band Kix, beginning in the mid-1980s, when he co-wrote most of the songs on the band's third album, ''

Midnite Dynamite ''Midnite Dynamite'' is the band's third full-length released on Atlantic Records. The album, released in 1985, features 7 out of 10 songs co-written by bassist Donnie Purnell with hit songwriter Bob Halligan Jr. (Kiss, Judas Priest, Icon, Blu ...

.'' Incidentally, one of the most successful songs he has ever written is Kix's near-top ten hit, "Don't Close Your Eyes" (co-written with one-time

Crack the Sky Crack the Sky is an American progressive rock band formed in Weirton, West Virginia, in the early 1970s. In 1975, ''Rolling Stone'' declared their first album the "debut album of the year", and in 1978, ''Rolling Stone Record Guide'' compared th ...

frontman John Palumbo and Kix bassist Donnie Purnell), which was featured on the band's follow-up album, ''

Blow My Fuse ''Blow My Fuse'' is the fourth album by the glam metal band Kix. Released on September 19, 1988, on Atlantic Records, the album features Kix's only hit, the power ballad " Don't Close Your Eyes." The song peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 ...

''. The song remains Kix's highest charting single. He also wrote the songs "Beat 'Em Up" and "Make Rock Not War" on

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American Rock music, rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla ( ...

's ''

Club Ninja ''Club Ninja'' is the tenth studio album by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released on December 10, 1985 in the United Kingdom and on February 11, 1986 in the United States. The album was intended as a comeback for the band, whose pr ...

'' record, "Rise to It" and "Read My Body" on

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

' album ''

Hot in the Shade ''Hot in the Shade'' is the fifteenth studio album by American rock band Kiss, released in 1989. It is the first Kiss studio album since 1981's ''Music From "The Elder"'' to feature lead vocals from someone other than Paul Stanley or Gene Simmons ...

'', "

Could've Been You "Could've Been You" is a song originally performed by American rock singer Bob Halligan and later popularized by American singer-actress Cher. The song was written by Halligan and Arnie Roman for Halligan's 1991 album, ''Window in the Wall''. ...

" on

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

's album ''

Love Hurts "Love Hurts" is a song written and composed by the American songwriter Boudleaux Bryant. First recorded by the Everly Brothers in July 1960, the song is most well known from the 1974 international hit version by Scottish hard rock band Nazaret ...

'' and the single "

Rock You "Rock You" is a hard rock song written by Bob Halligan, Jr., and the first track from Helix (band), Helix's 1984 album ''Walkin' the Razor's Edge''. It is best known for its Call and response (music), call and response refrain of "Gimme an R, O, ...

" for

Helix A helix () is a shape like a corkscrew or spiral staircase. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is formed as two intertwined helices, ...

's ''

Walkin' the Razor's Edge ''Walkin' the Razor's Edge'' is the fourth studio album by the Canadian heavy metal band Helix. It was released on the Capitol Records label in 1984, reaching No. 27 on the Canadian RPM Album Chart, and selling 100,000 copies in Canada and 400, ...

'' album. In addition, Halligan wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on ''

Night of the Crime ''Night of the Crime'' is the second album by the heavy metal band Icon. It was far more polished than their self-titled debut and forayed into areas of glam only previously alluded to on their debut. It was produced and engineered by Eddie Kram ...

'' by 80s heavy metal band

Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

. He also co-wrote the song "Bang Down the Door" on Bonfire's 1989's ''

Point Blank Point-blank range is any distance over which a certain firearm can hit a target without the need to compensate for bullet drop, and can be adjusted over a wide range of distances by sighting in the firearm. If the bullet leaves the barrel paral ...

'' record.

Solo discography

*''Window in the Wall'' (1991) *''Sprung'' (1994)

References

External links

Ceili Rain
Musicians from New York (state) Living people 1953 births Place of birth missing (living people) {{US-singer-stub