Brad Gillis Biography
- Home /
- Brad Gillis /
- Biography
- Born June 15, 1957
Bradley Frank "Brad" Gillis (born 15 June 1957) is a guitarist most famous for playing with the band Night Ranger. He was in the band Rubicon during the 1970s before Night Ranger. Since forming in 1979, Gillis and drummer Kelly Keagy are the only members to have appeared in every incarnation of the band and all studio releases. However, since Keagy missed several shows for the first time in 2017, Gillis is the only Night Ranger member to have appeared at every live performance in the band\'s history. He has also played for Ozzy Osbourne and Fiona, and has released solo albums. Gillis’s musical side projects include placing over 300 songs for ESPN’s Sports Center, The X Games, Fox Sports, Tiger Woods Sony PlayStation Games, EA Sports, The Fuse Channel and many others. He has appeared in over a dozen music videos, with TV performances on American Bandstand, Solid Gold, Rock & Roll Tonight and thousands of live concerts. He also participated in the one-time collaboration, Hear \'n Aid, for the promotional single, "Stars," which helped raise $1 million for famine relief in Africa. He was one of several lead guitarists to contribute guitar solos for the cause, including Vivian Campbell, Buck Dharma, and Neal Schon. His first solo album Gilrock Ranch produced a top twenty single, “Honest to God,” which was co-written and sung by Gregg Allman.\n', '
Jerry Martini formed the funk-rock band Rubicon with future Night Ranger founding members Gillis and Jack Blades. Rubicon recorded two albums on 20th Century Fox Records – Rubicon, and American Dreams, scoring one minor hit single entitled "I’m Gonna Take Care of Everything". Rubicon played the 1978 California Jam II rock festival before 250,000 people. Future Ozzy Osbourne bandmate Rudy Sarzo saw Gillis\' Cal Jam performance and was very impressed. Rubicon broke up in 1979 and Gillis formed the short lived club band Stereo with future Night Ranger members Blades and Kelly Keagy.\n', '
With the sudden death of guitarist Randy Rhoads in a plane crash while on tour in March 1982, Bernie Torme was quickly brought in as his replacement. After a handful of shows it became apparent that Torme\'s blues-based style was not a good match for Osbourne\'s style of music and Gillis was subsequently hired as his replacement. Osbourne, drinking heavily while still coming to terms with the loss of Rhoads, took his frustrations out on Gillis and treated him very poorly. As a result, Gillis left Osbourne\'s band after completing the 1982 Diary of a Madman tour and he returned to Night Ranger. Gillis can be heard playing lead guitar on Osbourne’s 1982 Speak of the Devil live album and on the DVD of the same title.\n', '
Return to Brad Gillis Autograph Profile
When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Terms of Service · Privacy Policy
© 2026 Real Autograph Collectors Club