Noted Founding Member & Rock n' Roll Guitarist Says Guys Never Tire of 'Rockin' In America' and Occasionally in Japan

Jeff Walker,  Entertainment Writer

During the decade of the 1980's Night Ranger were a major arena-headlining hard rock band, selling millions of records, dominating MTV, and garnering several multi-platinum albums, as well as a string of pop-rock hits featuring heavy guitar anthems and strong power ballads.

Aside from a short hiatus in the 1990's and a revolving door of band mates, guitar guru Brad Gillis is the lone founding member who has been there during every evolution of Night Ranger's epic run. Together with fellow founding members Jack Blades (bass & vocals) and Kelly Keagy (drums & vocals), Night Ranger still perform over 80 shows a year.

The three mainstays formed in 1979 under the band name Stereo, opting to be called Ranger in 1980, having to change to Night Ranger after a long standing country music band filed a potential trademark infringement lawsuit.

45 years later Gillis says he never imagined the band would have this kind of longevity. "Of course nobody knows. When you're in your twenties all you're really thinking is, we really want make it, not thinking for how long." He adds, "However, I believe it's a testament to Jack, Kelly, and myself that Night Ranger has endured this long."

Gillis' own longevity with Night Ranger could have gone a different route had he not connected with Ozzy Osbourne. After the passing of Randy Rhoads in 1982, Gillis replaced the famed guitarist in Ozzy's band. However, it was short term. "There was a lot going on with Ozzy personally, and his camp wasn't doing well."
He adds, "Night Ranger's debut album was about to be released. The band was pumped and ready to rock. We were young and all focused on the same goal. I didn't really want to miss out on that." Gillis' guitar wizardry however can be heard on Ozzy's 1982 album 'Speak of the Devil'.

Between 1983 and 1985 Night Ranger cracked the Billboard Top 40 six times, including 'Don't Tell Me You Love Me' ('83), 'When You Close Your Eyes' ('84), 'Goodbye' ('85), 'Sentimental Street' ('85), and 'Four in the Morning (I Can't Take Anymore)' ('85), with '(You Can Still) Rock in America' becoming a classic rock standard.

Wthout question 'Sister Christian' (written by Keagy for his sister) has become their signature song, an across the board hit peaking at No. 5 in 1984. According to Gillis he and the rest of the band knew 'Sister Christian' was going to be a monster hit. "Yeah, we knew it right away. It had that thing. Just like 'Rock in America'. It had that thing. Sometimes you can tell, even when you're in the recording studio."

Featured on their second album 'Midnight Madness', supposedly 'Sister Christian' was timed for release by the label to prevent the band from being one and done. "Kelly had actually written the song in 1982, so it could have made it on our debut album 'Dawn Patrol', but the record company held it off." 

Gillis explains further. "They (label) sensed we were on our way, and that 'Don't Tell Me You Love Me' (off Dawn Patrol) was going to be a hit, so they held it back. They didn't want us to suffer the old sophomore curse, whereby you have a killer debut album followed by one that doesn't sell as well."

The first single released off 'Midnight Madness' was '(You Can Still) Rock in America'. "That was a smart choice, because we wanted to cement ourselves as a hard rocking band. Initially I believe the label knew what direction we wanted to take."

'Sister Christian' followed propelling Night Ranger into a whole different stratosphere. The song spent 24 weeks on the Billboard charts, reaching number one in Canada, and received strong rotation on MTV, becoming one of the most aired music videos on the music channel format in 1984. "MTV was great to every band back then, especially new bands coming on the scene. Their reach was immense, and certainly expanded our fanbase."

As Night Ranger's popularity continued to rise so did their connection to Hollywood. "Exposure on MTV also got us in with other bands, bands that did songs for movies." By the latter part of the 80's Night Ranger would add songs to several soundtracks including '16 Candles' and 'The Secret of My Success."

Yet, as so often happens, after a decade of non-stop touring and recording, Night Ranger decided to split up. "Several factors played into us taking a break. First of all we were burned out. More so, it was the pressure from the record label (MCA)."

Gillis explains in detail. "It all came to a head after the release of 'Man In Motion' (their 5th album). After the huge success of 'Sister Christian' our label was continually trying to to package Night Ranger as a soft rock more ballad-driven band. They lost sight of who we were. Rather than release any of what we considered harder-edged singles, the label went with 'I Did It For Love' (1988), which didn't do well."

Blades opted to leave the band, joining with Tommy Shaw of Styx fame and Ted Nugent to form Damn Yankees, scoring two gold selling albums in the early 90's. While Gillis and Keagy tried to keep Night Ranger relevant, it wasn't until Blades returned in 1996 that the band were re-energized. "The core of Night Ranger has always been Jack, Kelly, and myself. When one of those elements, especially a key voice in the band isn't present, it's not really Night Ranger."

The band gained further appeal due to the second installment of the highly successful Rock Never Stops Tour in 1998, a move to package several 80's artist together on one big bill. It paired them with the likes of Ted Nugent and Quiet Riot. "Those kind of tours work on so many levels. It's great for the fans."

69 years young, and having jammed with some of the best to come about during the baby boomer generation, who were a few of Gillis' early guitar influences. "I got my first guitar when I was eight years old. I was lucky enough to have a brother who was seven years older than me, so when he was 17 and I was 10, he'd go out with his friends and I would raid his album collection. I'd be learning licks by ear to the greats like Hendrix, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin."

Thirty years since the cores reunion, Night Ranger is still out their touring every year. "It's what we do. We all love playing live." The 2026 tour will find the boys making a stop at the Charleston Music Hall on Friday August 21st. 

With several hit songs and fan favorites, does Gillis have any personal Night Ranger songs he prefers to perform. "I really like playing 'Don't Tell Me You Love Me'. Honestly, there are several I enjoy. We open our set with '(You Can Still) Rock in America because it's become our calling card."

Of course their final number or encore song is etched in stone. "Obviously we close with 'Sister Christian' because it gets the best fan reaction overall. Audiences anticipate it, and it's a great sing-along song. I think we're just thankful we've been able to do this for so long and have fans come back each and every year."

Surprisingly one week after their Charleston concert Night Ranger will be performing in Fukuoka, Japan. "We're doing one show with Journey. It's crazy but we are big in Japan. The Japanese haven't really been drawn to rap music, but they love rock n' roll, and they love Night Ranger. We've been going there for several years. We played there last year at Budokan (Tokyo), and it sells out every time."

For more on Night Ranger's 2026 tour visit https://nightranger.com/events/ and for their show at the Charleston Music Hall visit https://charlestonmusichall.com/event/night-ranger/