Scott's Spotlight #10-- Night Ranger

May 19, 2025

Scott's Spotlight #10-- Night Ranger

Originally posted to Facebook on November 7, 2024

Link to post:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Bng5XronLCSCiNY5/

Welcome to Scott’s Spotlight (#scottsspotlight) issue #10. For more information about this series, please click here:

https://www.facebook.com/share/Gc2VkwHQWGLdeaDd/?mibextid=oFDknk

I was inspired to write about this band after Allison Rich put on one of their 80s concert videos on YouTube the night before I started typing this feature. It happened to be a concert that I had recorded from MTV onto VHS back in the day. This band was HUGE (at least in the US) for a few years during the early-to-mid-80s, but the late 80s weren’t kind to them. They had one monster hit that people who were around at the time probably got sick of, and it came to define the band, even though it only reflects one aspect of their style. That song was “Sister Christian,” and the band, of course, was Night Ranger. They have long been one of my favorites, and I have had the good fortune to have seen them 3 times in concert, and they always put on a dynamite show.

The roots of Night Ranger go back to the late 70s in the San Francisco area, where Jack Blades (bass) and Brad Gillis (guitar) were in a funk-rock band called Rubicon, led by sax player Jerry Martini, who was an original member of Sly & the Family Stone. The band recorded 2 albums, released in 1978 and 1979. Drummer Kelly Keagy came in as a touring drummer after the second album came out. After the breakup of Rubicon 1979, Blades, Gillis, and Keagy decided to form a new band, initially called Stereo. In addition to their instrumental abilities, Blades and Keagy are also excellent lead singers and songwriters. In 1980, the trio decided to add former Montrose keyboardist, Alan “Fitz” Fitzgerald. Fitz recommended that the band add a second virtuoso guitarist he was familiar with named Jeff Watson, and the initial/classic line-up was complete. By the end of 1980, the band had adopted the name Ranger.

The band began to build a following around San Francisco, eventually getting an opening slot for Sammy Hagar, with whom Fitz had played in Montrose, by late 1980. By 1982, the band got signed to Boardwalk Records, founded by former Casablanca head Neal Bogart after he sold Casablanca to Polygram. During 1982, they had opening stints with ZZ Top and Ozzy Osbourne, with whom Brad Gillis would fill in on guitar after the death of Randy Roads. Gillis appears on one live album with Ozzy called “Speak of the Devil” (aka “Talk of the Devil” in the UK) playing Black Sabbath covers. While recording their debut album, a country band from California called The Rangers threatened to sue the band. They chose to change their name to Night Ranger, after a song written by Jack Blades they recorded for the album. The albums were ready for release though, so Boardwalk had to destroy and reprint all of the albums under the new name. The debut album “Dawn Patrol,” was released in November of 1982. Unfortunately, after Bogart’s premature death from lymphoma at the age of 39 in May of 1982, Boardwalk Records began to go into financial decline . The album was released, however, before the label went bankrupt. The band scored an early MTV hit with “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me,” and the band started to gain national attention. Blades wrote all of the songs on the album, mostly independently but with a few co-written by Keagy. Blades and Keragy split the lead vocals pretty evenly, with blades singing five songs, Keagy singing 4 (including one written by Blades) and splitting lead vocals on one. Other notable songs from “Dawn Patrol,” include “Sing Me Away,” “Play Rough,” the previously mentioned “Night Ranger,” and the guitar extravaganza, “Eddie’s Comin’ Out Tonight, “ about an enthusiastic early fan of the band that would rile the crowd up at early gigs. Anyone who loves great twin lead guitars must look up a video of the original line up playing the song to see just what a great team Gillis & Watson were. The album was a successful debut, eventually going gold, and the two singles did moderately well (“Don’t Tell Me…” and “Sing Me Away”).

Following the demise of Boardwalk records, the band was signed to MCA Records subsidiary Camel Records. Their second album, “Midnight Madness,” was released in October of 1983. On this one Blades wrote or co-wrote all but one notable song. Every band member has at least one co-writing credit on the album. While “Dawn Patrol,” put them on the map, this one took them to the big leagues. The first single “(You Can Still) Rock in America,” which I just learned has Glenn Hughes (Trapeze, Deep Purple, and more) on backing vocals, and features Jeff Watson’s eight finger tapping technique, did moderately well, and became a concert staple from then on. It was the second single that blew the doors off, and some of you might be sick of it to this day. “Sister Christian,” was released as a single in March of 1984, and became the song of the summer in 1984; it was EVERYWHERE. This is the only song on the album not written or co-written by Jack Blades, as it was written and sung by Kelly Keagy. Like many hard rock or metal bands in this era, the success of the song as a power ballad, is a double-edged sword, as it typecast them as a “ballad band,” which is only one aspect of the band. A third single, “When You Close Your Eyes,” also did quite well. Other notable songs on the album include “Rumors in the Air,” which got lots of airplay on rock radio stations, even though it wasn’t a single, “Touch of Madness,” and “Passion Play.” The album would become their first to go Platinum.

Up next, Night Ranger released their 3rd album, “7 Wishes,” in May of 1985. Like its predecessor, the album produced 3 successful singles. However, after the success of “Sister Christian,” the previous year, MCA decided to focus on the more ballad-like songs as singles: “Sentimental Street,” “Four in the Morning,” and “Goodbye,” which is about the death by heroin overdose of Jack Blades’ brother, some years before., I like all 3 songs, but there was still plenty of rock to be found on the album, including the brilliant title track, “I Need a Woman,” “This Boy Needs to Rock,” and the criminally underrated song “Faces.” I remember “Faces” getting some airplay on rock stations at the time, but it wasn’t a single. Once again, all of the band members receive at least a co-writing credit on the album. This album, like its predecessor, also went platinum.

In the mid 80’s, Night Ranger began to contribute songs for movie soundtracks, including “Interstate Love Affair,” for the Nick Nolte movie, “Teachers.” which turned up on “7 Wishes,” and “Wild and Innocent Youth,” in 1986 for the Anthony Michael Hall movie “Out of Bounds,” which has never appeared on a Night Ranger album.

The follow up album, “Big Life,” (1987) features another movie song, “The Secret of My Success,” from the Michael J. Fox movie of the same name. This is the first Night Ranger song to have outside songwriters– David Foster, Tom Keane, and Michael Landau– Along with Jack Blades. The album, however, opens with another great rocking title track, like “7 Wishes.” “Carry On,” and “Love is Standing Near.” also rock out, but many of the tracks on the album seem to rock less, like “The Color of Your Smile,” “Heart’s Away,” and “Rain Is Crashing Down,” none of which are bad, but they leave me feeling a little wanting. I don’t hate the album, but, its probably my least favorite of their original run. The album did fairly well, going gold, but not as successful as its two predecessors. I, however, got to see Night Ranger live for the first time on this tour with The Outfield opening.

The next one, however, was a return to form as far as I was concerned, although, it seems that by the time it was released in 1988, their moment had passed. “Man in Motion,” was the first album without “Fitz,” as the band were wanting to showcase their more hard rocking side, after the relatively tame “Big Life.” Session keyboardist Jessie Bradman provided the keyboards for the album, and there are some excellent keyboard moments. Despite the public indifference to the album, it may be my favorite. The title track opener, and “Halfway to the Sun,” both kick major ass. Even the ballads seemed to rock a little harder on this one, with the still excellent “Restless Kind,” being the more mellow exception. Unfortunately, MCA was still looking for another “Sister Christian,” and focused more on the ballads, releasing “I Did It For Love,” and “Reason to Be,” as the first two singles. By the time they released the rocker, “Don’t Start Thinking (I’m Alone Tonight),” any momentum the album had was lost. My second Night Ranger show was on this tour, on a double headliner bill with Kansas.

Following “Man In Motion,” Night Ranger basically disintegrated for a while. First, Jack Blades left to form the massive supergroup Damn Yankees with Tommy Shaw, Ted Nugent, and drummer Michael Cartellone. Then Jeff Watson formed another, lesser known (I’ve only just learned about them) supergroup with Joe Lynn Turner (Ex-Rainbow and Yngwie Malmsteen), Bob Daisley (Ex-Blizzard of Ozz), and journeyman drummer Carmine Appice who would be replaced on their third and final album by Aynsley Dunbar (ex- Frank Zappa, Journey, etc.). The three albums are available in one compilation on Apple Music (and I would assume other platforms). That left Brad Killis and Kelly Keagy as the only members left. In 1991, the two of them began working with Gary Moon (ex-Three Dog Night) on bass and vocals, along with keyboardist/Guitarist David Zajicek. They released one album under the Night Ranger banner called “Feeding Off the Mojo,” in 1995 which I have never heard. The band would kind of write off this album later, with Brad Gillis saying in 2017:

"Getting together with Gary was an interim thing to keep the Night Ranger brand out there. We had that one record, Feeding off the Mojo. It really wasn’t Night Ranger because Night Ranger is…like any other band, you’ve gotta have that classic voice that sings the songs."

Fans would refer to this era of Night Ranger as “Moon Ranger.” Better days for the band were just around the corner, however.

In 1996, Jack Blades decided to return to Night Ranger, which led to a full reunion of the original line up. In 1997, they put out their brilliant reunion album, called “Neverland.” While they would never be as big as they were in their 80s glory days, this is a wonderful Night Ranger album. The album begins with a more mellow ballady type of song called “Forever All Over Again,” that was apparently a hit on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1997. While that is a good song, the title track is where the classic rockin’ NR sound comes back in full-force. The album has a good balance of rockers and ballads. Some other standout tracks include: “My Elusive Mind,” “Someday I Will,” “New York Time,” and “Slap Like Being Born.” I highly recommend this album to anyone who likes classic Night Ranger.

1n 1998, the band’s next album, would be called “Seven,” apparently disavowing the 1995 album “Feeding off the Mojo,” as including it would make this their eighth studio album. The original lineup remained on board for this one. I must admit that from this point forward, that I am not as familiar with the albums, although I like what I have heard from all of them. I have indicated that I like the following tracks from “Seven”: “Panic in Jane,” “Don’t Ask Me Why,” “Mother Mayhem,” and “Soul Survivor.”

In the 2000s, the original line up would fracture twice. First in 2003, “Fitz” would leave once again, apparently for the final time. He would be replaced by Great White keyboardist Michael Lardie. An aside: I saw NR in 2001, at the Music Midtown festival in Atlanta, which was my wife’s first time seeing them. “Fitz” was NOT in the lineup for that show, but I don’t recall who was. It would be 2007 before the next album, “Hole in the Sun,” would appear. This is the other Night Ranger album I have never heard anything from. It is not available on streaming to my knowledge. This album is notable for being the final NR album with Jeff Watson. While information is sketchy, it is clear that his departure was acrimonious. As far as I can make out, it had to do with a contractual disagreement, initially it seems that it was between Blades and Keagy on one side and Gillis and Watson on the other. According to Watson, after he left negotiations to visit an ill family member, Gillis decided to side with Blades and Keagy, and Watson got a call from his lawyer stating that he was out of Night Ranger. No more has ever been said. Watson’s immediate replacement was Winger’s Reb Beach, who filled in on one tour. After that tour, though, Beach would return to Winger and Lardie would go back to Great White. In 2008 Joel Hoekstra would be in on guitar and Christian Matthew Cullen would be the new keysman

Since that album, though, NR have consistently released a new studio album every 3-4 years. The next album up was “Somewhere in California,” with Hoekstra firmly in place and contributing to the writing. Cullen, though, was out before appearing on an album, and was replaced by Eric Levy, who remains with the band to this day. My favorites from this one are “Bye Bye Baby (Not Tonight),” “End of the Day,” “Rock ‘N Roll Tonite,” and “Say it with Love.”

In 2014, they released “High Road,” with the same lineup. All five members contributed to songwriting to one degree or another. My faves from this one are “Knock Knock Never Stop,” “X Generation” (which I recall particularly liking), “I’m Coming Home,” and “St. Bartholomew.”

Starting in 2012, Joel Hoekstra, who also performed with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, would be unable to tour with NR, and guitarist. Keri Kelli would fill in until he could return. In 2014, after the release of “High Road,” however, Hoekstra left permanently to play alongside his NR predecessor Reb Beach in Whitesnake, so Keri Kelli would get the gig permanently. Keri Kelli’s first opportunity to appear on a NR album was 2017’s “Don’t Let Up.” Songs I’ve liked from it are: “Day and Night,” “(Won’t Be Your) Fool Again,” “We Can Work It Out,” “Jamie,” and “Nothing Left of Yesterday.”

The most recent album as of now is 2021’s “ATBPO,” which stands for “And the Band Played On.” The line up has remained stable from the previous one, and are still listed as current members. It is considered their 40th anniversary album, and I have marked two songs that I liked on it: “Hard to Make it Easy,” and “Cold as December.” If the pattern continues, we should be due for another album soon. In addition to the studio albums, there have been a number of live albums over the years, including the 2023 release “40 Years and a Night, with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra.”

Night Ranger may not be the most profound band of all time, but they have made some great songs, and always deliver on the stage. The guitar team of Gillis and Watson was as good as anyone you care to mention. The more recent guitarists in Watson’s role also seem to be on par as well. If all you know is “Sister Christian,” I hope the links in the comments will open up your ears to some great music.

From Comments:

I realized I never put the links up....

Here we go, pt. 1....

Links for Listening:

From “Dawn Patrol”:

“Don’t Tell Me You Love Me:

https://youtu.be/Y-4hp5HZ2aU

“Sing Me Away”

https://youtu.be/koW7qhhiTWs

“Eddie’s Comin’ Out Tonight” (Live)

https://youtu.be/9nnOFXIDM4s

From: “Midnight Madness”: