Origin: Lackawanna, New York (USA)

BOB HALLIGAN

Bob Halligan

Bob Halligan albums:

	Window in the wall - 1991 (with lyrics)
	Want to own a copy? → Buy on Amazon (new & used) → Find vinyl & CD copies on eBay (new & used)

Notes about Bob Halligan:

 Text in English

- Robert Sidney Halligan Jr. was born on January 3, 1953 [1], and grew up in Syracuse, New York, listening to the Beatles and Stevie Wonder. Hard rock held little appeal for him; in high school he barely listened to Led Zeppelin, a band he later admitted frightened him [2]. The encouragement to make music his profession came from his first cousin Dick Halligan, a founding member of Blood, Sweat & Tears [3]. At Hamilton College, where he graduated in 1975, Halligan played in Steak Nite, a campus band formed in 1972 as a winter study project with classmates Don Fram, Jeb Guthrie and Bob Sollinger [4]. He kept playing with Steak Nite around Central New York until 1979, and then with Pictures from 1979 to 1982. His band never secured a record contract, but with the support of manager Barry Bergman he signed his first publishing deal, with United Artists Music, in 1979 [5]. By his own account, his first hit as a writer came in 1980, when the South African group Clout recorded "The Best of Me", a minor entry on the West German singles chart [5][6].

The turning point came in the early 1980s. Told by his publisher that a band needed new material, Halligan wrote a song, words and music, in three hours, and song plugger May Pang, known for her relationship with John Lennon and a firm believer in his work, helped him place it [2]. The band was Judas Priest, and "(Take These) Chains" became the only song on *Screaming for Vengeance* (1982) from outside the group [1]. His wife Linda pointed out that, now that Priest had recorded one of his songs, he should at least write them another [2]. He wrote "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" on his own, and the band included it on *Defenders of the Faith* (1984), once again as the album's only outside composition, and released it as a single [7]. People, he recalled, came to regard him as "the genius of heavy metal songwriting", and labels sent him from one session to the next to write with and for hard rock bands [2].

For the rest of the decade he worked under a publishing deal with Screen Gems/EMI (1983–1986) and then through his own company, Oppernockity Tunes, which he ran from 1986 to 1994 [5]. Helix, looking for more songs for *Walkin' the Razor's Edge* (1984), took "Rock You", which opened the album and became the Canadian band's best-known song [8]. Halligan co-wrote most of Kix's third album, *Midnite Dynamite* (1985) [1], worked on six songs on Icon's *Night of the Crime* (1985), three written by him and three completed together with the band [9], and supplied "Make Rock Not War" and "Beat 'Em Up" to Blue Öyster Cult's *Club Ninja* (1985) [10]. With Paul Stanley he wrote "Rise to It" and "Read My Body" for KISS's *Hot in the Shade* (1989) [11], and the same year Bonfire recorded "Bang Down the Door", which he co-wrote, on *Point Blank* [12]. He also wrote for Joan Jett, Night Ranger and Lee Aaron, and his songs were heard in films such as *Iron Eagle*, *Light of Day* and *Wayne's World* [13]. One of the most successful songs of his career was "Don't Close Your Eyes", written with Kix bassist Donnie Purnell and former Crack the Sky frontman John Palumbo for *Blow My Fuse* (1988) [14][15]. Released as a single in 1989, it reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains Kix's most successful single [14].

The reputation sat uneasily with him. He had no wish to put negative messages in his lyrics, as other songs on those albums did, and he felt typecast as a hard rock writer. To work within the genre he kept a private list of aggressive verbs and nouns, words such as *avenge*, and used that vocabulary figuratively, often in the service of fairly harmless subjects [2]. Wanting to move into mainstream pop, he met Michael Bolton at a co-writer's house. Bolton, who admired "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll", asked to write with him, and over four years the two wrote nine songs together, seven of which were recorded [16]. Among them were "Gina", written with Keith Diamond for Bolton's *The Hunger* (1987), on which Halligan also played guitar and sang backing vocals [16], and "Still in Love with You", recorded by Cher for *Heart of Stone* (1989) [17]. Christian rock was already part of his work: in 1982 his friend Rick Cua signed a music deal with a contemporary Christian label in Nashville, and Halligan was closely involved in the bassist's recordings, including *You're My Road* (1985) [18][1].

The chance to record his own songs came from ATCO Records [19]. In the liner notes Halligan thanked Derek Shulman for having the vision that he should produce the album he had always dreamed of making [20]. Shulman had become the label's president and CEO in 1988 [21]. *Window in the Wall* (ATCO 7 91678-2) appeared in August 1991 [22], with Derek Oliver as A&R and Barry Bergman as career director [20]. Halligan produced most of the tracks himself, sharing production credit on five songs with Arnie Roman, with Phil Galdston, or with Gerald O'Brien and Graham Shaw [20]. All ten songs were co-writes, with copyright dates from 1986 to 1989 [20]. The album was recorded at The Magic Shop, Science Lab, RPM and Giant Sound in New York City, at Work of Art in Floral Park, New York, and at In Line Studios in Toronto. Dave O'Donnell engineered and mixed it, with mixing at Battery Studios and Power Station, and Ted Jensen mastered it at Sterling Sound [20][23]. Mr. Mister drummer Pat Mastelotto, who would join King Crimson in 1994, plays on nine of the ten tracks [24]. The credits also include keyboardist Peter Wood, who co-wrote Al Stewart's "Year of the Cat" [25] and who had played in Pink Floyd's touring band for *The Wall* in 1980–1981 [26]; guitarist Eddie Martinez; bassists Will Lee and Rick Cua; keyboardist Doug Hall; and, on backing vocals, Halligan's former Steak Nite bandmate Jeb Guthrie [20][4].

Critics received the album well [2], but it never reached the charts. Halligan later spoke of a year of "political upheaval" at ATCO in which his record was one of several releases left to fade out [19]. In October 1991 Atlantic consolidated ATCO and EastWest America into a single division, ATCO/EastWest, and Shulman was left out of the new structure [27][28][21]. The opening track, "Could've Been You", written with Arnie Roman, was the album's only single and, by Halligan's account, survived only three weeks on the radio [19]. Cher had also recorded the song, for *Love Hurts*, which Geffen released in June 1991 [29], just as Halligan's version was due to launch his album. Her recording came out as a single in Europe in 1992 and reached No. 31 in the UK [19], and Halligan later said that its modest European success, together with the sales of her album, allowed him to make the down payment on his house [30].

By the mid-1990s Halligan felt that the range of styles a New York songwriter could make a living from had shrunk to little beyond dance and hip-hop, leaving him creatively unfulfilled. In 1995 he moved to Nashville, sold Oppernockity Tunes to BMG Songs and signed with BMG as his publisher, a deal he said smoothed his arrival in the city [5]. Christian and country artists began recording his songs, among them Sierra, Rebecca St. James, Billy T. Midnight and Kathy Mattea [2]. Mattea's 1997 Mercury album *Love Travels* took its title track from a song Halligan had written with his wife Linda; it was released as a single that August [31].

Nashville also turned him back into a solo writer. Having worked mostly as a co-writer, he regained confidence in writing on his own, and Ceili Rain was born of that change [2]. He had been thinking about combining Celtic instrumentation with pop-rock since 1989, with Linda's encouragement, and the band was formed in Nashville in May 1995 [32]. Its name draws on the Gaelic *céilí*, a party with live musicians and dancing, and the Latin *coeli*, "heaven" [33]. The band honed its live act and signed with the independent label Punch Records [34]. Its self-titled debut, also sold as *Say KAY-lee*, was released in April 1998 [35]. Mattea later recorded another Ceili Rain song, "That's All the Lumber You Sent", on her 2002 album *Roses* [36].

After eight years in Nashville, Halligan and Linda moved back to Syracuse [18]. In the spring of 2007 he began teaching at Syracuse University as an adjunct professor in the Setnor School of Music [37], and over twelve years, through 2019, he taught songwriting, film scoring, the music business and a course on the Beatles [13]. He also performs as Paul McCartney in his one-man show *PaulTheBeatle* [5]. Ceili Rain carried on with its members spread across several cities, and in 2023 it self-released its ninth studio album, *Crash This Gate* [38], its first new material in nine years [13]. The twelve songs were produced by Halligan and mixed and mastered by Roman Klun, among them three about the pandemic and "Birdhouse", co-written with Linda [13]. The line-up comprised guitarist Raymond Arias, Burt Mitchell on tin whistle, flute and Highland pipes, drummer Bill Bleistine, Joe Davoli on fiddle and mandolin, and bassist Kevin de Souza [13].

His association with Judas Priest outlasted the 1980s. Rob Halford recorded Halligan's "Twist" on *Resurrection* (2000), the debut album by his band Halford [39]. In 2024 Judas Priest closed the deluxe edition of *Invincible Shield* with "The Lodger", a song about a serial killer and the only track on the record not written by the band [40], more than four decades after "(Take These) Chains" [41]. Of the more than 1,100 songs Halligan has written, some 200 have been recorded [4]. His songs have sold more than 30 million units [5], and his home studio in Syracuse displays ten gold and platinum records [4]. He has compared his songs to medicine, which goes down better with honey, and has said he hopes they encourage listeners to look out for one another and to feel free to be who they are [2]. -

Notas sobre Bob Halligan:

 Texto en Español

- Robert Sidney Halligan Jr. nació el 3 de enero de 1953 [1] y se crio en Syracuse (Nueva York) escuchando a los Beatles y a Stevie Wonder. El rock duro le atraía poco: en el instituto apenas escuchaba a Led Zeppelin, un grupo que, según admitió después, le daba miedo [2]. El impulso para hacer de la música su profesión vino de su primo hermano Dick Halligan, miembro fundador de Blood, Sweat & Tears [3]. En el Hamilton College, donde se licenció en 1975, Halligan tocó en Steak Nite, un grupo universitario formado en 1972 como proyecto académico de invierno junto a sus compañeros de promoción Don Fram, Jeb Guthrie y Bob Sollinger [4]. Siguió tocando con Steak Nite por el centro del estado de Nueva York hasta 1979, y después con Pictures, entre 1979 y 1982. Su banda nunca consiguió contrato discográfico, pero con el apoyo del mánager Barry Bergman firmó en 1979 su primer contrato editorial, con United Artists Music [5]. Según su propio relato, su primer éxito como autor llegó en 1980, cuando el grupo sudafricano Clout grabó «The Best of Me», que tuvo una discreta entrada en la lista de sencillos de Alemania Occidental [5][6].

El giro llegó a comienzos de los ochenta. Cuando su editorial le dijo que una banda necesitaba material nuevo, Halligan escribió una canción, letra y música, en tres horas, y la promotora editorial May Pang, conocida por su relación con John Lennon y convencida del valor de sus composiciones, le ayudó a colocarla [2]. La banda era Judas Priest, y «(Take These) Chains» fue la única canción ajena al grupo en *Screaming for Vengeance* (1982) [1]. Su mujer, Linda, le hizo ver que, ya que Priest le había grabado una canción, al menos debía escribirles otra [2]. Halligan compuso en solitario «Some Heads Are Gonna Roll», que la banda incluyó en *Defenders of the Faith* (1984), de nuevo como única composición externa del disco, y que además publicó como single [7]. Según recordaría, empezaron a considerarle «el genio de la composición heavy metal», y los sellos le llevaban de una sesión a otra para escribir con y para grupos de hard rock [2].

Durante el resto de la década estuvo vinculado editorialmente a Screen Gems/EMI (1983-1986) y después trabajó a través de su propia editorial, Oppernockity Tunes, que dirigió de 1986 a 1994 [5]. Helix, que buscaba más canciones para *Walkin' the Razor's Edge* (1984), se quedó con «Rock You», que abrió el disco y se convirtió en la canción más conocida del grupo canadiense [8]. Halligan coescribió la mayor parte del tercer larga duración de Kix, *Midnite Dynamite* (1985) [1]; trabajó en seis canciones de *Night of the Crime* (1985), de Icon, tres escritas por él y tres completadas junto al grupo [9], y aportó «Make Rock Not War» y «Beat 'Em Up» a *Club Ninja* (1985), de Blue Öyster Cult [10]. Con Paul Stanley escribió «Rise to It» y «Read My Body» para *Hot in the Shade* (1989), de KISS [11], y el mismo año Bonfire grabó en *Point Blank* «Bang Down the Door», de la que era coautor [12]. Escribió también para Joan Jett, Night Ranger y Lee Aaron, y sus canciones sonaron en películas como *Iron Eagle*, *Light of Day* y *Wayne's World* [13]. Una de las canciones de más éxito de su carrera fue «Don't Close Your Eyes», compuesta junto al bajista de Kix Donnie Purnell y el antiguo líder de Crack the Sky John Palumbo para *Blow My Fuse* (1988) [14][15]. Publicada como single en 1989, alcanzó el puesto 11 del Billboard Hot 100 y sigue siendo el single de más éxito de Kix [14].

Aquella reputación le resultaba incómoda. No quería incluir en sus letras mensajes negativos como los de otras canciones de esos discos, y sentía que le estaban encasillando como compositor de hard rock. Para desenvolverse en el género mantenía una lista personal de verbos y sustantivos agresivos, palabras como *avenge* («vengar»), y empleaba ese vocabulario en sentido figurado, a menudo al servicio de temas bastante inofensivos [2]. Con el deseo de acercarse al pop, conoció a Michael Bolton en casa de un coautor. Bolton, que admiraba «Some Heads Are Gonna Roll», le propuso escribir juntos, y en cuatro años compusieron nueve canciones, siete de las cuales llegaron a grabarse [16]. Entre ellas figuran «Gina», escrita también con Keith Diamond para *The Hunger* (1987), de Bolton, en la que Halligan tocó además la guitarra y cantó coros [16], y «Still in Love with You», que Cher grabó para *Heart of Stone* (1989) [17]. El rock cristiano ya formaba parte de su trabajo: en 1982 su amigo Rick Cua firmó un contrato discográfico con un sello de música cristiana contemporánea de Nashville, y Halligan se implicó a fondo en los discos del bajista, entre ellos *You're My Road* (1985) [18][1].

La oportunidad de grabar sus propias canciones llegó de la mano de ATCO Records [19]. En los agradecimientos del disco, Halligan dio las gracias a Derek Shulman por tener la visión de que debía producir el álbum que siempre había soñado hacer [20]. Shulman había sido presidente y consejero delegado del sello desde 1988 [21]. *Window in the Wall* (ATCO 7 91678-2) se publicó en agosto de 1991 [22], con Derek Oliver como A&R y Barry Bergman como director de carrera [20]. Halligan produjo él mismo la mayoría de los temas, compartiendo el crédito de producción en cinco canciones con Arnie Roman, con Phil Galdston o con Gerald O'Brien y Graham Shaw [20]. Las diez canciones estaban coescritas, con fechas de registro de entre 1986 y 1989 [20]. El disco se grabó en The Magic Shop, Science Lab, RPM y Giant Sound, en la ciudad de Nueva York; en Work of Art, en Floral Park (estado de Nueva York), y en In Line Studios, en Toronto. Dave O'Donnell se encargó de la ingeniería de sonido y de la mezcla, realizada en Battery Studios y Power Station, y Ted Jensen firmó la masterización en Sterling Sound [20][23]. El batería de Mr. Mister Pat Mastelotto, que en 1994 entraría en King Crimson, toca en nueve de los diez temas [24]. En los créditos figura también el teclista Peter Wood, coautor de «Year of the Cat», de Al Stewart [25], que había formado parte de la banda de gira de *The Wall* de Pink Floyd en 1980-1981 [26]; además aparecen el guitarrista Eddie Martinez; los bajistas Will Lee y Rick Cua; el teclista Doug Hall, y, en los coros, Jeb Guthrie, antiguo compañero de Halligan en Steak Nite [20][4].

La crítica recibió bien el disco [2], pero no llegó a las listas. Halligan habló después de un año de «convulsión política» en ATCO, en el que su álbum fue uno de los varios lanzamientos que el sello dejó apagarse [19]. En octubre de 1991 Atlantic fusionó ATCO y EastWest America en una sola división, ATCO/EastWest, y Shulman quedó fuera de la nueva estructura [27][28][21]. El tema de apertura, «Could've Been You», escrito con Arnie Roman, fue el único single del álbum y, según Halligan, apenas sobrevivió tres semanas en la radio [19]. Cher también había grabado la canción, para *Love Hurts*, que Geffen publicó en junio de 1991 [29], justo cuando la versión de Halligan iba a servir de lanzamiento a su disco. La grabación de Cher salió como single en Europa en 1992 y llegó al número 31 en el Reino Unido [19], y Halligan contó más tarde que aquel discreto éxito europeo, junto con las ventas del álbum de Cher, le permitió pagar la entrada de su casa [30].

A mediados de los noventa, Halligan sentía que la variedad de estilos de los que podía vivir un compositor en Nueva York se había reducido a poco más que el dance y el hip-hop, y eso le dejaba insatisfecho como creador. En 1995 se trasladó a Nashville, vendió Oppernockity Tunes a BMG Songs y firmó con BMG como editorial, un acuerdo que, según dijo, le facilitó la llegada a la ciudad [5]. Artistas cristianos y de country empezaron a grabar sus canciones, entre ellos Sierra, Rebecca St. James, Billy T. Midnight y Kathy Mattea [2]. El disco de 1997 de Mattea para Mercury, *Love Travels*, tomó como tema titular una canción que Halligan había escrito con su mujer, Linda; se publicó como single en agosto de ese año [31].

Nashville le devolvió además a la composición en solitario. Tras trabajar sobre todo como coautor, recuperó la confianza para escribir solo, y de ese cambio nació Ceili Rain [2]. Desde 1989 le rondaba la idea de combinar instrumentación celta con pop-rock, con el aliento de Linda, y la banda se formó en Nashville en mayo de 1995 [32]. El nombre remite al gaélico *céilí*, una fiesta con música en directo y baile, y al latín *coeli*, «cielo» [33]. El grupo afinó su directo y fichó por el sello independiente Punch Records [34]. Su debut, que lleva el nombre del grupo y se comercializó también como *Say KAY-lee*, salió en abril de 1998 [35]. Mattea grabó después otra canción de Ceili Rain, «That's All the Lumber You Sent», en su disco *Roses* (2002) [36].

Tras ocho años en Nashville, Halligan y Linda regresaron a Syracuse [18]. En la primavera de 2007 empezó a dar clases en la Universidad de Syracuse como profesor adjunto de la Setnor School of Music [37], y durante doce años, hasta 2019, impartió composición de canciones, música para cine, negocio musical y un curso sobre los Beatles [13]. Además, interpreta a Paul McCartney en su espectáculo unipersonal *PaulTheBeatle* [5]. Ceili Rain siguió en activo con sus miembros repartidos por varias ciudades, y en 2023 publicó por su cuenta su noveno disco de estudio, *Crash This Gate* [38], su primer material nuevo en nueve años [13]. Las doce canciones fueron producidas por Halligan y mezcladas y masterizadas por Roman Klun, entre ellas tres sobre la pandemia y «Birdhouse», coescrita con Linda [13]. La formación la completaban el guitarrista Raymond Arias, Burt Mitchell al silbato irlandés, la flauta y la gaita escocesa de las Tierras Altas, el batería Bill Bleistine, Joe Davoli al violín y la mandolina, y el bajista Kevin de Souza [13].

Su relación con Judas Priest sobrevivió a los ochenta. Rob Halford grabó «Twist», de Halligan, en *Resurrection* (2000), el debut de su banda Halford [39]. En 2024 Judas Priest cerró la edición de lujo de *Invincible Shield* con «The Lodger», una canción sobre un asesino en serie y el único tema del disco no compuesto por el grupo [40], más de cuatro décadas después de «(Take These) Chains» [41]. De las más de 1.100 canciones que Halligan ha escrito, unas 200 han sido grabadas [4]. Sus canciones han vendido más de 30 millones de unidades [5], y en el estudio de su casa en Syracuse se exhiben diez discos de oro y platino [4]. Ha comparado sus canciones con una medicina que entra mejor con miel, y ha dicho que espera que animen a quien las escucha a cuidar de los demás y a sentirse libre de ser quien es [2]. -

Sources/Fuentes

1. Wikipedia, "Bob Halligan Jr." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Halligan_Jr.

2. Mike Mitchell (interview), "Bob Halligan, Jr: Career Spans Multiple Genres," American Songwriter, 8 March 2021. https://americansongwriter.com/bob-halligan-jr-career-spans-multiple-genres/

3. Mark Bialczak, "Blood, Sweat & Tears original Richard Halligan to visit Syracuse for lecture, show," 11 October 2013. https://markbialczak.com/2013/10/11/blood-sweat-tears-original-richard-halligan-to-visit-syracuse-for-lecture-show/

4. "From Steak Nite to a Wall of Gold: Bob Halligan '75," Hamilton College News. https://www.hamilton.edu/news/story/bob-halligan-musician-songwriter-steak-nite

5. "Bob Halligan, Jr." (Sounds of Syracuse), Table Hopping, 2 June 2017. https://tablehopping.com/bob-halligan-jr/

6. "#220: Substitute by Clout," Vancouver Signature Sounds. https://vancouversignaturesounds.com/?p=34908

7. Wikipedia, "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Heads_Are_Gonna_Roll

8. Wikipedia, "Rock You." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_You

9. Wikipedia, "Night of the Crime." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Crime

10. Wikipedia, "Club Ninja." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_Ninja

11. Wikipedia, "Hot in the Shade." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_in_the_Shade

12. Christian Music Archive, "Bob Halligan, Jr." https://www.christianmusicarchive.com/artist/bob-halligan-jr

13. Goldmine, "Bob Halligan, Jr: From heavy-metal songwriter to Celtic rocker," 15 May 2023. https://www.goldminemag.com/artist-news/bob-halligan-jr-from-heavy-metal-songwriter-to-celtic-rocker

14. Wikipedia, "Don't Close Your Eyes (Kix song)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Close_Your_Eyes_%28Kix_song%29

15. Wikipedia, "Blow My Fuse." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blow_My_Fuse

16. Songfacts, "Gina" (Michael Bolton). https://www.songfacts.com/facts/michael-bolton/gina

17. Wikipedia, "Heart of Stone (Cher album)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_of_Stone_%28Cher_album%29

18. Tennessee Register, "Parishioner gives the gift of Celtic music to St. Henry," 2023. https://tennesseeregister.com/?p=23815

19. Wikipedia, "Could've Been You." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Could%27ve_Been_You

20. Bob Halligan, *Window in the Wall*, ATCO Records 7 91678-2, 1991. CD booklet (primary source: production, engineering and musician credits, studios, copyright dates, acknowledgements).

21. Gentle Giant, "Derek Shulman" (official biography). https://gentlegiantmusic.com/GG/Derek

22. Discogs, "Bob Halligan – Window In The Wall" (release 6365433). https://www.discogs.com/release/6365433-Bob-Halligan-Window-In-The-Wall

23. Wikipedia, "Ted Jensen." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Jensen

24. Wikipedia, "Pat Mastelotto." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Mastelotto

25. Wikipedia, "Year of the Cat (song)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_of_the_Cat_%28song%29

26. Wikipedia, "List of Pink Floyd band members." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Pink_Floyd_band_members

27. "ATCO/EastWest Consolidate," The Gavin Report, 4 October 1991. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Gavin-Report/90/91/Gavin-1991-10-04.pdf

28. Wikipedia, "Atco Records." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atco_Records

29. Sessiondays, "1991 Cher – Love Hurts." https://sessiondays.com/?p=7306

30. Songfacts, "Could've Been You" (Cher). https://www.songfacts.com/facts/cher/couldve-been-you

31. Wikipedia, "Love Travels." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Travels

32. Michael Ofjord, "Ceili Rain" (artist biography), Apple Music. https://music.apple.com/us/artist/4051727

33. "Ceili Rain," Ocp.org artist page. https://www.ocp.org/en-us/artists/62674/ceili-rain

34. "Ceili Rain," Encyclopedia.com. https://encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/ceili-rain

35. Carol Caffin, Ceili Rain press biography (CRW Music), reproduced by Dreambooks. https://shop.dreambooksco.com/products/ceili-rain-say-kay-lee

36. Songfacts, "Love Travels" (Kathy Mattea). https://www.songfacts.com/facts/kathy-mattea/love-travels

37. "This SU professor got to sing for Pope Francis," The Daily Orange. https://dailyorange.com/?p=182608

38. "Ceili Rain: Crash This Gate [Album Review]," The Fire Note, 2023. https://thefirenote.com/?p=44464

39. Wikipedia, "Resurrection (Halford album)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_%28Halford_album%29

40. Wikipedia, "Invincible Shield." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invincible_Shield

41. Rolling Stone, "Judas Priest Sound Hell Bent for Immortality on 'Invincible Shield'," 2024. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/judas-priest-invincible-shield-review-1234985211/