KISS Guitarist Bob Kulick Dead at 70: 'I Know He Is at Peace Now,' Says Brother

Bob Kulick, a guitarist who performed with KISS, Lou Reed and Meat Loaf, has died. He was 70.

“I am heartbroken to have to share the news of the passing of my brother Bob Kulick,” his older brother Bruce, who was a member of KISS from 1984-1996, wrote on Friday in an emotional social media post.

“His love of music, and his talent as a musician and producer should always be celebrated. I know he is at peace now, with my parents, playing his guitar as loud as possible,” he added. “Please respect the Kulick Family’s privacy during this very sad time.”

A cause of death has not been revealed.

Many musicians who had worked with Bob in the past mourned the loss of the talented guitarist and producer.

“We are heartbroken. Our deepest condolences to the Kulick family in this difficult time,” KISS wrote on Twitter.

“Ugh, another peer, colleague & someone I considered [a] friend has passed. I worked with Bob Kulick on many recordings through the years, most notably the many tribute albums he produced,” added singer Jeff Scott Soto. “My condolences to his brother Bruce and extended Kulick family.”

The veteran studio musician, who released his first-ever solo record in 2018, auditioned to be KISS’ guitarist in 1973, but lost out to original band member Ace Frehley.

However, he remained on good terms with the band and went on to secretly work on several albums with the band, including Alive II, Unmasked and Creatures of the Night, while the band kept up appearances that Frehley was still recording.

"In this circumstance, being friends with Gene [Simmons] and Paul [Stanley], it was important to me that when they said ‘this has to be between us and us only,' that I’m going to keep my word. It’s all about integrity, and that’s how I’m able to keep going," he told Ultimate Classic Rock in a 2018 interview. "I equated it in my own way to the Beatles and Eric Clapton. The Beatles recorded ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps' and wound up with Clapton actually playing the solo. It was un-credited, and everybody originally thought that was George Harrison."

Over the years, Kulick played guitar on Reed's 1975 album Coney Island Baby, worked as a session musician with Diana Ross and Michael Bolton and toured with Meat Loaf. Alongside David Glen Eisley he also worked on a song for a SpongeBob SquarePants episode called "Sweet Victory."