But to his classmates, Halligan is perhaps better known for his performances with the campus band Steak Nite (named for a culinary treat served occasionally in the dining hall). Founded in 1972 as a winter study project and featuring Halligan, Don Fram ’75, Jeb Guthrie ’75, and Bob Sollinger ’75, Steak Nite reunited on the Hill for a Reunion Weekend performance this June.
Turn the clock back 50 years, and Halligan might be surprised by his success, but not by his path. As graduation approached, the English literature major found himself floundering. Classmates were landing jobs, and while he borrowed a suit and sat through some interviews himself, Halligan’s heart wasn’t in it. A turning point came when Fram asked a simple question that was more of an observation: “You’re going to go into music, right?”
That’s when the lightbulb went on. “Don could see who I had to be,” Halligan said. “I never had a Plan B.”
Halligan’s climb up the Billboard charts began, as many do, with a mix of talent and luck. When the fledgling songwriter’s publisher mentioned that a band was looking for a new song, Halligan churned out a tune and lyrics in three hours and rushed them over. That band was Judas Priest. The song, “[Take These] Chains,” would be the only one on their 1982 album Screaming for Vengeance not written by a member of the band.
Soon Halligan was writing for a string of international artists. Although he earned a reputation as a “heavy metal song doctor” — and that work paid the bills — his true passion had to wait a few years. For the past two decades, he’s been the lead vocalist and guitarist for Ceili Rain, a group he founded that combines Celtic, rock, and a spiritual message. Halligan also dons a mop-top wig to portray Paul McCartney in a one-man Beatlemania-esque show he calls PaulTheBeatle.
“I’ve always seen performing and creating music as an act of generosity,” he said. “I approach what I do with a servant’s heart. I love putting people in a little better shape when they leave [a concert] than when they got there.”
Feature photo, above: The wall of Bob Halligan’s home studio in Syracuse, N.Y., is lined with his gold and platinum albums. Photo: Nancy L. Ford
Posted July 3, 2025
