Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1974. The band consists of members Robin Zander (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick Nielsen (lead guitar, backing vocals), Tom Petersson (electric bass, backing vocals), and Bun E. Carlos (drums, percussion).
Cheap Trick created a substantial fan base through its own brand of power pop music with a hard-edged yet melodic pop sound that combines the tunefulness of The Beatles with the speed and energy of punk rock. The Los Angeles Times has remarked that "Cheap Trick gained fame by twisting the Beatlesque into something shinier, harder, more American." Their biggest hits include "Surrender", "I Want You to Want Me", "Dream Police", and "The Flame." Cheap Trick also performed a cover version of Big Star's "In the Street" as the theme song for That '70s Show from the second season onward and the theme song "Baby Muggles" for The Colbert Report .
As of 2009, Cheap Trick continues to tour with the original lineup. They have often been referred to in the Japanese press as the "American Beatles". The Illinois State Senate has declared April 1st to be "Cheap Trick Day" in the State. The band was also ranked #25 in VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.
History
Formation (1967–1973)
In 1961, Nielsen began playing locally in Rockford, Illinois utilizing an ever-increasing collection of rare and valuable guitars. He formed several local bands with names like The Pagans, The Boyz, and The Grim Reapers. Finally, Nielsen formed Fuse in 1967 with Petersson, who had played in another local band called The Bo Weevils.
Fuse released a self-titled album for Epic Records in 1968, which was generally ignored. The LP featured pretty ordinary hard rock with a couple of interesting progressive influences. Frustrated by their lack of success, Fuse, which by then included Bun E. Carlos on drums, moved to Philadelphia in 1971. They began calling themselves "Sick Man of Europe" in '72-'73. After a European tour in 1973, Nielsen and Petersson returned to Rockford and reunited with Carlos.
Randy "Xeno" Hogan was the original lead singer for the rock band Cheap Trick. He left the band shortly after its formation and was replaced by Robin Zander. Randy went on to become a member of Milwaukee based AOR rock band Crossfire (since renamed Bad Boy), of which he is still a member. He also performs numerous events with his band No Strings Attached.
They added folk singer Robin Zander later that same year.Budokan brings success (1978–1981)
Not one of Cheap Trick's first three albums made it into the Top 40 in the United States. In Japan, however, all three albums became gold records. When Cheap Trick went to Japan to tour the country for the first time, in 1978, they were received with a frenzy reminiscent of Beatlemania. During this tour, in April 1978, Cheap Trick recorded a live show for their loyal Japanese fans at the Nippon Budokan. The show was released as a live album titled Cheap Trick at Budokan , which was intended to be exclusive to Japan. The album suddenly became a popular import in the United States, and demand for the album became so great that Epic Records finally issued the album in the US in 1979.
Cheap Trick at Budokan launched the band into international stardom, and the album went triple platinum in the United States. The smash track was the live version of "I Want You to Want Me", which had originally been released on In Color . It reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became Cheap Trick's biggest-selling single. The second single, "Ain't That A Shame," peaked at #35. One song from At Budokan , "Need Your Love", had already been recorded for the next studio album, Dream Police , which was released later in 1979 and produced by Tom Werman. The title track of the album was a hit single, as was "Voices," but the work was panned by critics, many of whom expressed concern about an apparent decline in the quality of the band's material. Dream Police also found the band taking its style in a more experimental direction by incorporating strings and dabbling in heavy metal on tracks like "Gonna Raise Hell".
By 1980, when All Shook Up was released, Cheap Trick was headlining arenas. All Shook Up —produced by former Beatles producer George Martin—reached #24 on the charts and was certified gold, but the album's high-class background didn't save it from descriptions like "Led Zeppelin gone psycho." Indeed, All Shook Up struck many fans of the band's earlier albums as too weird and experimental. One song from the All Shook Up sessions, "Everything Works If You Let It", appeared on the soundtrack of Roadie , and Nielsen and Carlos participated in sessions for John Lennon and Yoko Ono's album Double Fantasy . The Found All The Parts EP was also released in 1980 and consisted of previously unreleased material, including a faux live cover of The Beatles' "Day Tripper".
Departure of Petersson (1981–1987)
On August 26, 1980, before the release of All Shook Up , Petersson left the group and went on to tour with various acts and eventually recorded a solo album with his wife Dagmar, who had previously recorded with Kevin Coyne and others. The five-song mini-LP titled Tom Peterson and Another Language was released in 1984. Pete Comita replaced Petersson for the All Shook Up tour and the band recorded five songs with Comita to contribute to two movie soundtracks. "I'm The Man," "Born To Raise Hell," and "Ohm Sweet Ohm," which were produced by Jack Douglas, went to the film Rock & Rule . Unfortunately an accompanying soundtrack album for the film was never released. "Reach Out" and "I Must Be Dreamin'" went to the film Heavy Metal and were produced by Roy Thomas Baker. "Reach Out" was written by Comita and Bob James. Comita left the band after only a few months, during pre-production for the band's next album. Jon Brant became Petersson's steady replacement. In July 1981, CBS Inc. sued Cheap Trick and their manager Ken Adamany for $10 million, alleging they were attempting to coerce CBS into re-negotiating their contract and had refused to record any new material for the label since October 1980. The lawsuit was settled in early 1982 and work commenced on the next album— One on One , produced by Roy Thomas Baker. The band changed direction again, this time opting for an album full of brash, shout-along hard rock songs. The album spawned two minor hits with the power ballad "If You Want My Love" and the innuendo-laced rocker "She's Tight." The music videos for both songs received heavy rotation on MTV.
The following year, Cheap Trick released Next Position Please with Todd Rundgren as producer. Rundgren downplayed the band's brash side and returned them to a more clean, pop-oriented sound similar to that of In Color. The album never found much of an audience and Cheap Trick's commercial fortunes were in decline. The first single was a cover of The Motors "Dancing The Night Away." Epic Records, desperate for a hit from the band, forced the group to record the track, which had been a hit single in Europe. Rundgren refused to produce the song, and it was instead produced by Ian Taylor. It failed to chart, as did the second single and fan favorite "I Can't Take It." The Ian Taylor produced "Spring Break," which was a contribution to the soundtrack of the 1983 comedy film Spring Break , was also issued as a single. The track also failed to chart. In 1984, the band recorded the title track to the Tim Matheson comedy Up The Creek , which Neilsen later called "one of the worst" songs he'd ever written. The track reached #36 on Billboard's Top Tracks but was off the chart after two weeks.
In 1985 they were reunited with Jack Douglas, who had produced their debut album, to record Standing on the Edge . The band originally intended to return to their rough-sounding roots on the album, but Douglas backed out of the mixing process due to the legal issues he was having with Yoko Ono at the time. It was instead mixed by Tony Platt, who added more elements of typical 1980s production. This album was called their "best collection of bubblegum bazooka rock in years." The album also featured Mark Radice on keyboards, and he was also enlisted to assist in the songwriting process. The albums first single, "Tonight It's You", reached #8 on the Billboard's Top Rock Tracks chart and the video received heavy rotation on MTV. The following singles "Little Sister," and "How About You" failed to chart.
In 1986, The band recorded "Mighty Wings", the end-title cut for the film Top Gun . They then released The Doctor , which turned out to be the final album with Brant as bassist. Some of the songs contained elements of funk, and the band utilized female back-up vocalists for the first time. However, synthesizers and computer-programmed sound effects drowned out most of the prominent instruments, most noticeably the guitar. Produced by Tony Platt, it is widely considered the bands' worst album. The album's lone single, "It's Only Love" failed to chart, but many blame the album's poor success on the record label's lack of promotion. The music video for "It's Only Love" made history as the first music video to prominently use American Sign Language.
Lap of Luxury (1987–1997)
Petersson rejoined the group in 1987 and helped record 1988's Lap of
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