Cheap Trick

Pioneers of American power-pop and 1970s rock & roll, Cheap Trick's original members came together in 1973. Raised in Chicago, guitar player Rick Nielsen spent his childhood in Rockford, Illinois, where his father owned a music shop. He later moved to Philadelphia with drummer Bun E. Carlos and bass player Tom Petersson, his bandmates in the hard-rock band Fuse. The group returned to Rockford and formed Cheap Trick with vocalist Robin Zander, then embarked upon an extensive touring schedule that included support slots for Kiss, AC/DC, and Queen. After earning a deal with Epic Records in 1976, Cheap Trick began building popularity in Japan, where the single "Surrender" became a surprise hit in 1978. The musicians' stardom in the country grew to Beatlemania level, as captured on the live album Cheap Trick at Budokan. Released in 1978, the record was met with unprecedented sales in Asia and even shot to number 4 in the US, selling over 3 million copies globally. One year later, Dream Police built upon that success by reaching number 6 in the US, where "Voices" and the title track both became Top 40 hits. Although Cheap Trick's fame dwindled during the 1980s, the band enjoyed a resurgence in 1988, when the power ballad "The Flame" topped the singles charts in the US, Canada, and Australia. A cover of "Don't Be Cruel" appeared on the same album, Lap of Luxury, and made it to number 4. Reinvigorated, the band remained active well into the 21st century, racking up album sales of over 20 million and influencing artists like Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Weezer. Along the way, Cheap Trick's members continued to release new material, cracking the Top 40 for the first time in nearly two decades with 2016's Bang, Zoom, Crazy... Hello and proving their stamina with 2021's In Another World. The band twenty-first studio album, All Washed Up, followed on November 14, 2025.