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Biography
pp-move-indefCleanup|date=November 2008Infobox musical artist | name = Peter Cetera| image = 2004 12LosAngelesPeterCetera.jpg| caption = Peter Cetera in 2004| background = solo_singer| birth_name = Peter Paul Cetera| alias =| birth_date = Birth date and age|1944|9|13| death_date =| origin = Chicago , Illinois , United States|USA | instrument = Vocals Electric bass Guitar | genre = Rock music|Rock Adult contemporary music|Adult contemporary | occupation =| years_active = 1966present| label = Warner Bros. Records River North Records | associated_acts = Chicago (band)|Chicago | website = http://www.petercetera.com www.petercetera.com| current_members =| past_members =| notable_instruments = Peter Paul Cetera (IPAc-en|icon|icon|s|?|'|t|?r|?Respell|s?|TERR|?; born September 13, 1944 in Chicago , Illinois ) is an American singer , songwriter , bassist and Record producer|producer best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago (band)|Chicago , before launching a successful solo career.cite web|url= http://www.last.fm/music/peter+cetera|title= Peter Cetera |publisher=last.fm|accessdate=18 March 2010 As a solo artist, Cetera has scored six Top 40 singles, including two that reached number 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
Early life
Family
Cetera was born and raised in the Morgan Park section of Chicago, Illinois, located on the far South Side (Chicago)|South Side .Jisi, Chris. "The Inspiration", Bass Player (magazine)| Bass Player , December 2007: 3647. Available online at http://www.bassplayer.com/article/inspiration/nov-07/32489 (Accessed 21 March 2010). He was the second of six children and is of Poland|Polish descent. According to one source his father worked as a " machinist ".Jerome, Jim. October 16, 1978. "Chicago's 'Alive Again'", People Weekly , 10 (16): 87, 93. Available online at http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20071963,00.html (accessed 20 March 2010). Cetera's siblings include two brothers, Tim CeteraTim Cetera also recorded an album with Ricky Nelson in the early 1970s, entitled Rick Sings Nelson .Tobler, John. 1998. In Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band , p. 4 CD booklet. Suffolk, England: BGO Records. and Kenny Cetera, who are listed as contributing musicians on some of the recordings he made with Chicago and on some of his solo recordings.
Formal education
Cetera attended Mendel Catholic Prep High School, graduating in 1962, and is listed among the "Notable Alumni". http://www.mendelalumni.com/notable_alumni.html http://www.mendelalumni.com/notable_alumni.html (Accessed on 22 March 2010).
Musical beginnings
Cetera's interest in music began at 11 years of age when his parents bought him an accordion instead of the guitar he wanted. When he was 15, some older students from his high school took him to a club to see a band called The Rebel Rockers, which led to his purchasing an acoustic guitar at Montgomery Ward .
He eventually took up the electric bass , and with some high school friendsa drummer, guitarist and saxophone playerCetera began playing the local dance circuit, dividing lead vocals with the guitarist. Cetera played in several groups in the Chicago area, including a popular local rock band named The Exceptions, which toured the Midwest in the mid 1960s, releasing two albums and several singles.cite web|url= http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/cetera_peter/bio.jhtml|title= Peter Cetera |publisher=vh1.com|accessdate=18 March 2010 Cetera is quoted as saying, "By the time I was 18 I was making more money than my dad."
Professional music career
Tenure in Chicago
In December 1967, Cetera arrived early for a show to watch a band called The Big Thing. Impressed by their use of a horn section combined with rock and roll, Cetera left The Exceptions to join The Big Thing within two weeks. The Big Thing, which soon changed its name to The Chicago Transit Authority (and eventually shortened it to Chicago (band)|Chicago after complaints by the actual Chicago Transit Authority|CTA ), released their self-titled debut album The Chicago Transit Authority (album)|The Chicago Transit Authority on Columbia Records in 1969. Cetera sang lead vocal on three of the eleven songs on the album, with his tenor voice complementing the baritone voices of the two other lead singers in the group, keyboardist Robert Lamm and guitarist Terry Kath .
His trademark singing style would develop as a result of having to sing for a period of time with a wired-shut jaw after getting into a brawl at a Los Angeles Dodgers game in 1969.Peter Cetera quoted in www.classicbands.com, "Chicago": "Four marines didn't like a long-haired rock 'n' roller in a baseball park," Cetera recounts, "and of course I was a Cub fan, and I was in Dodger Stadium, and that didn't do so well. I got in a fight and got a broken jaw in three places, and I was in intensive care for a couple of days. The only funny thing I can think about the whole incident," he says, "is that, with my jaw wired together, I actually went on the road, and I was actually singing through my clenched jaw, which, to this day, is still the way I sing."
The follow-up album, Chicago (album)|Chicago , vaulted the band to popular status throughout the world. The song " 25 or 6 to 4 " was the first major hit single with Cetera singing lead vocals. Chicago is also notable for featuring Cetera's first songwriting effort, "Where Do We Go From Here? "
As the 1970s progressed, Cetera would become a more prolific songwriter for the group, contributing the hits " Wishing You Were Here " (#11) and "Happy Man" from the 1974 album Chicago VII . His biggest singing and songwriting accomplishment with Chicago came in 1976 with their first worldwide No. 1 single, the ballad " If You Leave Me Now ." Cetera's next composition in 1977, " Baby, What A Big Surprise " (#4), also became a major hit and cemented the band's status in the late 1970s as a "ballad band."
By the end of the 1970s, with the rise of disco music , Chicago's popularity declined, culminating in the release of the band's poorest-selling album Chicago XIV (#71) in 1980. Columbia Records subsequently bought out the remainder of Chicago's contract. In 1981, Cetera released his first solo album, Peter Cetera (album)|Peter Cetera , on Warner Bros. Records , after personally buying the rights from his previous contract with Columbia Records , who would not release the project. The album was, subsequently, a commercial failure, which Cetera attributed to Warner Bros.' refusal to promote him as a solo artist out of fear that he would leave Chicago, who had only recently signed with the label.
In 1982, David Foster was brought in as producer and the resulting group effort was Chicago 16 (#9). The album represented a major comeback for Chicago, and leading the way was the hit single co-written (with Foster) and featured Cetera on lead vocals, " Hard to Say I'm Sorry ," which went to #1 in the charts. The song also featured in the movie 'Summer Lovers' starring Daryl Hannah. The second single, " Love Me Tomorrow ," was also co-written (again with Foster) and sung by Cetera, reaching No. 22 on the singles chart. The third single, "What You're Missing," was yet again sung by Cetera. In 1983, he took a break from his duties as Chicago frontman to add backing vocals on Paul Anka 's final U.S. Top-40 hit ''Hold Me Til The Mornin' Comes , which debuted in the summer of that year.
When Chicago 17 was released in 1984, it became the veteran band's most successful selling album in their history, eventually going on to sell over 6 million copies in the United States alone. All four singles released from the album were sung by Cetera, including three which he co-wrote, and all of them charted in the top 20: " Stay the Night (Chicago song)|Stay the Night " (#16), " Hard Habit to Break " (#3), " You're the Inspiration " (#3) and " Along Comes a Woman " (#14).
With the advent of the music video and the growing popularity of MTV , Cetera became the 'face' and public leader of the longtime faceless band that was Chicago.Milward, John. "Peter Cetera: The glory of going solo", USA Today , August 8, 1986.
Departure from Chicago
With his newfound popularity, Cetera was interested in recording another solo album. In addition, he had stated his lack of interest for the extensive touring schedule of the band, especially to promote Chicago 17 . When the 17 Tour concluded in May 1985, Chicago's management, along with several members of the band, had expressed a desire to book another tour for that summer and start work on the next Chicago album. Cetera insisted that they take a break from touring so that he could concentrate on a solo album and spend more time with his family.
After the band rejected his offer to stay in the band while recording a solo album (similar to the arrangement between Phil Collins and Genesis (band)|Genesis at the time), it was announced that Cetera and Chicago would go their separate ways in July 1985.
Solo career
Almost immediately, Cetera continued his streak of success. His first single, " Glory of Love " (the theme to the movie The Karate Kid, Part II ), was a US No. 1 hit in 1986, and achieved similar success throughout the world. It went on to win an ASCAP Award for Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures and a BMI Film & TV Award for Most Performed Song from a Film. It was also nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe in the category of Best Original Song, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Male Artist.cite web|url= http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0149126/awards|title= Peter Cetera Awards |publisher=IMDb|accessdate=18 March 2010 His album, Solitude/Solitaire , released in 1986, was also successful, selling over 1 million copies and producing another No. 1 hit single, " The Next Time I Fall ," a duet with Amy Grant ,cite web|url= http://www.pbs.org/wttw/soundstage/pcetera/featured.htm|title= Peter Cetera & Amy Grant |publisher=pbs.org|accessdate=18 March 2010 which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. In fact, Solitude/Solitaire outsold Chicago 18 (#35), the first Chicago (band)|Chicago album without him.
His third solo album, One More Story , was released in 1988 and contained the No. 4 hit single " One Good Woman " and "Save Me," the original opening theme for the television show Baywatch .
In 1988 he recorded another duet, this time with Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna . The song, "Sheherazade" was included on his album.
In 1989, Cetera recorded another duet, this time with Cher , called " After All (Cher song)|After All ," which was included on the soundtrack of the movie Chances Are (film)|Chances Are . It reached #6 on the US charts..
In 1992, his final album on Warner Bros. Records , World Falling Down , was released. It featured the Adult Contemporary #1 hit, " Restless Heart (Peter Cetera song)|Restless Heart ", as well as two other successful singles: "Even a Fool Can See" and a duet with Chaka Khan , "Feels Like Heaven."
In 1995, Cetera released his first album for River North Records, One Clear Voice , and featured the hit single, "(I Wanna Take) Forever Tonight," a duet with actress Crystal Bernard . Following the release of the album, Cetera launched his first solo touraccompanied by his River North labelmate, country singer Ronna Reeves lasting into 1996.
1997 brought '' You're the Inspiration: A Collection , a collection of all his duets from over the years, along with three re-recorded songs he had written while a member of Chicago (band)|Chicago , and two brand new recordings.
2001 saw the release of Another Perfect World .
In 2002, Cetera performed a medley of four of his songs at The Concert for World Children's Day , backed by David Foster and an orchestra at Arie Crown Theater in Chicago . Subsequently, this led to his appearance, in 2003, with the Chicago Pops Orchestra on the Public Broadcasting Service|PBS music program Soundstage (TV program)|Soundstage , which was broadcast throughout the United States and released on DVD .
From 2003 until the summer of 2007, Cetera performed a very limited number of concerts each year with a 40 piece orchestra, playing re-arrangements of songs from throughout his career, including several from his tenure as a member of Chicago (band)|Chicago .
In 2004, Cetera released a collection of holiday classics, You Just Gotta Love Christmas , which featured background and duet vocals by his eldest daughter, Claire.
Cetera has sung " Take Me Out to the Ball Game " at Wrigley Field for a Chicago Cubs game at least three times: in 2003; http://www.fogpog.com/showthread.php? t=4358 www.fogpog.com. Retrieved on 21 March 2010. on August 16, 2007, for a game that was televised on WGN-TV ; and again on May 2, 2009 on Comcast Sports Net .
In December 2007, Cetera embarked on the You Just Gotta Love Christmas tour of the United States. It marked his return to a traditional rock band show, his first since 1996, featured songs from his 2004 Christmas album and from throughout his career.
Shortly after Cetera was featured in the cover story of the December 2007 issue of Bass Player (magazine)| Bass Player magazine he saw Mike Huckabee , former governor of Arkansas, playing bass guitar on television. Cetera sent his compliments, along with an autographed copy of the issue, to Huckabee, who was at that time a presidential hopeful in the Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008|2008 Republican primaries . Huckabee said, I was totally awestruck to get a letter from Peter Cetera. having one of the greatest bass players in my generation give me a compliment is like winning New Hampshire primary|New Hampshire ." Bedard, Paul. Chicago Endorses Bassist Mike Huckabee, "Washington Whispers" blog on the Internet, U.S. News and World Report , February 8, 2008. Available at http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2008/02/28/chicago-endorses-bassist-mike-huckabee.html (accessed 24 March 2010).
Acting credits
Cetera has appeared in two movies: Electra Glide in Blue , filmed in 1973, where he played the character of Bob Zemko; and Sidney Sheldon 's Memories of Midnight , a 1991 television movie made for the USA Network , where he played the role of Larry Douglas. He appeared in the 2010 Adult Swim program Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! .
Personal life
In 1982, Cetera married Diane Nini, with whom he had his first daughter.Dougherty, Steve, and Todd Gold. February 2, 1987. "Glory of Love Singer Peter Cetera Left Chicago (the Band) for Idaho (the State) and Solo Success", People Weekly , 27 (5): 6062. Available online at http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20095555,00.html (accessed 20 March 2010). Claire, born in 1983, graduated from the University of Southern California in 2006 and is currently an artist, actor, singer and producer living in Los Angeles . She was previously a competitive snowboarder .Cole, Tina. 2001. "Good As Gold: Winter Olympic Hopefuls", Sun Valley Guide , Winter 2001. Available online at http://www.svguide.com/w01/w01olympic.htm (accessed 20 March 2010). This was Cetera's second marriage. An earlier marriage to first wife Janice ended in divorce. Cetera and Nini divorced in 1991.
For a period of time, Cetera was brother-in-law to bandmate Robert Lamm , who had married Diane's sister, Julie. They have since been divorced.
His second daughter, Senna, born in 1997 by an ex-girlfriend, Blythe Weber, who was an A& R executive for his former records label, River North Records/Platinum Entertainment. Senna lives in Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville , where in 2006, she starred in the music video for country singer Josh Turner 's song, " Would You Go with Me ," which was a No. 1 hit on the Hot Country Songs|Billboard Hot Country Songs Chart .
Cetera has lived in Sun Valley, Idaho , since the mid-1980s, where he routinely participates in numerous sports, including basketball , mountain biking , soccer , ice hockey and motorcycling .cite web|url= http://www.associatedentertainment.com/aec/National-Acts/Archives/Peter-Cetera|title= Peter Cetera |publisher=associatedentertainment.com|accessdate=18 March 2010
Cetera was mentioned in an advertisement for Heineken beer . A young man at an assisted living home asked one of the residents why he liked Peter Cetera. The older resident replied that he didn't like Cetera, but the ladies did, "and if you like the ladies, then by default, you like Cetera."
Discography
cite web|url= http://www.discogs.com/artist/Peter+Cetera|title= Peter Cetera |publisher=Discogs|accessdate=18 March 2010
1981 Peter Cetera (album)|Peter Cetera #143 US
1986 Solitude/Solitaire #23 US (Platinum), #56 UK Albums Chart|UK
1987 Princess from the Moon ( :jp:???? (1987????)|jp ) "Stay With Me"
1987 Three Men and a Baby "Daddy's Girl"
1989 Chances Are (film)|Chances Are "After All" (with Cher)
1990 Pretty Woman "No Explanation"
Television
1990 Baywatch opening credits (original NBC Season 1 only) "Save Me"
2010 Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Greene Machine http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=2XYRqjN3Kt0 Tim and Eric Aweosme Show, Great Jobdead link|date=September 2011
Notes and references
Reflist
External links
http://www.petercetera.com/ Peter Cetera official website
imdb name|id=0149126|name=Peter Cetera
http://www.pbs.org/wttw/soundstage/pcetera/featured.htm Peter Cetera PBS Soundstage show
http://www.poemhunter.com/lyrics/peter-cetera/ All songs lyrics
PeterCeteraChicagoband Persondata | NAME =Cetera, Peter | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =1944-09-13 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Cetera, Peter Category:1944 births Category:Living people Category:American male singers Category:American pop singers Category:American rock musicians Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American rock bass guitarists Category:American bass guitarists Category:American musicians of Polish descent Category:Chicago (band) members Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:Musicians from Chicago, Illinois
