YEAR
2016
INDUCTED BY
Kid Rock
CATEGORY
Performers
Fun-loving, mischievous and cartoony, Cheap Trick proved bands don’t have to take themselves seriously to fill stadiums.
Cheap Trick toured incessantly in a raucous display of custom guitars, showmanship and musical virtuosity, all while never losing their sense of humor.
Bun E. Carlos
Rick Nielsen
Robin Zander
Tom Petersson
HALL OF FAME
ESSAY
By Ira Robbins
It’s the start of 1977, my early days as a rock writer, and I’m up in Black Rock, visiting one of the few label guys who’ll take my calls.
A devout fan of Marc Bolan, David Bowie, and Jim Morrison, he absolutely loathes the Who, so we’ve agreed to disagree about that. He pulls out a white label of Cheap Trick, which Epic is weeks away from releasing.
“Listen,” he says, exuding real conviction – no mean feat for a man who is as sardonic as they come. “These guys are great. They’re gonna be enormous.” I’m pretty dubious about mainstream American rock & roll, at least as represented in the hallway outside by posters of Ted Nugent, Kansas, Wild Cherry, and Meat Loaf, but I try not to roll my eyes.
