SR0255 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0255 LRB095 12507 GRL 37720 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, One of the most prolific musical groups to come from the State of Illinois has been the rock group Cheap Trick; and

WHEREAS, Cheap Trick's roots lie in Fuse, a late-1960s Rockford band formed by Rick Nielsen and bassist Tom Petersson; during the early 1970's the band toured throughout the State, performing at every State university in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Cheap Trick signed with Epic Records in 1976, releasing their self-titled debut in early 1977; the record sold well in America; however, the group became a massive success in Japan, going gold upon release; later that year, the band released their second album, "In Color"; due to their constant touring, the record made it into the U.S. charts, peaking at number 73; and

WHEREAS, The band realized that they were virtual superstars in Japan when they toured the country in early 1978, selling out the Budokan Arena; the Budokan Arena concert was recorded for a television program, which ended up becoming an album that appeared after their third album, 1978's "Heaven Tonight"; Heaven Tonight led to their first Top 100 single, "Surrender," which peaked at number 62; the live performances on "At Budokan" resulted in their commercial breakthrough in the U.S.; the album stayed on the charts for over a year, peaking at number four and eventually selling over three million copies; a live version of "I Want You to Want Me" pulled from the album became their first Top Ten hit; later that year, the group released their fourth studio album, "Dream Police"; the album also went into the Top Ten, selling over a million copies and launching the Top 40 hit singles "Voices" and "Dream Police"; in the summer of 1980, the group released an EP of tracks recorded between 1976-1979 called "Found All the Parts"; and

WHEREAS, Petersson left the group in the summer of 1980 after recording the album "All Shook Up"; he was replaced by Pete Comita, and shortly thereafter Jon Brant; the first album recorded with Brant was "One on One", the group's seventh album that appeared in 1982; The album was followed with "Next Position Please", released in 1983, "Standing on the Edge" in 1985, and "The Doctor" in 1986; Petersson rejoined the band in 1988 and began working on a new album; the resulting album, Lap of Luxury, was a platinum Top 20 hit, featuring the number one song "The Flame" and a Top Ten version of Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel"; "Busted", released in 1990, peaked at number 48 on the charts; and

WHEREAS, In 1994 Cheap Trick released "Woke Up With A Monster"; the record spent two weeks on the chart, peaking at 123; That same year, they released a sequel to At Budokan, entitled Budokan II; the band opened for The Smashing Pumpkins in 1995 and the group performed on the 1996 Lollapalooza tour; That same year, they released the box set Sex America Cheap Trick to good reviews; early in 1997, the group released "Baby Talk on Sub Pop", which was followed by "Cheap Trick", their critically acclaimed debut for Red Ant/Alliance in the spring; in 1998 the band established their own record company, Cheap Trick Unlimited; they toured behind the re-mastered re-releases of Budokan: the Complete Concert, and their first three records; the tour resulted in the live effort "Music For Hangovers"; in 2001 the band produced their album "Special One"; their latest album, "Rockford", was released on June 6th, 2006; and

WHEREAS, Cheap Trick has performed over 5000 live performances, including USO tours in 12 countries with the 1st Airborne Rock and Roll Division; they have made 28 albums and have sold over 20 million records; their songs have been featured on many television shows, such as That 70's Show, The Colbert Report, and ABC's Sons and Daughters, and many movies, such as Top Gun, Daddy Day Care, Caddyshack, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High; the band has appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine and has been named by Rolling Stone in their Top 10 Greatest Live Acts and Top 100 Greatest Songs lists; the band performed on Saturday Night Live in 1981; their songs have been covered by many famous artists, such as Chris Issac, Dwight Yoakam, Smashing Pumpkins, Alice Cooper, and many others; the individual members have produced songs for Kiss, Aerosmith, Motley Crue, and John Lennon, among others; and they have been commemorated with a special Rockford Illinois Vehicle Sticker in 2007; and

WHEREAS, Despite their monumental success in the music industry, Cheap Trick's band members still consider the City of Rockford and the State of Illinois to be their home; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we designate April 1 of every year as Cheap Trick Day in the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Bun E. Carlos, and Tom Petersson as a symbol of our esteem and respect.