“So I'm honored to induct, from Rockford, Illinois …”
Dang did those 8 words make me shiver. Most weeks you gloss-over the fact Rockford birthed the “American Beatles” but not today! Today we celebrate Cheap Trick’s long-overdue induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for their 40-plus years of musical godliness.
For those of you who are more around my age (looking at you, millennials) you may be more familiar with Cheap Trick through Guitar Hero II. Do you remember this?
Or maybe you’re more familiar with this TV-show intro:
Cheap Trick wrote that! And they’re from Rockford, Illinois!
Now, being featured on a popular videogame and a TV show are probably their smallest achievements (but to be honest they’re some of my favorite fun facts). Their bigger achievements include that in Japan they are literally known as the American Beatles. They even worked with the Beatles’ famed producer, George Martin, who according to Kid Rock said, “….Cheap Trick was his favorite band to work with that wasn't from Liverpool.”
Also, they’ve been rocking for 40+ frickin’ years! Can we step back a second and look at what an accomplishment that is? They even have more gigs this week because they’re promoting their SEVENTEENTH studio album, Boom, Zoom, Crazy ... Hello. The best part is they still sound amazing (nobody wants a washed-up record).
But out of all of their accomplishments, my favorite is that they are unapologetically Rockford Proud. Two of the original band members still live in Rockford (Rick Nielsen and Bun E. Carlos) and are regularly featured in our community promotions.
And this year, the Forest City has really outdone itself. To show the Rockford love of Cheap Trick, the city has added honorary sign changes to the streets they grew up on and the Mayor unofficially, officially renamed the city “Trickford”. Now, that’s some dedication!
Thank you, Cheap Trick, for everything.
