Rick Nielsen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rick Nielsen | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 22, 1948 in Rockford, Illinois |
| Genre(s) | Rock |
| Affiliation(s) | Cheap Trick |
| Notable guitars | Hamer 5-neck custom |
| Years active | 1972 - present |
| Official site | Official Cheap Trick website |
Richard Nielsen (born December 22, 1948 in Rockford, Illinois) is the lead guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Cheap Trick. For the band's first few albums, Nielsen wrote the majority of the material himself. He is well known for having many custom-made guitars from Hamer Guitars, including his famous five-neck guitar. He sings lead vocals on the demo for the song "World's Greatest Lover", which appears on the Cheap Trick boxed set entitled Sex, America Cheap Trick released in 1996, and the first verse of "O Claire" off the 2006 CD Rockford.
He formed Cheap Trick in 1972 with bassist Tom Petersson, another Rockford, Illinois native. Before Cheap Trick, he was in a number of bands, including Grim Reapers, and Fuse. The latter recorded a one-off debut album released on Epic Records that sold poorly. After the record failed to gain any attention, the band moved to Philadelphia and the band changed their name to Sick Man Of Europe. The group toured Europe unsuccessfully in 1972 and returned to Illinois in 1973. Upon their return to Rockford, Nielsen and Petersson renamed the band Cheap Trick after adding drummer Bun E. Carlos and vocalist Randy "Xeno" Hogan. In 1974, Hogan left the band and lead singer Robin Zander joined after his contract with a Wisconsin resort was completed.
The band is a pioneering frontrunner in the 1970's "Power Pop" movement, which combined pop sensibilities with cranked-up guitars and powerful drumming. During the 1970's Nielsen's guitar playing was much sought-after, and he played the session guitarist on albums by Hall & Oates, Alice Cooper, and KISS bassist Gene Simmons among others. He has owned some 2000 guitars throughout his career, and never tours with less than 25. He has been a steady customer of the Hamer guitar company, having dozens of "Rick Nielsen" models built for himself over the years. He also throws personalized guitar plectrums (picks) during their live shows, and any concert-goer sitting within the first 6 rows will get a pick to the upper torso; he's an expert marksman and fans always clamor for his guitar picks as a concert souvenir.
After floundering for the first few years of their careers, the band got a break with a much downplayed tour of Japan in April 1978; downplayed only in the U.S., as Japan was smitten by the band. The consequential Japanese tour produced the blitzkrieg quintessential live rock album Live At Budokan. This album reached the U.S. shores only by popular demand, as import copies were already reaching a legendary status by the fall of 1978. The album was officially released by Epic in the spring of 1979; it reached #4 on the U.S. Top 40 album charts and also spawned the #7 single "I Want You To Want Me" (written by Nielsen). This album propelled the band into superstar status and claimed their place in rock and roll history.
"Surrender", another power pop gem which debuted in 1978 (written by Nielsen) from the album Heaven Tonight, became a FM favorite "turn-table track" and the band's set-closer over the years. In 1980 both he and drummer Bun E. Carlos played on "demos" with former Beatle John Lennon (a musical hero of the band) for the final Lennon album Double Fantasy.
Nielsen is currently co-owner of Piece Brewery and Pizzeria in Chicago, Illinois, a brewpub that has won several medals in the Great American Beer Festival for their microbrewed beer. Cheap Trick released their album Special One in the summer of 2003. They still tour year-round. On June 6, 2006, Cheap Trick released their new studio album Rockford on Cheap Trick Unlimited/Big3 Records. The first single from the album is "Perfect Stranger" (produced by Linda Perry and co-written by Cheap Trick and Perry).
[edit] Trivia
In one issue of MacAddict magazine, an article compared the myriad tools and options available in Adobe Photoshop to "that guy with the five-necked guitar in Cheap Trick," useful only if you actually knew what you were doing. Rick Nielsen, a subscriber to MacAddict, wrote in that he appreciated the analogy and the magazine proudly displayed a signed picture he sent to the staff in the next month's issue.
Nielsen can be seen in Monday Night Football's Opening Theme playing his "Rockford" Guitar.
Early look consisted of a baseball cap and cardigan sweater.
[edit] External links
- Cheap Trick Official Site
- An interview with Rick about his collection of guitars and some guitar photos from the Hamer website
| Cheap Trick |
| Robin Zander | Rick Nielsen | Tom Petersson | Bun E. Carlos |
| Randy "Xeno" Hogan | Pete Comita | Jon Brant |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio albums: Cheap Trick | In Color | Heaven Tonight | Dream Police | All Shook Up | Found All The Parts | One on One | Next Position Please | Standing on the Edge | The Doctor | Lap of Luxury | Busted | Woke Up With A Monster | Cheap Trick (1997) | Special One | Rockford |
| Live albums: At Budokan | Music for Hangovers | Silver |
| Compilations/Box Sets: The Greatest Hits | Sex, America, Cheap Trick | Authorized Greatest Hits | The Essential Cheap Trick |
