Rick Nielsen
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| Rick Nielsen | |
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 1988 - Tivoli, Sydney Australia
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| Background information | |
| Born | December 22, 1948 in Rockford, Illinois |
| Genre(s) | Rock, Hard rock, Powerpop, Pop rock |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar |
| Years active | 1972 - present |
| Associated acts | Cheap Trick |
| Website | Official Cheap Trick website |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Hamer 5-neck custom | |
Rick Nielsen (born December 22, 1948 in Rockford, Illinois) is the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, 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 which 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 was a pioneering frontrunner in the 1970s' "Power Pop" movement, which combined pop sensibilities with cranked-up guitars and powerful drumming. During the 1970s Nielsen's guitar playing was much sought-after; he was 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 live shows, and any concert-goer sitting within the first 6 rows will get a pick to the upper torso;[citation needed] he's an expert pick marksman and fans clamor for his guitar picks as a concert souvenir.
After floundering for the first few years of their career, the band got a break with a tour of Japan in April 1978; although the tour was downplayed in the U.S., Japan was quite smitten by the band. The consequential Japanese tour produced the blitzkrieg quintessential live rock album At Budokan. This album reached the U.S. shores only by import copies, but was reaching a legendary status by the fall of 1978. The album was officially released in the U.S. 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). "At Budokan" propelled the band into superstar status and helped Cheap Trick claim their place in rock and roll history.
"Surrender", another power pop tune, debuted in 1978 (written by Nielsen) from the album Heaven Tonight, and became an FM favorite as well as the band's set-closer through the years. In 1980 both Nielsen 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.
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[edit] The Rick Nielsen Look
The look or appearance of Rick Nielsen on stage and in public venues can be traced to several elements. The flipped up, old style ball cap is often compared to Huntz Hall, of Bowery Boys fame. Nielsen's face in some ways resembles Huntz Hall, and some of Nielsen's on-stage antics have been compared to Hall as well. [1]
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- 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.
- Added a new solo on "See You In Your Dreams" on Gene Simmons 1978 solo album.
- Nielsen performed with Cheap Trick, the theme for the television program The Colbert Report. On December 20, 2006 he appeared on the show, alongside Peter Frampton, Robert Schneider, and Chris Funk.
- Nielsen made an appearance in the Michael Moore film The Big One and also appeared, as himself, along with his band mates in the Eddie Murphy movie, Daddy Day Care.
- An animated film, "Rock and Rule", featured an animated animal with several of his trademark characteristics and the band contributed music for the soundtrack.
- He is still married (for over 35 years) to his first wife, and they have three sons and a daughter.
- He was part of an all-star lineup--including Little Richard and Aerosmith's Joe Perry-- that recorded the 2006 version of the Monday Night Football theme song with Hank Williams, Jr.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Cheap Trick Official Site
- An interview with Rick about his collection of guitars and some guitar photos from the Hamer website
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