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Richard Nielsen (born December 22 , 1946 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 by himself. He is well known for having many custom made guitars from Hamer Guitars , including his famous 5-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 . 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. The ''Fuse'' album also featured the drumming of future Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos . In 1974 lead singer Robin Zander joined the band after his contract with a Wisconsin resort was completed. The band is a pioneering front runner 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 down played tour of Japan in April 1978 . Down played 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 which 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 relesed by Epic in the spring of 1979 and reached #4 on the U.S. Top 40 album charts and also spawned the #7 single "I Want You To Want Me" (written by Neilsen). This album propelled the band into superstar status and claimed their place in rock and roll history. Another "power pop" gem debuted in 1978 called "Surrender" (written by Nielsen) from the album Tonight became a FM favorite "turn-table track" and the bands 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 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 Microbrew ed beer. His band Cheap Trick last released their album ''Special One'' in the summer of 2003 . They still tour year-round. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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