55 Facts About Peter Cetera

Peter Paul Cetera is a retired American musician best known for being a lead vocalist and the bassist of the rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985, before launching a successful solo career.

In 1987, Peter Cetera received an ASCAP award for "Glory of Love" in the category "Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures".

Besides David Foster and Amy Grant, Peter Cetera has collaborated throughout his career with other nationally and internationally known recording artists from various genres of music.

Peter Cetera's songs have been featured in soundtracks for movies and television.

Peter Cetera was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Chicago in April 2016, and he, Robert Lamm, and James Pankow were among the 2017 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees for their songwriting efforts as members of the group.

Peter Cetera was born and raised in the Morgan Park neighborhood, located on the far South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States.

Peter Cetera was the second of six children and is of Polish and Hungarian descent.

Peter Cetera says that his mother "was always singing around the house" and taught the children to sing in harmony while they were doing their household chores.

Peter Cetera says he was "kind of a polka prodigy" and aged 12 won a local talent competition for his accordion-playing.

Peter Cetera played in several groups in the Chicago area, including a popular local rock band named The Exceptions, which toured the Midwest in the mid-1960s.

In December 1967, Peter Cetera arrived early for a show to watch a band called The Big Thing.

The song "25 or 6 to 4" was the first major hit single with Peter Cetera singing lead vocals.

In 1977 Peter Cetera provided background vocals on Beached, an album by Ricci Martin, produced by Ricci Martin's brother-in-law, Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys.

Peter Cetera is credited as one of the background vocalists on Billy Joel's single "My Life", released in 1978, from the album 52nd Street.

The second single, "Love Me Tomorrow", co-written with Foster and sung by Peter Cetera, reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Peter Cetera won ASCAP honors for most-performed songs for "You're the Inspiration".

Retrospectively Peter Cetera said he wanted an arrangement similar to the one that Phil Collins and Genesis had at the time, with Collins being a member and touring with Genesis, while doing some solo work at the same time, and his former bandmate Danny Seraphine agreed that's what the group should have done.

Peter Cetera performed a shortened version of the song live at the 59th Academy Awards ceremony.

In two interviews Peter Cetera gave in 1987, he discussed people's confusion about "Glory of Love", and said they thought initially that it was a new song by Chicago.

In 1989, Peter Cetera recorded another duet, this time with Cher, called "After All", which was included on the soundtrack of the movie Chances Are, as well as on Cher's Heart of Stone album.

In 1990, a song by Peter Cetera titled "No Explanation" was featured in the soundtrack for the popular film Pretty Woman.

In 1991 Peter Cetera co-wrote and sang on "Voices That Care", a song and supporting documentary music video intended to help boost the morale of American troops involved in Operation Desert Storm, as well as to support the International Red Cross organization.

In 1995, Peter Cetera released his first album for River North Records, One Clear Voice, which featured the single " Forever Tonight", a duet with actress Crystal Bernard, which peaked at number twenty-three on the Adult Contemporary chart, and number eighty-six on the Hot 100 chart.

The tour had been delayed while Peter Cetera recuperated from a motorcycle accident.

In 2002, Peter Cetera performed a medley of four of his songs at The Concert for World Children's Day, backed by David Foster and an orchestra at Arie Crown Theater in Chicago.

From 2003 until summer 2007, Peter Cetera performed a limited number of concerts each year with a 40-piece orchestra, playing re-arrangements of songs from throughout his career, including several from his tenure as a member of Chicago.

In 2004, Peter Cetera released a collection of holiday classics, You Just Gotta Love Christmas.

Peter Cetera appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade that year, which was televised nationally, shortly after the release of the album.

In December 2007, Peter Cetera embarked on the You Just Gotta Love Christmas tour of the United States.

Peter Cetera sang live with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra for Smucker's Presents Hot Ice, Cool Sounds, an event featuring world-class ice skaters performing to the music of Peter Cetera.

In 2017, Peter Cetera was a co-headliner for Night of the Proms in Germany and Luxembourg, his first time performing in Germany in 35 years.

Peter Cetera announced his decision via two posts to his web site, dated February 8 and February 25,2016, and in those posts expressed his frustration with trying to work out the performance details with band members and show producers.

Peter Cetera did not attend the ceremony even for the purpose of accepting his award.

Peter Cetera declined to be interviewed for the 2017 documentary Now More Than Ever: The History of Chicago.

Peter Cetera did appear in the documentary The Terry Kath Experience, along with the other surviving members of the original Chicago line-up and producer James William Guercio.

Peter Cetera's trademark singing style developed as a result of his having to sing for a period of time with a wired-shut jaw after getting into a brawl at a Los Angeles Dodgers game in 1969.

In 2009 an interviewer noted that Peter Cetera had been around for four decades, called him "one of the most enduring singers around", and asked him how he takes care of his voice.

For Peter Cetera, recording the vocals with members of The Beach Boys for "Wishing You Were Here" from Chicago VII was satisfying on a personal level, according to William James Ruhlmann.

Seraphine says Peter Cetera was, at that time, "the best singer in the city".

Robert Lamm's song from the 1970 album Chicago II, "25 or 6 to 4", which was sung by Peter Cetera, was used in the 2017 film I, Tonya, and on the animated TV series King of the Hill.

In 2010, not only was Peter Cetera's music heard during a television commercial for Heineken Premium Light beer, but Peter Cetera himself was the subject of discussion.

Peter Cetera's amplification has varied between Ampeg, Orange, Kustom, Acoustic Control Corporation, Phase Linear and Sound City.

Peter Cetera currently endorses Wilkins basses, as well as Fender Precision Basses and Taurus bass amplification.

Peter Cetera is a longtime user of LaBella flatwound bass strings.

Peter Cetera briefly switched to the LaBella roundwound strings for a time, but was not satisfied with them and returned to flatwounds.

Peter Cetera received high praise for his bass playing during his years with Chicago.

Peter Cetera was featured in the cover story of the December 2007 issue of Bass Player magazine.

Peter Cetera sent his compliments, along with an autographed copy of the issue, to Huckabee, who was at that time a presidential hopeful in the 2008 Republican primaries.

Peter Cetera produced the album I Stand Alone by Swedish singer and former ABBA member Agnetha Faltskog.

Peter Cetera appears as a singer and composer on the album.

Peter Cetera has appeared in two movies: Electra Glide in Blue, filmed in 1973, in which he played the character of Bob Zemko; and Sidney Sheldon's Memories of Midnight, a 1991 television movie made for the USA Network, in which he played the role of Larry Douglas.

Peter Cetera married Diane Nini in 1982 and their daughter, Claire, was born in 1983.

Peter Cetera is the uncle of bandmate Robert Lamm's daughter Sacha, from Lamm's 1976 marriage to Diane's younger sister, Julie.

In 1997, Peter Cetera had a second daughter, Senna, with then-girlfriend Blythe Weber.

Peter Cetera, a longtime resident of Ketchum, Idaho, has lived in Idaho since the mid-1980s and is a sports enthusiast.