Peter Cetera

Peter Paul Cetera Jr. (/səˈtɛrə/ sə-TERR-ə; born September 13, 1944) is an American retired musician best known for being a frontman, vocalist, and bassist for the American rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985. His career as a recording artist encompasses 17 albums with Chicago (Chicago Transit Authority through Chicago 17) and eight solo studio albums. As a lead singer/vocal artist he has had four number one songs on the Billboard Hot 100, two during his tenure with Chicago and two during his solo career. Of those four songs he wrote or co-wrote three.

As a solo artist, Cetera has scored six Top 40 singles, including two that reached number one on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in 1986, "Glory of Love" and "The Next Time I Fall". "Glory of Love", the theme song from the film The Karate Kid Part II (1986), was co-written by Cetera, David Foster, and Diane Nini and was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for best original song from a motion picture. In 1987, Cetera received an ASCAP award for "Glory of Love" in the category "Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures". His performance on "Glory of Love" was nominated for a Grammy Award for best pop male vocal. That same year Cetera and Amy Grant, who performed as a duet on "The Next Time I Fall", were nominated for a Grammy Award for best vocal performance by a pop duo or group. Besides Foster and Grant, Cetera has collaborated throughout his career with other recording artists from various genres of music. His songs have been featured in soundtracks for movies and television.

With "If You Leave Me Now", a song written and sung by Cetera on the group's tenth album, Chicago received its first Grammy Award. It was also the group's first number one single. Chicago's second number one song, "Hard to Say I'm Sorry", came from the album Chicago 16 in 1982. It was co-written by Cetera and the group's producer, David Foster and Cetera sang the lead vocal. Chicago's first album, Chicago Transit Authority (Columbia, 1969), featuring Cetera on bass and vocals, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014. 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. Cetera, along with other members of Chicago, received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.

Former Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine wrote, "Peter came from a strong Catholic blue-collar family …".: 59 Cetera was born to Peter Paul Cetera Sr. and Margareta (Bechtold) Cetera in the Morgan Park neighborhood, located on the far South Side of Chicago, Illinois. He was the second of six children and is of Polish and Hungarian descent. His father worked as a machinist. Cetera's siblings include two brothers, Tim Cetera (who recorded an album with Ricky Nelson in the early 1970s) and Kenny Cetera. Both are listed as contributing musicians on some of the recordings Cetera made with Chicago and on some of his solo recordings.

Cetera attended Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary for one year of high school because, he says, "my mother wanted me to be a priest.": 59 He transferred to Mendel Catholic Prep High School, graduated from there in 1962, and is listed among the "Notable Alumni".

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.