American singer Peter Paul Cetera was born 79 years ago in Chicago, Illinois, was married twice and has 2 daughters. He is also a songwriter and musician and is best known for his distinctive tenor voice and singing ability.
As a child, Peter attended Seminary school for one year and later went to high school where he graduated in 1962. When he was about 12 years old, after being inspired by his mother who was always singing around the house, he developed a passion for singing. He wished to have a guitar, but his parents bought him an accordion instead. He was very good at playing it and managed to win a competition for his talent.
At the age of 15, he joined some schoolmates and went to a nightclub where this band ‘The Rebels’ were performing. Afterwards, he fulfilled his dream of buying an acoustic guitar and also learnt the electric bass. He eventually performed with various bands in his hometown Chicago, one of which was a popular rock group named ‘The Exceptions’.
In 1967, Peter went to see a group called ‘The Big Thing’ and was very impressed, so much so that he left ‘The Exceptions’ and joined them instead. The band’s name eventually changed to ‘Chicago’ and Peter became the lead singer. He also composed several songs for their first two albums, such as ’25 or 6 to 4′ and ‘Wishing you were Here’. International stardom was achieved in 1976 with the worldwide number one hit ‘If you Leave me Now’. Another successful hit followed, named ‘Baby, what a big Surprise’.
The group’s success started to drop by the end of the 70s in view that disco music was becoming more popular. In view of this, in 1981, Peter, albeit he did not leave ‘Chicago’, released his first album as a solo artist which turned out as a flop.
A year later, the group found their feet again and their next album proved very successful and included the number one global hit ‘Hard to Say I’m Sorry’. The album that followed was even more successful and is considered as their best-selling one, featuring hits like ‘Hard habit to Break’ and ‘You’re the Inspiration’, amongst others.
In 1985, Peter left the band and the year after issued an album, featuring the hit ‘Glory of Love’ which was the soundtrack of the movie ‘The Karate Kid Part II’. Until 2019, which was the year when he retired definitely from music, Peter had 8 more albums and over 25 singles. Peter composed many songs for other artists, both national and international, as well as sang in duet with some of them. He also presented some TV shows and also appeared as a guest.
During his career, Cetera received around 7 awards and other honours, both as a solo artist and as a member of Chicago. He was also often praised for his song writing and bass playing.
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