Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. Their work bridged elements of '60s guitar pop, '70s hard rock, and the emerging punk rock sound, and would help set the template for subsequent power pop artists.
Cheap Trick released their self-titled debut album in 1977 and, later that year, found success in Japan with the release of their second album, In Color. 1978's Heaven Tonight included the power pop classic "Surrender". The band achieved mainstream popularity in the United States in 1979 with the triple-platinum live album At Budokan and a Top 10 single, a live recording of "I Want You to Want Me". They followed with Dream Police, their most commercially successful studio album, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart. After struggling with declining popularity and lineup changes in the 1980s, Cheap Trick experienced a major resurgence toward the end of the decade when they topped the US charts with the power ballad "The Flame".