American Standard - by Ross Warner (Paperback)

About the Book

Even after finally being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, Cheap Trick remains to many a club band with a cult following. Much like Cheap Trick themselves, American Standard: Cheap Trick From The Bars to the Budokan and Beyond will appeal to the fans who swear that their favorite band is still criminally underrated, connoisseurs of 1970s rock, and anyone who has enjoyed the album in any of its subsequently reissued and expanded forms

Book Synopsis

They've sold more than 20 million albums, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and they're one of Homer Simpson's favorite bands--but even today, fifty years after they first formed, Cheap Trick remains to many a club band with a cult following. They certainly started out that way, with a carnival-like stage show featuring four perfectly mismatched characters: guitarist Rick Nielsen, in bowtie, sweater, and baseball cap, stood next to blonde dreamboat Robin Zander, while the mysterious, chestnut-haired bassist Tom Peterson held down the bottom end with drummer Bun E. Carlos, never seen without his cigarette or tie.
American Standard: Cheap Trick from the Bars to the Budokan and Beyond tells the unlikely story of the band's path to greatness, from their origins in Rockford, Illinois to their massively successful live album At Budokan to the many, many ups and downs that followed. This is a rollicking tale of artistic genius, rock excess, hilarious misbehavior, chance encounters with music's biggest names, and international stardom that brought new meaning to the phrase "big in Japan." Drawing on exhaustive research and interviews, American Standard gives an intimate look at a truly original band--whether you consider them rock icons or criminally underrated,

Review Quotes

"As one who was present when power pop visionaries Cheap Trick could be seen playing taverns in an Illinois college town--three sets, that lineup, that look, those songs, $5 cover--the band and I go waaaay back. Having borne eyewitness to those days, I can tell you author Ross Warner did his homework in preparing American Standard. His vivid telling of the saga will make you'll feel like you were there yourself." --Cary Baker, author and music industry veteran

"American Standard. How appropriate. I was at the session where the cover for Heaven Tonight album was shot. It was a continuation of the graphic theme started with In Color--two dreamy guys on the front, two characters on the back. Then I spotted the plumbing fixtures. 'American Standard'--they're everywhere in public restrooms. How appropriate for the band we all believed had no top end to their career trajectory. They were, to Epic staff, the American Standard. It was an observation that evolved into an inside joke, and now finds its way into print. And we were right. No record or group breaks itself. It takes a village. Ross's book tells this story." --Jim Charne, Epic Records (1973-79)

"At Budokan still defines Cheap Trick for most of us. This excellent, insightful book puts that fact into context and allows the reader to understand why the live album was so defining and what came before and after. A wonderful, quirky biography of a wonderful, quirky band. As it should be." --Alan Paul, New York Times bestselling author

"An exhaustively researched and endlessly entertaining look at one of America's greatest rock bands." --Tom Beaujour, co-author of New York Times bestseller Nothin' but a Good Time

American Standard. How appropriate. I was at the session where the cover for Heaven Tonight album was shot. It was a continuation of the graphic theme started with In Color--two dreamy guys on the front, two characters on the back. Then I spotted the plumbing fixtures. 'American Standard'--they're everywhere in public restrooms. How appropriate for the band we all believed had no top end to their career trajectory. They were, to Epic staff, the American Standard. It was an observation that evolved into an inside joke, and now finds its way into print. And we were right. No record or group breaks itself. It takes a village. Ross's book tells this story.

At Budokan still defines Cheap Trick for most of us. This excellent, insightful book puts that fact into context and allows the reader to understand why the live album was so defining and what came before and after. A wonderful, quirky biography of a wonderful, quirky band. As it should be.

An exhaustively researched and endlessly entertaining look at one of America's greatest rock bands.

As one who was present when power pop visionaries Cheap Trick could be seen playing taverns in an Illinois college town--three sets, that lineup, that look, those songs, $5 cover--the band and I go waaaay back. Having borne eyewitness to those days, I can tell you author Ross Warner did his homework in preparing American Standard. His vivid telling of the saga will make you'll feel like you were there yourself.

About the Author

Ross Warner has been writing about the three pillars of popular culture (television, music and film) since high school. His work has appeared in such magazines as American Heritage, Cinema Retro, Hittin' the Note, Heeb, and Glide. His work on his other major obsession, the Grateful Dead, has been similarly featured in both books and magazines. Drunk on Sunday, his first book, was published in 2020.