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Why is Peter Cetera given so little credit as a bassist?

Posted on 7/19/25 at 12:48 pm
Posted by SeeeeK
some where
Member since Sep 2012
30491 posts
Posted on 7/19/25 at 12:48 pm
Guy is one of top 20-30 that ever played. He's not on anyone top 50/top100 bassist lists. Just a joke.

Just because he wrote ballads, and his ballads, took Chicago away from their sound that most liked, while making the group a ton of cash and #1 hits, doesn't undervalue his play on the bass guitar.

It's like people forget that during earl years, it was peter on bass


Posted by Degas
2187645493 posts
Member since Jul 2010
11935 posts
Posted on 7/19/25 at 1:16 pm to
Because he went on to record sappy and awful prom/wedding ballads that are now ingrained in our heads which we will forever remember him by.

On a side note, I went grocery shopping the other day and didn't hear a single Phil Collins song the entire seven minutes I was in the store. That was a minor victory!
Posted by wareaglepete
Lumon Industries
Member since Dec 2012
17217 posts
Posted on 7/19/25 at 2:01 pm to
When you’re that good as a singer and frontman, lots of folks will forget you were a bass player too, unless you have Geddy Lee powers.

I would think most people don’t think about Sting or Benjamin Orr’s bass playing but they were really good players.
Posted by Big Scrub TX
Member since Dec 2013
38260 posts
Posted on 7/19/25 at 2:31 pm to
quote:

Because he went on to record sappy and awful prom/wedding ballads that are now ingrained in our heads which we will forever remember him by.
GTFO. He was in the band from 1967 and wrote their first #1 in the 70s. The hate for the 80s catalogue is preposterous. He is fantastic in all regards, including bass.
Posted by potent357
Prairieville
Member since Jan 2010
4210 posts
Posted on 7/19/25 at 4:09 pm to
I cannot recall a single CHICAGO song where the bass is even an afterthought.
Posted by Kafka
I am the moral conscience of TD
Member since Jul 2007
153830 posts
Posted on 7/19/25 at 4:34 pm to
Because their manager attempted to cannibalize him, eating several of his body parts





he et cetera, et cetera, et cetera....
Posted by auggie
Opelika, Alabama
Member since Aug 2013
30814 posts
Posted on 7/19/25 at 5:21 pm to
He is very popular in the Philippines.
Posted by auggie
Opelika, Alabama
Member since Aug 2013
30814 posts
Posted on 7/19/25 at 5:21 pm to
Posted by OffTheRails
Member since Apr 2025
65 posts
Posted on 7/19/25 at 7:02 pm to
As a horn player, to me Chicago was a horn band and for the most part their music did not feature the bass. Cetera was just part of the ensemble and more notable for his vocals.
Posted by auggie
Opelika, Alabama
Member since Aug 2013
30814 posts
Posted on 7/19/25 at 7:14 pm to
quote:

Cetera was just part of the ensemble and more notable for his vocals.

Probably doesn't even think about his bass reputation while he is counting his money.
Posted by VinegarStrokes
Georgia
Member since Oct 2015
14045 posts
Posted on 7/21/25 at 3:18 pm to
quote:

GTFO. He was in the band from 1967 and wrote their first #1 in the 70s. The hate for the 80s catalogue is preposterous. He is fantastic in all regards, including bass.


the hate for their 80s catalogue is actually very much appropriate. Cetera sucks.

If he had his way, 25 or 6 to 4 would sound like this bullshite:

Posted by A12 Oxcart
On the float out in the Belt
Member since Dec 2022
997 posts
Posted on 7/21/25 at 5:12 pm to
Why did he never name a solo album "Et Cetera?" Too obvious?
Posted by Kafka
I am the moral conscience of TD
Member since Jul 2007
153830 posts
Posted on 7/21/25 at 7:07 pm to
quote:

Why did he never name a solo album "Et Cetera?"
what a stupid joke
Posted by hogcard1964
Alabama
Member since Jan 2017
17219 posts
Posted on 7/21/25 at 7:24 pm to
Imo, his best song was "Wishing You Were Here".
Posted by Tchefuncte Tiger
Bat'n Rudge
Member since Oct 2004
62439 posts
Posted on 7/21/25 at 10:09 pm to
I couldn't take it! Here! Enjoy!

Posted by geauxbrown
Louisiana
Member since Oct 2006
24826 posts
Posted on 7/22/25 at 12:56 am to
Because folks like my Dad, who loved Terry Kath and his giant Ray Charles like voice always believed Cetera made the band bubble gum pop with his high tenor voice.
Posted by cgrand
HAMMOND
Member since Oct 2009
46225 posts
Posted on 7/22/25 at 8:44 am to
two things can be true

cetera’s sugary ballads made the band a shitpile of money and it’s likely they wouldn’t have survived without it

Those sugary ballads were terrible and an embarrassment to the genius of the previous body or work

Also


This post was edited on 7/22/25 at 8:45 am
Posted by parrotdr
Cesspool of Rationalization
Member since Oct 2003
7712 posts
Posted on 7/22/25 at 8:53 am to
IMO, Peter Cetera gets a lot of unwarranted hate. In those first few albums, which are absolute CLASSICS, his voice is a huge part of the appeal. The combination in songs of Kath, Lamm, and Cetera's distinct vocals all perfectly placed are a big part of what made them so great in those early days.

Blame Producter David Foster as much as or more than Cetera for what Chicago became later on post-Kath. It was a lot of syrupy drivel but mainly compared to what the band WAS. Not really horrible for the time...plus it SOLD, which I'm sure the band loved.
Posted by hogcard1964
Alabama
Member since Jan 2017
17219 posts
Posted on 7/22/25 at 9:02 am to
quote:

Blame Producter David Foster as much as or more than Cetera for what Chicago became later on post-Kath.


Bingo

Foster is a clown
Posted by hogcard1964
Alabama
Member since Jan 2017
17219 posts
Posted on 7/22/25 at 9:04 am to
BTW, David Foster's wife...



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