MORE IDES ACCOLADES:
Several of you wanted to pay tribute to The Ides Of March regarding their recent Street Dedication Ceremony ... in fact, we even heard from Jim Peterik himself!
>>>Our heartfelt congratulations go out to Jim Peterik, Larry Millas, Mike Borch, Bob Bergland, Chuck Soumar, John Larson, Scott May and Dave Stahlberg, still performing today as The Ides Of March (with all four original members since 1964!!!) Way To Go, Guys ... we love ya!!! (kk)
Hey Kent!
Jimbo here.
Thanks for the great article. I so appreciate your long time support and encyclopedic knowledge of Chicago rock. Good times indeed.
Hope you get a chance to hear the Ides' new one, Still 19.
Thanks again, brother!
Keep Rocking!!
Jimbo
It was a VERY powerful day for all of us who grew up in the Berwyn area with The Ides Of March during this very exciting time. To think that some 40+ years later the guys are still together and still rocking the house is nothing short of amazing ... and I swear they sound better NOW than ever before! Thanks, Jim! (kk)
By the way, their new CD is available through The Ides Of March website:
Click here: The Ides Of March Flash Intro
Hi Kent -
First of all, thank you, for devoting your time on honoring the Ides of March.
I did see the street dedication for them and it was great ... I really enjoyed it. I can't wait to see the sign when it's up on Home Avenue.
Good to see Morton West High again, too! I especially liked the photo presentation on the big screen and the individual stories from all the guys ... they were very touching. How wonderful to have a local group who stayed together all these years. When each one of them spoke, they considered themselves "family". They are not only a good vocal group but good musicians as well. And cheers for Jim Peterik and his talent for writing so many hit songs!
Long live the Ides of March!
All their songs are great, but "You Wouldn't Listen To Me" is my sentimental favorite. I have it on my jukebox! They may have recorded "You Wouldn't Listen", but evidently everyone did and they have lasted all these years!
Carolyn
It was a VERY moving ceremony and you could see that ALL of the guys were emotionally touched by this honor ... I'd go so far as to say it ranks right up there with any of the biggest accolades they've received throughout their career. Glad we could be there to witness it! (kk)
Great blog!
I went to elementary school and Morton with Bob B and Larry M (Piper School) and to High School with Jimmy (good friends with my sister Laura in his class). EYE have a copy of the Shon Dels' "Like it or Lump it" !!
Nancy Cunov
Chicago
I WAS VERY PROUD TO HAVE BEEN THERE TO SHARE THAT SPECIAL MOMENT WITH MY ROCK N' ROLL FRIENDS AND ADD A FEW MORE VERY SPECIAL PIX TO MY COLLECTION ... CONGRATULATIONS, IDES BRETHREN, IT WAS AWESOME!!!
MICHAEL G. BUSH
Kent -
The Ides of March give the best show bar none of the working 1960-70 Chicago area groups I have seen. With the creative force of Jimmy Peterik, the Ides perform all their great hits and all the songs Jim wrote and perforned with Survivor and wrote for .38 Special. Plus the Ides are always re-inventing themselves with original songs they perform. To say Jimmy is a showmen is an understatement and you can tell the guys have a blast performing after all these years. If you see one Chicago group, this is the one!
Mike De Martino
President of the Lovejoy Music Club
Kent -
Just wanted to convey my congrats to The Ides Of March on their recent wonderful honor. Next to The New Colony Six, the Ides Of March are my OTHER all-time favorite 60's / 70's band from the Windy City. It's really amazing that after 45 years, The Ides continue to rock with all of their original members intact ... that in itself, is truly a major accomplishment.
I was fortunate to meet Jim Peterik back in the early 1980's at the 60's Chicago Band Reunion at the Holiday Inn in Hillside, IL. I had a chance to sit down and chat with Jim at this record convention / band reunion. This was at the time when he was riding high with his stint in Survivor ... I never thought that he would take time with me to answer all of my questions about The Ides Of March, but ... instead of wanting to talk about his then-current Survivor group, he anxiously sat down with me for nearly an hour, and we talked about nothing but The Ides Of March. I was floored that he was kind enough to personally sit down with a nobody like me, and recall the old days with The Ides ... it became immediately apparent that Jim was still very proud of the Ides Of March ... What a great guy!
I'm proud to say that I own every "promo" copy and "store-stock" Ides Of March 45 on Parrot, Kapp, Warner Bros. and RCA, along with all of The Ides albums on W.B and RCA. I even own a copy of the hideously-rare Shondells (pre-Ides) single titled, "Like It Or Lump It' on the Epitome label ... mow, how's that for being a "die-hard" Ides Of March fan??
Anyways, congratulations to The Ides Of March for this fantastic honor! ... They REALLY deserve it!
Jerry Schollenberger
Wasn’t that awesome of Berwyn to recognize their home boys and a fine bunch of guys to boot? Jealousy and envy aside, lads, this honor could not have been bestowed on a finer group of guys.
Looking forward to touching base again in November when the WDRV Charity CD release parties happen, I consider myself fortunate to be one of your peers and hope to have the New Colony Six share the stage with y’all again soon. (Hey Jim – how ‘bout petitioning Mr. Duchossois to have us both kick off the 2011 Arlington Million weekend as we did a couple years ago?)
Thanks for your great music and heavy competition for airplay and chart position in the day and your friendship ever since. Blessings to you and yours; kudos from Berwyn and your countless fans, myself among ‘em, are truly well deserved.
Ray Graffia, Jr., New Colony Six
Kent,
I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed the Ides of March (and Jim Peterik's) music over the decades! When I was able to meet Jim and talk with him personally in 2006 (courtesy our own FH member Marlene) for awhile before their concert, the guy was just so nice and remembered all the obscure stuff I wanted to talk to him about in the 60's. It was so cool. The Ides deserve their own street in Chicago! They helped pave the way just as the Cryan' Shames, New Colony Six, Buckinghams, Mob, Styx, Chicago and so many others did in their own way! How about streets for them too!!
Clark Besch
Story has it, the guitar solo on the "hit" take version of Vehicle was damaged, but the recording people managed to splice in a previous take portion!!!
Thanks!
Best,
John
I hadn't heard that story before, but since Peterik has probably played that riff 40,000 times since, I wouldn't think it would have been all that big a deal to splice in a quick fix!
Meanwhile, intrigued by your story, I did find this ...
In the liner notes to the Limited Edition Rhino Handmade CD "The Ides Of March - Friendly Strangers: The Warner Brothers Recordings", Jim Peterik told Bill DeYoung that the "Vehicle" album was recorded at CBS Studios in Chicago, which had previously only been used for radio and television voice-over work.
"They didn't know rock 'n' roll from a hole in the wall," Peterik said. "They did a good job but it was a learning curve. We were all learning together.
"I remember that kind of feeling of experimentation. I also remember 14 seconds of the master of 'Vehicle" being erased! We were doing background vocals and suddenly 14 seconds were gone from the master! No way to retrieve it. The second engineer had hit the wrong button. We spent two hours thinking 'Our career is over!' because at this time we knew we had something.
"Luckily, there was a Take One. They inserted 14 seconds of Take One and I redid the vocals. And now I hear it every time. From the second 'Great God in heaven' all the way up to the guitar solo -- when you hear how abrupt that first note of the solo sounds - that's the edit. Actually, it sounds real cool!" (kk)
Enjoyed the post on the Ideas of March dedcation - Well done Kent!
As a pastor who loves the Beach Boys, I smiled when I read about the closing prayer ...
Phil@PrayForSurf.net
Kent,
Nice seeing the Ides of March receiving acclaim for their contribution to pop music. Jim Peterik should have a street named after him, too.
In the early 70's, promotion man Bob Destocky (sp?) and Frankie Rand begged me to add "Vehicle" to the WLS playlist. It would be the very last record that, as program director, I would make "Pick Hit of the Week" ... giving it airplay every hour for the first week.
I was on my way to Los Angeles to become president to Bill Drake's company but within a few weeks Vehicle was all over the airwaves in Los Angeles as well as Chicago and the nation. A great record ... and a great band.
John Rook
It truly is a rock classic ... how cool that this was your last Chicagoland "Pick Hit"!!! While Jim Peterik has certainly blazed his own path not only with The Ides Of March and with other ventures like Survivor, .38 Special, The World Stage and as a solo artist ... not to mention as a published songwriter (in more ways than one ... in addition to all the hits written for and recorded by the aforementioned artists, it was also Jim Peterik who wrote the "Songwriting For Dummies" book!!! lol) ... it says a lot that he would want to include his lifelong com padres in this honor ... friends and bandmates literally since grade school and STILL the way he chooses to spend his summer, making music with these life-long friends. That's a sign of loyalty and respect you don't often find amongst musicians, most of whom seem to spend their "after careers" trashing their former bandmates and partners. It also speaks volumes about his character as a person ... suffice to say he's one hell of a man. Thanks, John! (kk)
