Surrender – Cheap Trick | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#62); 1978
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
The origins of Cheap Trick date back the late 1960’s when guitarist Rick Nielsen and bassist Tom Peterson played together in the short-lived Fuse. After one album, Fuse fizzled.
The two musicians bounced back and forth between the US and Europe; performing in different aggregations. By 1974, the line-up – now known as Cheap Trick – consisted of Nielsen, Peterson, drummer Bun E. Carlos, and vocalist Robin Zander.
The foursome took to the road of grueling one nighters before securing a label deal and releasing a self-titled debut in 1977.
More touring followed; this time as openers for the likes of Queen and Kiss. CT’s sophomore effort, In Colour, fine-tuned the band’s melodic brand of quirky pop inspired by The Beatles and The Move. The third album – Heaven Tonight – was bigger and badder than In Colour.
The arena power-pop sound of Surrender, with its tale of a teen’s hipper-than-he-is parents, broke Cheap Trick onto Top 40 radio and laid the foundation for the band’s breakthrough single, I Want You To Want Me.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Tom Werman
Lyrics Written by:
- Rick Nielsen
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).