Peter Cetera

In 1968, Peter Cetera got married to Janice Sheely but their marriage ended in 1973.

In 1982, he married Diane Nini and they had a daughter, Claire, in 1983. Cetera and Nini separated and got divorced in 1991.

Peter Cetera’s second daughter, Senna, was born in 1997 with his the then girlfriend Blythe Weber.

Peter Cetera was born on 13 September 1944 in Morgan Park section of Chicago, Illinois. He is of Polish and Hungarian descent and his father was a machinist.

He has five siblings; one elder and four younger. His two brothers, Tim Cetera and Kenny Cetera, are also musicians and they collaborated with him on some of the recordings he made with his band Chicago, and also on some of his solo recordings.

Peter Cetera went to Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary for one year of high school, and then transferred to Mendel Catholic Prep High School from where he graduated in 1962.

He was interested in music ever since he was a child and once his parents bought him an accordion instead of a guitar. He began his musical journey by taking up electric bass and playing the local dance circuit with some high school friends, which included a drummer, guitarist and saxophone player.

He used to play in various groups in the Chicago area which included a popular local rock band by name ‘The Exceptions’. The band released many singles and an EP titled Rock ‘N’ Roll Mass.

Peter Cetera started his musical career with ‘The Exceptions’ but when he watched the band ‘The Big Thing’ performing he had a change of mind. Within two weeks, he left ‘The Exceptions’ to join ‘The Big Thing’. Soon ‘The Big Thing’ changed their name to ‘The Chicago Transit Authority’ and gradually shortened it to ‘Chicago’.

In 1969, ‘Chicago’ released their self-titled debut album ‘The Chicago Transit Authority’, on Columbia Records. The next album ‘Chicago’ helped the band to garner fame and popular status all over the world. Its song “25 or 6 to 4” became the first major hit single with Cetera singing lead vocals.

In the 1970s, Cetera contributed with many songs for the group like “Wishing You Were Here”, “Happy Man” in the album ‘Chicago VII’. His biggest singing and songwriting achievement came with the ballad “If You Leave Me Now” in 1976. It became the number one single in United States and was number one on charts worldwide.

The song was certified Gold and Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and also won Grammy Award for ‘Chicago’ in 1977.

In the late 1970s, disco music started to gain popularity due to which Chicago’s popularity started to decline. Cetera released his first solo album ‘Peter Cetera’ in 1981 which was considered to be a commercial flop.

Peter Cetera’s first single after splitting with the band was ‘Glory of Love’ which was used as the theme song in the film “The Karate Kid Part 2”. It was nominated for Grammy Award, Academy Award and Golden Globe Award.

In 1986, his second solo album ‘Solitude/Solitaire’ was released which had the song ‘Glory of Love’ in it. The album was successful as it sold more than million copies and was certified Gold and Platinum by the RIAA.

In 1988, he released his third solo album ‘One More Story’ after teaming up with producer Patrick Leonard. The album featured well-known artists like Bonnie Raitt, Richard Sterban, David Gilmour, Madonna and many more.

In 1989, he teamed up with Cher and recorded another duet “After All”. The song became a huge hit and reached number six on US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

In 1992, his album “World Falling Down” was released which featured Adult Contemporary number one hit “Restless Heart” as well as “Even a Fool Can see” and “Feels Like Heaven”.