In February, the Songwriters Hall of Fame announced their 2017 inductees and, among the honored, were the Chicago trio of Robert Lamm, James Pankow and Peter Cetera.
When the ceremony takes place tonight (June 15) in New York, Cetera will not only be absent but his name will not appear as an inductee.
It seems that the Songwriters Hall of Fame will not induct you unless you attend the ceremony (or you are dead); however, Cetera already had a concert tour scheduled when the date when the induction would take place.
I was honored to be, what I thought was, inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. And, ‘Oh yes, are you going to come to the event?’ And I said, ‘Well, when is it?’ And when they told me, ‘Two of the guys from Chicago and you are going to be there and we want to know if you can perform?’ And I said, ‘Wait a minute, it’s probably not a good idea.’ ‘And it’s right in the middle of when I’m going to be on the road, anyhow. I think I’m going to have to pass.
That’s when Peter found out the clause that said “no attendance – no induction”.
We talked to Cetera two weeks ago (listen below) and he made it pretty clear a couple of times that his priority was his fans; however, the previous situation with his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame also must be considered as part of the mix.
When the Rock Hall announced that Chicago would be inducted, there was some question as to how the members of the band and Cetera would handle their differences. Cetera offered to play 25 or 6 to 4 with the band saying they could “walk onstage together one last time as a group” but, in the end, both the members of Chicago and the Rock Hall declined the offer and Peter did not attend the ceremony.
The difference here, though, is the Rock Hall still put Peter in with the group.
The Songwriters Hall of Fame has offered to differ Cetera’s induction until next year so that he can attend but, so far, there is no confirmation that he will accept.
For the record, here is who will be inducted tonight with examples of their songs:
Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter
Umbrella
Crazy in Love
Baby Boy
Robert Lamm & James Pankow (Chicago)
25 or 6 to 4 (Lamm)
Saturday in the Park (Lamm)
Just You ‘N’ Me (Pankow)
Old Days (Pankow)
Kenneth “Babyface” Edmunds
We Belong Together
I’ll Make Love To You
The End of the Road
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
That’s the Way Love Goes
I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On
All For You
Max Martin
Shake It Off
California Gurls
Since U Been Gone
