Rick Nielsen Was ‘Verklempt’ After Hearing About Cheap Trick’s Rock Hall Induction

Cheap Trick wanted the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to want them — and now that they're in, guitarist Rick Nielsen admits the feeling is pretty sweet.

"I'm verklempt. I don't know what to say. It's very exciting," Nielsen told Rolling Stone. "I was prepared to not get it and say, 'Oh, well, better luck next time.' When I was with Dave Clark, he told me all about what happened with him and how Tom Hanks inducted them. He said, "I voted for you five times." That was pretty funny. A bunch of other people told me they voted for us, like Little Steven. I find out now I had more friends than I thought I did."

The question on many Cheap Trick fans' minds is whether estranged drummer Bun E. Carlos will perform with the current lineup at the induction ceremony next April — a subject on which Nielsen seemed to remain cautiously non-committal. "I'm sure he'll be invited. Do I know if he will? I don't know. Why not?"

As Nielsen went on to point out, the band has performed with two drummers before, and could very well do so again. "When we got signed originally to Epic in 1976, Bun had broken his arm and we had two drummers. We were signed with two drummers," he said. "Bun E. had his arm in a sling and there was Hank Ransome. We got signed as a five-piece band. It was funny because Columbia had come to see us, and the night they came, Bun fell and broke his arm. The night they signed us we had two drummers, so why not have two drummers? How about that?"

Informed that Cheap Trick will be ushered into the Hall alongside Chicago, Deep Purple, the Steve Miller Band and N.W.A, Nielsen revealed himself to be a fan of all of his fellow freshman inductees — and came up with what seems like a pretty solid idea for a set-closing all-star jam number at the ceremony.

"Well, how about Deep Purple doing 'I Want You to Want Me' with Chicago's horns and Steve Miller doing the solo and N.W.A turning it into the "Walk This Way" Aerosmith combo?" Nielsen proposed. "Everyone in the world knows that song."

Looking toward the future, Nielsen pledged that the band members are "too dumb to quit" — something they'll get another chance to prove when they return with a new album, Bang Zoom Crazy ... Hello, on April 1, 2016. Issued via Cheap Trick's new deal with Big Machine Records — home to Taylor Swift and Steven Tyler — the new record serves as a reminder that, as label president Scott Borchetta put it in a press release, "they play every night with as much conviction as their first power-pop-punk club shows from the mid-'70s."

"We can't thank the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame enough for honoring Cheap Trick," added bassist Tom Petersson. "Thanks to all the fans who have supported us for all these years and to the Hall of Fame members who cast their votes. We are excited and honored."

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