Jim Peterik of Survivor’s First Band, the Ides of March, Celebrate 50 Years with Box Set

Prior to launching Survivor in 1978, songwriter-guitarist Jim Peterik fronted the Ides of March, whose biggest hit was 1970's No.2 smash, "Vehicle." Now, their work has been compiled in a new five-disc set, Last Band Standing – The Definitive 50-Year Anniversary Collection.

The box contains the four albums they released between 1970 and 1973, Vehicle, Common Bond, World Woven and Midnight Oil. Also included are early singles such as "You Wouldn't Listen" and "Like It or Lump It," which was recorded in 1965 as the Shon-Dels, random tracks recorded since they reformed in the '90s and three new songs.

The fifth disc is a live DVD recorded in 2014 at the House of Blues in their native Chicago. It contains songs from throughout their career, as well as re-arranged version of Peterik's Survivor songs and hits that he wrote with 38 Special and Sammy Hagar. Filling out the DVD are interviews and archival TV performances.

While the band is best-known for the brassy "Vehicle," the Ides of March went through a series of musical styles in their brief, original incarnation. As Peterik told ABC News Radio, "There is a certain friendly sound...that The Ides have. It's a very positive sound. I think no matter whether it was our horn period or British Invasion period or our Crosby, Stills & Nash period, it's still the same personalities that carry through all the way to the present. It's just [what] we call the Ides of March spirit."

Last Band Standing – The Definitive 50-Year Anniversary Collection can be purchased from the band's website.

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