Bun E. Carlos

Brad Carlson (born June 12, 1950), better known by the stage name Bun E. Carlos, is the original drummer for American rock band Cheap Trick. He recorded and performed with the band from 1973 to 2010. Carlos was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 as a member of Cheap Trick.

Early life Carlson was born in Rockford, Illinois in 1951 or 1953. to Edwin and Violet ( Nelles) Carlson. Carlson is the third of six children. He has two older siblings (Kurt and Jan) and three younger ones (Mark, Gini, and Edwin).

Carlson attended Lincoln Junior High School and graduated from Guilford High School, where his fellow students included Rick Nielsen and Tom Petersson. Carlson's friendship with Nielsen began in 1963. Efn|Carlson did not learn about his grandfather's drumming until after he began taking drum lessons. He says learning that someone in the family had once been a drummer helped to encourage him.

Carlson did not start paying attention to music until about 1962 or 1963, when songs like "The Twist," "Return to Sender" and "Sugar Shack" became chart toppers. He initially taught himself to play piano, Carlson gave up formal lessons and instead taught himself to play the drums by playing along with songs on the radio or jukebox.

Early musical career From 1966 to 1968, Carlson played drums in a band called The Pagans with several other high school friends. Following the breakup of The Pagans in 1968, Carlson joined another local band, Probe and the Lost Souls, which later changed its name to Albatross in 1969.

In 1974, Carlos and Nielsen asked Zander to sing for Cheap Trick.

The band began work on its debut album at the Record Plant recording studio in New York City in November 1976. The record, titled Cheap Trick (1977), failed to chart. The album's liner notes and Epic's promotional advertising made the tongue-in-cheek claims that "Bunezuela E. Carlos" was from Venezuela, that his parents helped build the Panama Canal, and that he abandoned his family to come play rock music in America.

The band's second album, In Color, was released later in 1977. When Cheap Trick toured in Japan for the first time in April 1978, they were received with a frenzy reminiscent of Beatlemania. Cheap Trick at Budokan launched the band into international stardom, and the album went triple platinum in the United States. The first single from the album was the live version of "I Want You to Want Me", which had originally been released on In Color. It reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Following a decline in popularity in the early-to-mid-1980s, Cheap Trick released Lap of Luxury in 1988. "The Flame", a ballad, was issued as the first single from the album and became the band's first-ever No. 1 hit. Lap of Luxury went platinum

Carlos suffered from back problems for several years. He had surgery in 2004, Efn|In an interview, Carlos said the surgery was in 2001. Carlos claimed to want to do 100 shows, and Zander only 50.

In 2012, seeking at least $600,000 ($ in dollars) in back income and damages as well as restoration of his decision-making input and voting rights.

In April 2014, Nielsen, Petersson, and Zander filed a motion to dismiss Carlos's case; the motion was denied. Carlos told Andy Greene of Rolling Stone that the settlement resolved issues with monetary payments, business participation, and voting rights. The lawsuit ended his personal relationship with Nielsen, Petersson, and Zander, however. He told Green, "ny friendship we had went away when I had to file a federal lawsuit[...] Going after these guys wasn't pleasant. The friendship sort of frittered away there." He also made or assisted in making recordings of all the band's concerts, and remained the band's archivist and setlister after the lawsuit. Between 2000 and 2002, Carlos released four volumes of Bun E.'s Basement Bootlegs.

Carlos appeared with Cheap Trick on April 4, 2016, when the band was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Nielsen was reportedly excited to play alongside his original bandmate, saying, "they are inducting the people who made the records way back when and that's good. He deserves it." The Hall of Fame live setlist included: "I Want You to Want Me", "Dream Police", and "Surrender". In his induction speech, Carlos thanked his family, his bandmates, CBS Records, his drum techs, his managers, and producers Tom Werman and Sir George Martin.

Tinted Windows, Candy Golde, and solo work Carlos is a long-time member of the group First Airborne Rock 'n' Roll Division. The group includes members of The Doobie Brothers, Kansas, Little River Band, Pablo Cruise, and Toto. First Airborne performs at USO-sponsored concerts at U.S. armed forces bases overseas.

On June 24, 2016, Carlos issued his first-ever solo album, Greetings from Bunezuela! featuring performances by Hanson, Alex Dezen and Dave Pirner.