"Hello There" is a song written by

Rick Nielsen Richard Alan Nielsen (born December 22, 1948) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist, primary songwriter, and leader of the rock band Cheap Trick. He is well-known for his numerous custom-made guitars from Hamer Guitars, incl ...

and first released on

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...

's 1977 album, '' In Color''. The song was also often used as the first song of Cheap Trick concerts, and as a result was the first song on the band's seminal live album ''

Cheap Trick at Budokan ''Cheap Trick at Budokan'' is the first live album by American rock band Cheap Trick, and their best-selling recording. It was first released in Japan on October 8, 1978, and later released in the United States on February 1979, through Epic Reco ...

''. "Hello There" is a frantic, energetic, raucous

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

song. As performed on ''In Color'', the song starts with Nielsen playing a frenzied, fuzzy guitar part for two and a half bars, then

Bun E. Carlos Brad M. Carlson, 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 ...

' strong drum beat appears, and finally

Tom Petersson Thomas John Peterson, better known as Tom Petersson, is an American musician who is best known for being the bass guitar player for the rock band Cheap Trick. Career Before joining Cheap Trick, Petersson played in a number of bands, including t ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

and

Robin Zander Robin Wayne Zander (born January 23, 1953) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Cheap Trick, but is also a solo artist. Zander was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 as a ...

's vocal join in. The entire song lasts 1 minute and 41 seconds.

Annie Zaleski Annie Zaleski is an American music journalist and author. Career Zaleski is a regular writer for mainstream media outlets such as The A.V. Club and NPR Music, and a columnist at ''Salon''. She is based in Cleveland, Ohio where she has won firs ...

of ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' described it as having "razor-edge riffs, a frenzied drum solo and ragged exhortations of 'Would you like to do a number with me?'" Cheap Trick also released the song on its compilation albums ''

Sex, America, Cheap Trick ''Sex, America, Cheap Trick'' is a 1996 box set by the rock band Cheap Trick. It includes 17 previously unreleased songs (among them the earliest studio recording of the 1979 hit "I Want You to Want Me"), as well as the band's biggest hits. A co ...

'' and ''

The Essential Cheap Trick ''The Essential Cheap Trick'' is the fourth compilation album by Cheap Trick and part of Sony BMG's ''The Essential'' series. It contains at least one song from every album up to '' Special One'' (including ''Silver''), except the commercial fai ...

''. A live video of Cheap Trick performing "Hello There" at the Budokan concert was shown on the DVD included with the 30th anniversary collector's edition release of ''Cheap Trick at Budokan'' album. Critic

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of ''Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone (magazine), ...

of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' detected echoes in the song of the "manic verve" of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' song "

Birthday A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person, or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage. Many relig ...

". Ed Masley of ''

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...

'' described "Hello There" as "Cheap Trick's ' Helter Skelter.'"

Denise Sullivan Denise Sullivan is an American music journalist, cultural worker and reporter, author of several music biographies including the critically acclaimed music-history book, ''Keep on Pushing: Black Power Music from Blues to Hip-hop'', and editor of t ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

describes the song as being "all about the good-time/partying spirit, asking the proverbial question, 'Are you ready to rock? John M. Borack listed the song one of 20 Cheap Trick songs to die for and said of the song that "it's quick, it's kick ass and it's a perfect set opener." Zaleski rated it as the #8 all-time Cheap Trick song and described the live version from ''Cheap Trick at Budokan'' as "the sound of a band exploding into its own" and "that it "perfectly captures the band’s transformation from a cult act into rock superstars." ''Classic Rock History'' critic Michael Quinn rated it Cheap Trick's 9th best song, calling it a "catchy little rock tune" that is "a great teaser" to open shows with. Nielsen has stated that he wrote the song because in its early days the band did not always get a

soundcheck A sound check is the preparation that takes place before a concert, speech, or similar performance to adjust the sound on the venue's sound reinforcement or public address system. The performer and the audio engineers run through a small port ...

before it played live. Rather than use one of their more melodic songs to experiment with the sound coming out of the

PA system A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...

, they could use this song, which Nielsen called a "perfect welcome to the show intro piece." Nielsen said he got the idea for such an intro song from an earlier band,

Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, at various times also known as "Velvet Opera", was a British rock band active in the late 1960s. Members of the band, Richard Hudson, John Ford and Paul Brett, would later become members of The Strawbs, Hudson For ...

. "Hello There" replaced " ELO Kiddies" as Cheap Trick's live opening song. It was the band's typical live opener from 1977 through the mid-1980s. Music critic Bryan Wawzenek described it as "the best concert opener in rock and roll." "Hello There" was covered by

Foetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal develo ...

on their 1996 album ''

Boil A boil, also called a furuncle, is a deep folliculitis, which is an infection of the hair follicle. It is most commonly caused by infection by the bacterium ''Staphylococcus aureus'', resulting in a painful swollen area on the skin caused by an ...

''. It was also covered by Phil Lewis in 2000. Cheap Trick's version was also included on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

to the

Matt Dillon Matthew Raymond Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including an Oscar and Grammy nomination. Dillon made his feature film debut in '' Over the Edge'' (1979) and established himself as a te ...

film '' Over the Edge'', along with the Cheap Trick songs "

Surrender Surrender may refer to: * Surrender (law), the early relinquishment of a tenancy * Surrender (military), the relinquishment of territory, combatants, facilities, or armaments to another power Film and television * ''Surrender'' (1927 film), an ...

", "Downed" and "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace." A version of "Hello There" that was recorded by the band in 1997 is also included in the music video game '' Rock Band 2'' as a playable track.

"Goodnight Now"

Nielsen wrote a companion song to "Hello There" called "Goodnight Now." "Goodnight Now" basically reworks "Hello There" and was used by the band to end their main set, or the entire show, for many years. Critic John Serba rates "Goodnight Now" as being one of his favorite Cheap Trick songs for being such a "blatantly obvious set closer" that makes you want to stay for more even as it closes the show. The song appears on ''Cheap Trick at Budokan'' as the next to last song, before the encore "

Clock Strikes Ten "Clock Strikes Ten" is a song released in 1977 by Cheap Trick on their second album, '' In Color''. It was written by Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen. It was released as a single in Japan, where it was a major hit and reached No. 1 on at least ...

". At the actual concert from which the album was recorded, "

Ain't That a Shame "Ain't That a Shame" is a song written by Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew. Domino's recording of the song, originally stated as "Ain't It a Shame", released by Imperial Records in 1955, was a hit, eventually selling a million copies. It reached n ...

" was played as part of the encore, after "Goodnight Now" and before "Clock Strikes Ten", but the original album release of ''Live at Budokan'' moved "Ain't That a Shame" out of sequence to open side 2. In the Netherlands, "Goodnight Now" was released as the B-side of the top 10 single "

References

{{authority control 1977 songs Cheap Trick songs Songs written by Rick Nielsen Foetus (band) songs Song recordings produced by Tom Werman American hard rock songs