The Ides of March

The Ides of March are best-known for their hard rock with horns sound of their 1970 hit “Vehicle.”  The song spent ten weeks on the charts and peaking at #2.  Suddenly, the Ides of March were stars across the U.S. and began sharing stages with Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, and the Grateful Dead.

The Ides of March formed in the Chicago suburb of Berwyn in 1964 with four friends who went to school together:  Jim Peterik (vocals and guitar), Larry Millas (vocals and guitar), Bob Bergland (vocals and bass), and Mike Borch (vocals and drums).  Originally called the Shon Dels, they released a single “Like It or Lump It” in 1965 on their own Epitome Records.  They changed their name after Bergland had read Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in an English class.

Due to the popularity of horn bands like Blood, Sweat, and Tears and Chicago on the rise, they added two trumpet players:  John Larson and Chuck Soumar.  They landed a record deal with Warner Bros. and released their first full-length album “Vehicle.”  Their second album “Common Bond” produced the hit “L.A. Goodbye” which rose to #73 on the Billboard charts.

Disappointing sales and a busy schedule led to the band’s breakup in 1973.  Jim Peterik went on to form the rock group Survivor and hit the charts with “Eye of the Tiger” (#1) and “The Search is Over” (#4).  He also wrote hits for .38 Special including “Hold On Loosely” (#27), “Rockin’ Into the Night” (#43), and Sammy Hagar’s “Heavy Metal.”

The Ides of March reunited in 1990 for Berwyn’s Summerfest where a crowd of 20,000 fans cheered their performance.  They began recording and releasing albums again with 1997’s “Age Before Beauty,” 2003’s live concert album “Beware! The Ides of March,” and 2010’s “Still 19.”  In 2019 they released “Play On” which featured guest appearances from Paul Shaffer, Joe Bonamassa, Mark Farner, and Bo Bice.

The Ides of March charted 7 singes and 1 album in their career and still continue to perform today.