Biography
Born in the rural hamlet of Hanna, Alberta, on November 15, 1974, Chad Kroeger rose to prominence at the millennium’s turn as Nickelback’s frontman and guitarist, fronting the polarizing post-grunge outfit. At thirteen he picked up the guitar without lessons, yet the next year his repeated break-ins at junior high—aimed at pilfering cash—landed him briefly in juvenile detention, an episode later referenced in the band’s 2005 single “Photograph.” Once freed, he completed high school and, in the early nineties, toured as lead guitarist in a cover group alongside his older half-brother Mike Kroeger and friend Ryan Peake. When that ensemble dissolved, Kroeger persuaded acquaintances to lay down several original compositions in a studio session that planted Nickelback’s foundation. The resulting seven-track demo and subsequent self-released album earned steady spins on Canadian radio, prompting the group’s move from Hanna to Vancouver and eventual North American breakthrough via the 2001 chart-topper “How You Remind Me.” Kroeger penned the majority of the band’s words; beginning with their third album, Silver Side Up, he adopted a more straightforward lyrical approach that addressed failed relationships and the resentment tied to an absent father. As Nickelback ascended alongside contemporaries 3 Doors Down, Creed, and Puddle of Mudd, Kroeger pursued outside projects, among them the 2002 soundtrack single “Hero” recorded with Saliva’s Josey Scott for Spider-Man. He also contributed “Why Don’t You and I” to Carlos Santana’s Shaman and joined Kid Rock and Dimebag Darrell for a cover of Elton John’s “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)” on the Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle soundtrack. Owning a Vancouver studio, Kroeger produced tracks for Default, Theory of a Deadman, and Bo Bice while co-launching 604 Records in 2002. Nickelback maintained commercial dominance, placing five consecutive studio albums—The Long Road (2003), All the Right Reasons (2005), Dark Horse (2008), Here and Now (2011), and No Fixed Address (2014)—inside the top ten on both sides of the border. During the same span Kroeger appeared on releases by Timbaland, My Darkest Days, and Steel Panther, and supplied songs for Bo Bice, Tommy Lee’s 2005 cut “Tryin to Be Me,” Santana, Daughtry’s 2009 singles “No Surprise” and “Life After You,” Tim McGraw’s 2009 track “It’s a Business Doing Pleasure with You,” Crystal Bowersox, Bucky Covington, and Avril Lavigne. Collaboration on Lavigne’s self-titled 2013 album sparked a romance; the pair wed on Canada Day that year, only to announce their separation in 2015—the same year Kroeger underwent throat surgery to excise a cyst, forcing Nickelback to cancel North American and European dates.
Singles
