The Ides Of March

Although the Ides of March earned widespread attention for the rugged "hard rock with horns" approach that defined their 1970 chart success "Vehicle," this represented merely one aspect of their broader recorded history. During the mid-1960s the quartet delivered British Invasion-flavored garage rock laced with folk elements across several 45s that later appeared on Sundazed Records' Ideology 1965-1968 compilation. Their early-1970s Warner Bros. releases Vehicle and Common Bond incorporated psychedelic and progressive elements alongside the brass-driven numbers that first brought notice. By contrast, the RCA Victor sets World Woven and Midnight Oil leaned into soft rock and country rock textures while reducing the horn presence. Upon resuming studio work in the 1990s following an extended hiatus, the group strengthened the guitar attack and embraced contemporary hard rock frameworks on Still 19 and Play On, retaining brass primarily for accent and force. Despite frequent stylistic shifts across decades, the four founding members have guided the band throughout a career now spanning six decades and remaining active into the 2010s.

The quartet's saga opened in 1964 when four schoolmates from the Chicago suburb of Berwyn, Illinois decided to start a group. Fronted by Jim Peterik on vocals and guitar, with Larry Millas handling guitar and vocals, Bob Bergland on bass and vocals, and Mike Borch at the drums and vocals, they initially performed as the Shon Dels and issued the 1965 single "Like It or Lump It" b/w "No Two Ways About It" on their own Epitome Records imprint. Their sound blended garage rock with strong British Invasion leanings and a touch of folk rock. In 1966, after Bergland encountered Shakespeare's Julius Caesar during English class, they adopted the name the Ides of March. Popularity increased under the new moniker, prompting a second single, "You Wouldn't Listen" b/w "I'll Keep Searching," on the regional Harlequin Records label that same year. Local Chicago airplay followed, leading Parrot to sign the band and reissue the 45 nationally. The A-side climbed to number five on Chicago charts and reached a national peak of 42, just outside the Top 40. Their next Parrot release, "Roller Coaster" b/w "Things Aren't Always What They Seem," arrived months later and hit number 14 in Chicago without charting nationally. Three additional Parrot singles appeared—"You Need Love" b/w "Sha-La-La-Lee" in 1966 and "My Foolish Pride" b/w "Give Your Mind Wings" plus "Hole in My Soul" b/w "Girls Don't Grow on Trees" in 1967—yet sustained national sales proved elusive, prompting a split from the label.

Kapp Records issued the next single in 1968, the atmospheric pop track "Nobody Loves Me" backed by the semi-psychedelic "Strawberry Sunday." Though it proved both their first and final release for the label, the A-side foreshadowed later developments by featuring trumpet. Later that year, as horn-driven acts such as Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago gained traction, the Ides added trumpet players John Larson and Chuck Soumar. Bob Bergland began alternating between bass and saxophone, Larry Millas took on keyboards, guitar, and bass duties, and recent arrival Ray Herr contributed vocals, guitar, and bass. This expanded lineup secured a Warner Bros. deal, resulting in the early-1970 debut album Vehicle. Its title track became a major single, logging ten weeks on the charts and peaking at number two. Overnight the Ides of March found themselves headlining across the country alongside Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, and the Grateful Dead. They quickly followed with Common Bond in 1971. Ray Herr had departed by then (later recording as Ray Scott with a country orientation), and while "Superman" was issued as a single evoking "Vehicle," greater traction came with "L.A. Goodbye," which shifted emphasis away from horns toward an L.A. soft-rock sensibility.

Although "L.A. Goodbye" received solid radio support, Common Bond yielded no comparable blockbuster, and Warner Bros. ended the relationship. The band soon signed with RCA Victor and delivered World Woven in 1972. Arrangements further de-emphasized horns, melodies grew more direct, and keyboardist David Arellano joined. The revised direction attracted limited new listeners, so the group explored country rock more deeply on 1973's Midnight Oil, also on RCA. Disappointing sales and the demands of constant touring eroded morale; after a November 1973 concert in Berwyn the Ides of March disbanded. Jim Peterik subsequently formed Survivor, scoring hits with "Eye of the Tiger" and "The Search Is Over," and built a songwriting career that included co-writing ".38 Special's "Hold on Loosely" and "Rockin' Into the Night" as well as Sammy Hagar's "Heavy Metal."

In 1990 organizers of Berwyn's annual Summerfest invited the original members to reunite for that year's headline performance. Jim Peterik, Larry Millas, Bob Bergland, Mike Borch, John Larson, and Chuck Soumar accepted, augmented by Dave Stahlberg on trombone. A crowd of 20,000 responded enthusiastically, prompting the Ides to continue as a working unit with keyboardist Scott May added for live dates. They issued the cassette-only EP Beware the Ides of March in 1991 and followed in 1992 with Ideology, mixing new material and updated versions of earlier songs. Age Before Beauty, another EP, appeared in 1997, while Sundazed Records released the pre-Warner Bros. anthology Ideology 1965-1968. Rhino Handmade later issued the limited-edition two-disc set Friendly Strangers: The Warner Bros. Recordings in 2003. The 2003 concert document Beware! The Ides of March Live captured a contemporary show, and American Idol contestant Bo Bice's 2005 performances of "Vehicle" sparked renewed interest in the original recording. A 2008 appearance on the PBS series Soundstage preceded the 2010 release of Still 19, their first collection of new studio material since Midnight Oil.

Original horn players John Larson and Chuck Soumar exited in 2011 (Larson, who had been battling cancer, passed away later that year); trumpeter Tim Bales joined the same year, and Steve Eisen became the full-time saxophonist in 2012. Also in 2012 the archival release The Lost Tapes, Vol. One surfaced, drawn from a rediscovered 1972 Michigan concert recording. A larger retrospective arrived in 2015 when Last Band Standing compiled the majority of the band's output from 1965 to 2010 across four CDs accompanied by a DVD of a 2014 performance. Dave Stahlberg departed that year, with Henry Salgado assuming trombone duties. The Ides returned to Soundstage in 2016 for a Midwest garage rock program that also included the Shadows of Knight, the New Colony Six, the Buckinghams, the Cryan' Shames, and the McCoys. Amid ongoing live commitments they returned to the studio, issuing Play On in 2019 to mark their 55th anniversary and featuring guest contributions from Paul Shaffer, Joe Bonamassa, Mark Farner, and Bo Bice.