Drummer for the popular 1970s rock band Cheap Trick, Bun E. Carlos was not your typical rock star. Stocky, short-haired and bespectacled, he was the antithesis of the band's big-haired, teen-heartthrob frontmen, guitarist/vocalist Robin Zander and bassist Tom Petersson, and their weirdly flamboyant lead guitarist/chief songwriter, Rick Nielsen. He certainly didn't seem to fit the mold in an era where drummers such as The Who's Keith Moon and Led Zeppelin's John Bonham were the very personification of the rock star lifestyle. With a cigarette perpetually dangling from his lip, Bun looked less like a rock star and more like, well, your dad, or maybe your shop teacher.
But the guy could really drum. Driving the band's hook-laden, pop-rock numbers, Bun's drumming is a model of precision and efficiency. Check out his solo on "Ain’t That A Shame" from the classic live album "At Budokan."
Bun quit smoking in the 1990s, losing the dangling cigarette that had been his trademark. In addition to his continued work with Cheap Trick and other artists, Bun is also the purveyor of coffee beans known as the Bun E. Carlos Blend.