Heaven Tonight

Album: Heaven Tonight (1978)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The title track to Cheap Trick's second album, "Heaven Tonight" is "a dark song about overdosing," according to Tom Werman, who produced the album. It's a dirge-like song where lead singer Robin Zander takes the voice of temptation, asking, "Would you like to go to heaven tonight?" The song is a warning not to give in.
  • "Heaven Tonight" was written by Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen and bass player Tom Petersson. Nielsen used an electric mandocello on the track, which is like a baritone mandolin. He used an acoustic version of the instrument on an earlier Cheap Trick song, appropriately titled "Mandocello."
  • The big hit from the album was "Surrender," but it wasn't very big, topping out at #62 in 1978. But then Cheap Trick went to Japan and played two shows at the Budokan temple that they packaged into a live album released in America in 1979 as At Budokan. The live version of "I Want You To Want Me" blew up, igniting interest in the band and bumping sales of the Heaven Tonight album, which went on to sell over a million copies in America.
  • Tom Werman, who also produced Ted Nugent and Molly Hatchet around this time, says that this is one of the few songs he worked on where the lyrics influenced his production style. "You would want to have an eerie, depressing, foreboding feel to the music, and we did that," Werman explained to Songfacts. "Some of the vocal lines, it would get loud and it would get very quiet."

Comments: 1

  • Steve from Harbor City, CaThis song was also the "B-side" for the 1979 single "Dream Police", where it included a brief keyboard intro that doesn't appear on the album version.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

Artis the Spoonman

Artis the SpoonmanSong Writing

Even before Soundgarden wrote a song about him, Artis was the most famous spoon player of all time. So why has he always been broke?

Christopher Cross

Christopher CrossSongwriter Interviews

The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song Titles

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song TitlesMusic Quiz

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have some rather unusual song titles - see if you can spot the real ones.

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.