Chad Robert Kroeger (, Turton; born November 15, 1974) is a Canadian musician who is best known for being the lead singer, lead guitarist, primary songwriter, and founding member of the rock band

Nickelback Nickelback is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta, Hanna, Alberta. Throughout its history, it has consisted of lead guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, rhythm guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan ...

. In addition to his work with Nickelback, Kroeger has been involved with a variety of collaborations, appearing as a guest musician in several songs and has contributed in both production and songwriting. He has co-written several songs for other artists and films.

Early life

Kroeger was born Chad Robert Turton in

Hanna, Alberta Hanna is a town in Central Alberta, Canada, approximately 57 km northeast of the town of Drumheller. It is surrounded by Special Area No. 2 and the district office of the Alberta government's Special Areas administration is located in Hann ...

, on November 15, 1974. His maternal grandfather, politician Henry Kroeger, was born in Rosenthal, Chortitza Colony,

Yekaterinoslav Governorate Yekaterinoslav Governorate} was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Yekaterinoslav. Covering an area of , and being composed of a inhabitant of 2,113,674 by the census of 1897, it bordere ...

(now

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

) to a

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

family of Prussian descent. After his father left the family when he was two, he started going by his mother's maiden name of Kroeger. He learned to play the guitar at age 13. His youth was sometimes troubled, and he was sent to juvenile detention for breaking into his junior high school.

Career

Nickelback

In the early 1990s, Kroeger was part of a

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

cover band, Village Idiot, with his cousin Brandon Kroeger and future Nickelback members bassist Mike Kroeger (his half-brother) and singer Ryan Peake. In 1995, Kroeger, Peake, Mike, and then-drummer Brandon Kroeger, formed the band

. Kroeger has continued to record and tour with this band for more than 25 years.

The Suits XL

In 2001, Kroeger founded the band The Suits XL. Band members included Sam Loubier-Demers and Yohann Gosselin on vocals and guitars, drummer Patrick Paquet, keyboardist Felix-Antoine Berube and singer Oliver Roy de Belleval. The next year, he co-founded the

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

-based 604 Records. Later, in 2006, The Suits XL released an album through this label. The next year the band was nominated for a Canadian Indie Award.

Collaborations

upKroeger in 2005 Kroeger produced music for the bands Default, Theory of a Deadman, and Bo Bice. Kroeger, along with

Saliva Saliva (commonly referred as spit or drool) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which ...

vocalist Josey Scott, Theory of a Deadman lead vocalist (serving as guitarist for this track) Tyler Connolly and

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

drummer Matt Cameron, performed the theme song titled "

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

" for the hit movie ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

'' in 2002. Also in 2002, Kroeger wrote and sang on " Why Don't You & I" for

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer * Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp ** Santana 20 ** Santan ...

's ''

Shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

''. However, when Arista decided to release the song as a single in Summer 2003, Kroeger's label, Roadrunner, refused permission, citing concerns that Kroeger appearing on a "high-profile single" would compromise the excitement over Nickelback's fall 2003 release '' The Long Road''. Kroeger recommended The Calling's

Alex Band Alex Band (born June 8, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the vocalist for the Los Angeles-based rock music, rock band The Calling (band), the Calling. He performed their hit song "Wherever You Wil ...

, another Arista artist, as a replacement for re-recording the single. In 2003, Kroeger won an International Achievement Award for the song "Hero" at the SOCAN Awards in Toronto. In 2007, Chad Kroeger worked with Santana for a second time, when he co-wrote and recorded guitar and vocals parts for a new song meant to appear on the compilation album '' Ultimate Santana''. The track is called " Into the Night" and was released as a single on October 2, 2007. The album '' Ultimate Santana'' was released in October. Besides working with Santana, Kroeger also recorded with Travis Tritt on his album '' The Storm'', where Tritt did a cover of Nickelback's "Should've Listened" track from '' The Long Road''. Kroeger also wrote and played guitar on Bo Bice's '' You're Everything''. Chad Kroeger, Eric Dill, Rune Westberg and Chris Daughtry wrote the debut single of Daughtry's new album. The single, titled " No Surprise", was debuted on

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

Wednesday, May 6, 2009. Kroeger also contributed writing to another song from the album titled "Life After You." He and Brett James co-wrote Tim McGraw's 2009 single " It's a Business Doing Pleasure with You." Kroeger featured on the

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...

album Shock Value 2 with the song "Tomorrow in the Bottle", which also features Sebastian. In 2010, he provided guest vocals, along with

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...

and guest lead guitarist Zakk Wylde, on the My Darkest Days single " Porn Star Dancing". In 2011, Kroeger was featured on the Steel Panther album '' Balls Out'' with the song "It Won't Suck Itself." In early 2012, it was confirmed that Kroeger was working with

French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...

pop rock singer

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. List of awa ...

on her fifth studio album.

Personal life

In 2008, Kroeger was convicted of drunk driving in a

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

court after he was stopped for speeding in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. Kroeger started dating Canadian singer

on July 1, 2012. The relationship started after they began working together in March 2012 to write and record music for Lavigne's fifth album. Kroeger and Lavigne became engaged in August 2012. They married in the south of France on July 1, 2013, which is

Canada Day Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada. A Public holidays in Canada, federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the B ...

. Lavigne and Kroeger honeymooned in Portofino, Italy. In September 2014, the entertainment media began reporting that Lavigne and Kroeger were headed for separation after a year of marriage. On September 2, 2015, Lavigne announced their separation via her official

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account. In 2015, the second leg of the band's North American tour had to be cancelled so Kroeger could have surgery for a cyst on his larynx. The entire leg of the European tour was cancelled as well.

Discography

Singles

As featured artist

Other appearances

References

External links

604 Records
official site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kroeger, Chad 1974 births Living people 20th-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian singers Canadian people of German-Russian descent Alternative rock guitarists Canadian alternative rock singers Canadian heavy metal guitarists Canadian heavy metal singers Canadian rock singers Canadian rock guitarists Canadian male guitarists Singers from Alberta Nickelback members People from Hanna, Alberta Canadian Mennonites Mennonite musicians Juno Award for Songwriter of the Year winners Avril Lavigne 21st-century Canadian guitarists