Chances are, you’ve heard a Peter Cetera song at a wedding or two. Or a christening. Or bachelorette party.

There’s “The Glory of Love” and “Feels Like Heaven.” And don’t forget “You’re My Inspiration.”

An original member of the band Chicago, Cetera has crafted a solo career of anthems to the human spirit. He brings his three-decade songbook to the Pikes Peak Center Monday.

Over the years, the two-time Grammy nominee has become synonymous with romance with five No. 1 hit singles and songs featured in popular films, including “Pretty Woman,” “Chances Are” and “Three Men and a Baby.”

Here, Cetera talks about his solo career, his symphony tour and what it takes to keep on creating.

The Gazette: You’ve created some pretty iconic songs. Once you hit that kind of success, what motivates you to keep creating?

Peter Cetera: People keep talking about it. They remember the songs and tell me where they were when they heard them. Whether it’s something at a wedding or a graduation, they know it well. Doing the shows is still fun for me, too. I get a good group, there’s a mixture of young and old. The older ones have lived through it and the younger ones are discovering it.

Gazette: You’ve had real highs in your solo pursuits outside of Chicago. What was the biggest challenge when you went out on your own?

Cetera: It’s probably those times when somebody still associates me with Chicago. That’s true for a lot of people who go solo. It’s always hard to break out of that. Even today, there are those who don’t know I’m not in the band, but I wanted to move on musically. Leaving the band was a lot like a divorce. I just had to keep going. 

Gazette: Tell me about you symphony tour. It sounds like a pretty creative endeavor.

Cetera: I do a couple different types of shows. One is an unplugged show with a 5-piece group and then I do an electric show with my band, The Bad Daddies. We’ve worked with symphonies all over. And I play a lot of the songs people want to hear, some hits from Chicago, too.  

Gazette: Who are you listening to these days?

Cetera: Honestly? (Laughs.) I listen to a lot of Sports talk radio. But when it comes to music, I do what I’ve always done which is a little bit of this and a little bit of that. And then I listen to some of the more contemporary songs when I get bored. A good musician friend told me when I was starting out to pay attention to everything, stuff you like and stuff you don’t like. I think that’s always been what I try to do.

Gazette: What does Colorado Springs have to look forward to with your upcoming concert?

Cetera: I think some of it is that it’s really me. What I mean by that is that I hear people talking a lot about going to see a particular group sing and once they get there, it’s a different lead singer or the songs are different. This isn’t one of those concerts. This is really me really singing all the favorites.

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