Little Caesar

Little Caesar is a hard rock band from Los Angeles, United States, active from 1987 to the present. The group forms around vocalist Ron Young, who had previously worked as a nightclub bouncer, and later includes musicians such as Earl Slick and Joey Brasler among its line-up.

Early releases and major label signing

The band first appears with an independently released EP and a track, “Down to the Wire”, on the 1989 Metal Blade compilation Street Survivors. That exposure leads to a deal with DGC Records, a Geffen subsidiary, in 1989. John Kalodner handles A&R for the group, and Bob Rock produces the debut album.

Debut album and chart success

Little Caesar’s self-titled debut album is released in 1990 and receives positive reviews. The band is best known for its version of “Chain of Fools”, a cover of the Aretha Franklin song, which becomes a hit single from the album. “In Your Arms” is another single from the record, and the album reaches number 139 on the US Billboard 200. The group also struggles for MTV exposure at the time, in part because of its image.

Line-up changes and early 1990s

The follow-up album, Influence, appears in 1992 on DGC/Geffen. By then guitarist Apache has left and Earl Slick has joined. Bob Rock and John Kalodner are no longer involved. When Influence does not match the success of the debut, the band disbands. Little Caesar is among the hard rock and metal acts affected by the rise of alternative rock in the early 1990s.

Later activity

Ron Young later sings with The Four Horsemen, Manic Eden and Dirt. Little Caesar reunites for live shows in 2001 and returns with the album Redemption in 2009. Joey Brasler joins on guitar after previously working with Etta James, Bob Welch and Cherie Currie. The band then tours in the US, Europe and the UK during 2010 and 2011, and releases American Dream on Unison Music Group in 2012, produced by Bruce Witkin.

Subsequent releases

The band’s studio albums also include This Time It’s Different (1998) and Eight (2018). The group continues to perform and record as a US hard rock band.

Other notable appearance

Ron Young makes a brief cameo in James Cameron’s Terminator 2, playing a biker thrown through a bar window by Arnold Schwarzenegger.