Archer had an end zone view to Bears glory

Bill Archer had an end zone view during the glory days of the Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears. This weekend, family and friends will bear down to celebrate his life.

Archer was the leader and drummer Bill Archer’s Big Bear Band, a fixture in the Soldier Field’s South end zone from 1985 to 1992.

Archer, who recently lived in Rolling Meadows, passed away from heart-related issues Sept. 7 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital at 71. The celebration of his life will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Parkview Community Church, 764 St. Charles Road, Glen Ellyn.

In later years, Archer was leader of the Big Fun Band that backed up the Blues Brothers tribute band that featuring Lance Haack and Fred Bevier. And was musical director for the Chicago Bulls, preparing the soundtrack of home games.

Archer, who was president of Rolling Meadows-based Archer Enterprises, also served as executive producer for Vernon Hills Days, providing the entertainment and supervising sound and lighting.

Archer’s musical journey began in the 1970s as a freelance drummer, working gigs in nightclubs, casinos and hotels, as well as bowling alleys and restaurants.

He began leading the band at Bears games in 1985. Archer’s niece Lindsay Galvan said the version of “Bear Down, Chicago Bears” played each time there is a touchdown at Soldier Field is Archer’s recorded version. One can also hear it in the parking areas of O’Hare and Midway airports.

The Bears played an indirect role in Archer’s marriage to his wife of 37 years, Suzanne. He proposed to her, she said, at Walter Payton’s last game. A plane flying over Soldier Field pulled behind it a banner saying, “Suzanne, will you marry me?”

The Big Bear Band, which played music in all genres, wasn’t limited to the confines of a football field. The band traveled to Europe in 1991, playing in Holland and Switzerland.

“I loved his energy. I loved his vision,” Suzanne said. “He always gave more than he was asked to do.”

Archer had his finger in all types of musical ventures.

“Bill was a creative force of nature,” Steve King, a bass player with Archer’s bands, said. “He was a little bit larger than life. The creative juices were always flowing.”

The repertoire of the band, he said, ranged from R&B and Earth Wind and Fire to Tower of Power and Chicago.

King described Archer’s creative process in producing events as “a little bit of controlled chaos.” Archer also aimed for large effects. King remembered one corporate event in Rosemont.

“We’re sitting there in the crowd. I’ve got my bass guitar under my trench coat.” King recalled. “The lights go down. The music comes up. (Suddenly,) there’s indoor fireworks going off. It was eight o’clock on a Monday morning. He would put the craziest things together.”