Chicago
Chicago is a band from the United States of America formed in 1967 by musicians from Chicago, Illinois. It was formerly called The Big Thing and later Chicago Transit Authority.
The band Chicago is one of the most popular American bands in the history of rock and roll, second only to the Beach Boys.
The group was formed in 1967 in the city from which it eventually took its name. The initial lineup of the group, initially called The Big Thing, included Walter Paraider on saxophone, Lee Loughnane on trumpet, Terry Kath on guitar and vocals, Danny Seraphine on drums, James Pankow on trombone, and Robert Lamm on organ and vocals. At the beginning, the band didn't have a bassist, but in December 1967 bassist and vocalist Peter Cetera joined them from rival band The Exceptions.
Under the guidance of businessman and producer James William Guercio, who initially named the band Chicago Transit Authority (a name later shortened because the Chicago Transit Department did not authorize its use), the band moved to Los Angeles and signed with Columbia Records. In 1969, their debut album, "Chicago Transit Authority," was released, selling over two million copies and placing four singles on the music charts, a feat that would be repeated throughout their career and subsequent albums, each with a slight variation in the cover, where, alongside the band's logo, the respective album number was added.
Chicago's music was a mix of styles, from rock to light pop, incorporating elements of jazz and classical music. But after Cetera's song "If You Leave Me Now" went gold and reached number one on the charts in 1976, the group began composing more romantic ballads.
Following Terry Kath's death on January 23, 1978, due to a firearm accident, Chicago 13 went into decline, marked by increased drug use among its members and a crisis triggered by the discovery of serious information about James William Guercio, their manager – including allegations that he was stealing from the band, ultimately leading to his dismissal. The band then decided to drop the Roman numerals from their album titles, opting for the different and daring Hot Streets, featuring Kath's replacement, guitarist and vocalist Donnie Dacus, who years earlier had acted in the film Hair (based on the famous musical). He remained for two albums, Hot Streets (1978) and Chicago 13 (1979), but failed to adapt to the band's rhythm and was subsequently fired. The band attempted to enter the Disco era by releasing the single "Street Player," composed by Danny Seraphine and David Hawk Wolinsky, produced by Phil Ramone, and featuring Canadian trumpeter Maynad Ferguson and Ayrto Moreira. However, the album didn't sell well, and they received an ultimatum from CBS Records: if they didn't achieve the desired sales figures for their next album, they would be dropped. So, they radically changed their style to a heavier rock sound on the album *Chicago 14* (1980), inviting guitarist Chris Pinnick – who sounded eerily like Terry Kath, according to James Pankow – but their efforts were in vain. The album was a sales flop, and Chicago was dropped, subsequently signing with Warner Brothers.
Danny Seraphine, one of the only sober musicians in the band, decided to take charge of the project and looked for a replacement for Terry. He contacted Bill Champlin, a singer and multi-instrumentalist, famous for his previous work with the Californian band The Sons Of Champlin. Champlin, in turn, called his longtime friend and former bandmate (the two worked together in the band Airplay), the Canadian producer David Foster. David accepted the challenge of producing the band's next album, but only on the condition that they accept the changes he proposed, with a new approach to their style. Thus began Chicago's ballad phase, with the 1982 album Chicago 16 and its most famous track, Hard to Say I'm Sorry, a composition by the duo Peter Cetera and David Foster, which would yield several other successful compositions for both Chicago and Peter Cetera's solo career years later. The album sold a million copies and put the band back on the charts.
Peter left the band in 1985 after an ultimatum from his colleagues. Some claim that Cetera was overly vain, wanting his name to be in the spotlight, but the others disagreed; he didn't want to tour anymore because, besides being exhausted from spending months on the road performing, he had a young daughter and wanted to be there for her to grow up. The band desperately wanted to tour to capitalize on their resurgence in the music scene and the great success of the albums Chicago 16 and Chicago 17. Peter then decided to pursue a dream he had cherished for many years: a solo career. Peter had already released a solo album in 1980, on his new label, Warner. But he suspects that the label boycotted the album to avoid harming and overshadowing the band.
The band went on to audition some people to fill the spot as Peter Cetera's replacement, someone who met the basic requirements: having a high (tenor) voice and being a bassist. They found the perfect replacement, Jason Scheff, son of Elvis Presley's bassist, Jerry Scheff. Ironically, he was discovered when he sent a demo song for the repertoire of Peter Cetera's second solo album, Solitude/Solitaire (1986).
In 1990, in the middle of a tour, the original drummer, Danny Seraphine, was fired, allegedly because he wasn't playing as well as before, and wasn't dedicated or improving his skills. Danny still harbors resentment to this day; he doesn't talk about it much, but he has made it clear that he considers his dismissal unfair, especially since his role was fundamental in the band's resurgence. He was replaced by drummer Tris Imboden, who also played with Chaka Khan, Earth, Wind & Fire, the Doobie Brothers, Al Jarreau, Anita Baker, David Foster, among others, and recorded with Peter Cetera (on the album One More Story - 1988), Bill Champlin (on the solo album Burn Down the Night - 1994), David Foster, Kenny Loggins, and Brazilian guitarist Ricardo Silveira, among others.
Next, guitarist Dawayne Bailey joined the band, but his time there was short, and he was replaced by Keith Howland for the 1999 tour. He remains in the band to this day as guitarist and vocalist, sharing high-pitched vocals with Jason Scheff.
From the original lineup, only keyboardist Robert Lamm and the brass section, consisting of trumpeter Lee Loughnane, trombonist James Pankow, and saxophonist Walt Parazaider, remained.
In 1993 they recorded the album Stone of Sisyphus, which the record label refused to release in the US, deeming it a 'marketable product'. The album was eventually released in Japan, but it didn't take off. The band then decided to leave the label and launch their own independent label, Chi Records.
In 1995, they released the album "Night and Day - Big Band" on Giant Records, featuring several jazz standards with a new arrangement. In 2006, they released the album Chicago XXX on Rhino Records, a subdivision of Warner Bros. Rhino also re-released remastered versions of most of their albums, with the addition of unreleased tracks that were recorded at the time of the albums but were not included in the original edition.
They are currently touring with the album Chicago XXX and also recently toured with the group Earth, Wind & Fire, a tour that was released on DVD.
CHICAGO - FUTPEDIAMUSIC SELECTION
Chicago
Futpediamusic Selection
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