Chicago XXIX - Love Songs(MP3)-rock-zeke23

Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, generating several hit ballads. The group had a steady stream of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Second only to The Beach Boys in Billboard singles and albums chart success among American bands, Chicago is one of the longest-running and most successful rock groups in history.[1]

According to Billboard, Chicago was the leading US singles charting group during the 1970s. They have sold over 38 million units in the US, with 22 gold, 18 platinum, and 8 multi-platinum albums.[2][3] Over the course of their career they have had five number-one albums and 21 top-ten singles.

Chicago Transit Authority and early success

The original band membership consisted of saxophonist Walter Parazaider, guitarist Terry Kath, drummer Danny Seraphine, trombonist James Pankow, trumpet player Lee Loughnane, and keyboardist/singer Robert Lamm. Parazaider, Kath, Seraphine, Pankow and Loughnane met in 1967 while students at DePaul University. Lamm was recruited from Roosevelt University. The group of six called themselves "The Big Thing", and continued playing top 40 hits. Realizing the need for a tenor to complement baritone Lamm and Kath, they added local tenor and bassist Peter Cetera.[4]

Jimi Hendrix once told Parazaider, “Your horns are one set of lungs, and you know your guitar is better than me.”[5]

While gaining some success as a cover band, the group began working on original songs. In June 1968, they moved to Los Angeles, California under the guidance of their manager James William Guercio, and signed with Columbia Records. After signing with Guercio, The Big Thing changed their name to "Chicago Transit Authority".[1]

Their first record (April 1969), the eponymous The Chicago Transit Authority, was a double album, which is rare for a band's first release. It sold over one million copies by 1970, and was awarded a platinum disc.[6] The album included a number of pop-rock songs – "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?", "Beginnings", "Questions 67 and 68", and "I'm a Man" – which were later released as singles.

When the actual Chicago Transit Authority threatened legal action soon after the album's release, the band's name was shortened to Chicago.[7][8]

The band released a second album, titled Chicago (also known as Chicago II), which was another double-LP. The album's centerpiece track was a seven-part, 13-minute suite composed by Pankow called "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon". The suite yielded two top ten hits: "Make Me Smile" (No. 9 U.S.) and "Colour My World", both sung by Kath. Among the other tracks on the album: Lamm's dynamic but cryptic "25 or 6 to 4" (Chicago's first Top 5 hit), which was a reference to a songwriter trying to write at 25 or 26 minutes to 4 in the morning, and was sung by Cetera with wah-wah guitar by Kath; the lengthy war-protest song "It Better End Soon"; and, at the end, Cetera's 1969 moon landing-inspired "Where Do We Go from Here?". The double-LP album's inner cover includes—in addition to the playlist—the entire lyrics to "It Better End Soon", and two declarations: "This album should be experienced sequentially", and, "With this album, we dedicate ourselves, our futures and our energies to the people of the revolution. And the revolution in all of its forms."

Chicago III would contain two hit singles. "Free" from Lamm's "Travel Suite" would become the album's biggest hit. The band would release LPs at a rate of at least one album per year from their third album in 1971 on through the 1970s. During this period, the group's album titles invariably consisted of the band's name followed by a Roman numeral, indicating the album's sequence in their canon. The exceptions to this scheme were the band's fourth album, a live boxed set entitled Chicago at Carnegie Hall, their twelfth album Hot Streets, and the Arabic-numbered Chicago 13. While the live album itself did not bear a number, each of the four discs within the set was numbered Volumes I through IV.

In 1971, the band released Chicago at Carnegie Hall Volumes I, II, III, and IV, consisting of live performances, mostly of music from their first three albums, from a week-long run at the famous venue. The packaging of the album also contained some rather strident political messaging about how "We [youth] can change The System", including massive wall posters and voter registration information. Nevertheless, Chicago at Carnegie Hall went on to become the best-selling box set by a rock act, and held that record for 15 years. The fact that the none of the first four titles were issued on single LPs was due to the productive creativity of this period and the length of the jazz-rock pieces.[9]

In 1972 the band released its first single-disc release, Chicago V, which reached number one on both the Billboard pop and jazz album charts. It featured "Saturday in the Park", which mixed everyday life and political yearning in a more subtle way. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1972. Chicago would long open their concerts with the hit song. Another Lamm-composed hit song therein was "Dialogue (Part I & II)", which featured a musical "debate" between a political activist (sung by Kath) and a blasé college student (sung by Cetera).

In 1973, the group's manager, Guercio, produced and directed Electra Glide in Blue, a movie about an Arizona motorcycle policeman. The movie starred Robert Blake and featured Cetera, Kath, Loughnane, and Parazaider in supporting roles. The group also appeared prominently on the movie's soundtrack.

Other albums and singles followed in each of the succeeding years. 1973's Chicago VI was the first of several albums to include Brazilian jazz percussionist Laudir de Oliveira and saw Cetera emerge as the main lead singer. Chicago VII, the band's double-disc 1974 release, their 1975 release, Chicago VIII, featured the political allegory "Harry Truman" (#13) and the nostalgic Pankow-composed "Old Days" (#5). That summer also saw a joint tour across America with The Beach Boys, with both acts performing separately, then coming together for a finale.

1976's Chicago X featured Cetera's ballad "If You Leave Me Now", which held the top spot for two weeks. The song also won Chicago their only Grammy award, for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group in 1977. The tune almost did not make the cut for the album. "If You Leave Me Now" was recorded at the very last minute. The success of the song foreshadowed a later reliance on ballads.

The group's 1977 release, Chicago XI, included Cetera's ballad "Baby, What a Big Surprise", a No. 4 U.S. hit which became the group's last top 10 hit of the decade.

Also known as The Big Thing, The Chicago Transit Authority
Origin Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres Progressive rock, jazz fusion, soft rock
Years active 1967–present
Labels Columbia, Full Moon, Rhino
Associated acts The Beach Boys, Doobie Brothers, Earth, Wind & Fire, Sons of Champlin, Honk, Toto, America
Website Official website
Members Robert Lamm
Lee Loughnane
James Pankow
Walter Parazaider
Jason Scheff
Tris Imboden
Keith Howland
Lou Pardini
Walfredo Reyes, Jr.

Past members Danny Seraphine
Peter Cetera
Terry Kath
Laudir de Oliveira
Donnie Dacus
Chris Pinnick
Bill Champlin
Dawayne Bailey
Drew Hester
Daniel de los Reyes