Starting in 1967, well before all the hits started flowing, Chicago established a reputation for its powerful live show. Fueled by a passion for music, Chicago's members exploded the conventions of what rock music could or should be. The result was a groundbreaking new form, played by extraordinarily talented musicians. Early fans like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin were sufficiently impressed - they took the group out on their respective tours. Once the group began making records, fans rewarded the group with record sales of 100,000,000, 21 Top 10 singles, 5 consecutive Number One albums, 5 Number One singles, 13 Platinum albums and 5 Gold singles. An incredible 25 of their 30 albums have been certified platinum. To date, Chicago is the first American band to chart Top 40 albums in five decades - a landmark accomplishment.
Of their many highlights, many of the most important to the band are those that involve their beloved hometown. By personal request of the Mayor of Chicago and the Governor of Illinois, Chicago was the first to play Navy Pier, which has become the city's biggest tourist attraction. Chicago was one of the first to play the Taste of Chicago, a defining part of each summer in the city, and recently played the inaugural concerts at Northerly Island. Chicago was also instrumental in raising awareness to keep the Lincoln Park Zoo free for all to enjoy. On top of all this, the band has endowed a permanent Music Department chair at DePaul University, in honor of their late guitar player, Terry Kath. In return, both Mayor Daleys have awarded Chicago keys to the city, and a section of Chicago Avenue was designated in their honor.
Of course, in 1967, success was measured in more modest terms. Each member had learned a variety of styles while playing for the many different racial and ethnic groups that populate Chicago. This musical fusion struck the lovely chord that became Chicago. Paramount for this nascent group was creating a rock 'n roll band with horns. At the time, R&B artists like James Brown were upping the ante for horn sections, but it had not been attempted within the context of a rock band.
Initially called The Big Thing, they hit the Midwest club circuit in 1967. In 1968, they took the name Chicago Transit Authority (soon simplified to Chicago), moved to Los Angeles and signed to Columbia Records.
Chicago Transit Authority, their double-LP debut (April, 1969), was an underground hit whose sales were fueled by their incessant touring. ("In those days, I think it was 360 out of 365 days a year touring," remembers Parazaider). Chicago II (January, 1970), another two-record set, contained their first two Top Ten hits, "Make Me Smile," and "25, or 6 to 4." Their debut album held two more belated hits and also two of the band's most requested songs, "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" and "Beginnings," both written and sung by Robert Lamm. A third double album, Chicago III (January, 1971) consolidated their success. In the fall of 1971, Chicago was invited to be among the founding performing artists at the newly dedicated John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in Washington, DC. Around the same time, 18-year olds were finally given the right to vote, and the band met with Ralph Nader, Sen. Wm. Fulbright, and DC-insider Philip M. Stern to help determine ways to boost voter registration. In fact, the band registered voters at their concerts and included voter info in their historic, four-disc boxed set live album, "Chicago At Carnegie Hall," (October, 1971). The band campaigned for Sen. George McGovern during the 1972 presidential election, and later for Jerry Brown during his 1980 presidential bid. In 1996, Bill Clinton's re-election campaign used the band's hit "Beginnings" as its theme. In May 2002, Chicago performed at the National Memorial Day Concert, held on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. In front of a live audience of more than 100,000 people (with millions more watching on TV), including Gen. Tommy Franks, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and various Congressional leaders and Bush Administration officials, the band played in rousing tribute to the victims and heroes of September 11.
It is interesting to note Chicago's unique tradition of naming its records with Roman numerals, which echoes classical composers who often organized their works in a similar way. In the rock world, this is forever identified with Chicago, and the tradition continues up through the band's most recent release, their 30th album, Chicago XXX.
Chicago V (July, 1972) topped the charts for nine weeks and spawned the gold single, "Saturday In The Park." Chicago VI (June, 1973) was Number 1 for five weeks and contained the hits "Feelin' Stronger Every Day," and Just You 'N Me," the latter a Number 1 in Cash Box and another gold single. Chicago VII (March, 1974) was yet another Number 1 LP whose hits included "(I've Been) Searchin' So Long," "Call On Me," and "Wishing You Were Here." Chicago V111 (March, 1975) had the group's fourth straight chart topper, the nostalgic hit, "Old Days." It's small wonder that Chicago 1X - Chicago's Greatest Hits (November, 1975) eventually sold five million copies.
But it was Chicago X (June, 1976), the recipient of three Grammy Awards, that featured the band's biggest hit of the 1970's: the worldwide Number 1 "If You Leave Me Now." The lovely ballad catapulted Chicago into the highest levels of popular success. Another ballad, "Baby, What A Big Surprise," was the major hit off Chicago X1 (September, 1977). In 1977, the band was awarded 'Favorite Rock Group' at the American Music Awards.
In early 1978, tragedy struck when guitarist Terry Kath was killed in a shooting accident. Devastated by the loss of their friend, the band nearly broke up, but eventually resolved to continue. To perpetuate Kath's memory, the band created a permanent scholarship in his name at their alumni DePaul's School of Music. Later that year, the band released Hot Streets (October, 1978), which became another million-seller. Subsequent release Chicago 13 (August, 1979) and Chicago XIV (July, 1980) brought the band to the end of its contract with Columbia Records, who then released Chicago's Greatest Hits, Volume 11 (Nov., 1981).
Reaching the crossroads after 15 astounding years together might prompt some bands to consider retirement, but Chicago simply regrouped and recharged. They signed a long-term contract with Warner Brothers Records, and then recruited veteran Bill Champlin and turned to producer David Foster. The result was the million-selling Chicago 16 (June, 1982), featuring the gold single, "Hard To Say I'm Sorry." The band now routinely had a multi-generation audience, with a whole new generation of fans.
Chicago 17 (May, 1984) turned out to be a landmark success for the group. Propelled by the mega- hits "Hard Habit To Break," and "You're The Inspiration," the album sold more than 7 million copies. In 1986, the band was again awarded 'Favorite Rock Group' at the American Music Awards. Chicago 18 (September, 1986) yielded the hit "Will You Still Love Me?", and Chicago 19 (June, 1988) was another smash, featuring three top Ten hits, "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love," the Number One "Look Away" (Grammy-nominated for Song of the Year) and "You're Not Alone." A fourth song from the album, "What Kind Of Man Would I Be?" became a hit when it was included on Greatest Hits (1982 - 1989) (November, 1989), an album that remains a bestseller.
The '90's have seen Chicago's good fortune continue to grow. The band released CHICAGO Twenty 1 later that year. On July 23, 1992, Chicago was honored with their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1994, the rights to Chicago 's Columbia albums reverted back to the group, and they founded Chicago Records to reissue them.
Chicago 's next album was the delightful Night & Day (Big Band) (May, 1995) on Giant Records, on which the group lovingly re-worked Swing Era standards. The album won acclaim and respect for the reverent way these classics like "In The Mood," and "Moonlight Serenade," were "Chicago-ized." "Sing Sing Sing" featured the Gypsy Kings. A highlight of 1996 was Chicago's headline performance at the Hollywood Bowl, playing with the famous Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.
In 1997, Chicago released the 30th Anniversary celebration record, The Heart of Chicago 1967-1997. It was here that the opportunities to work with Glen Ballard and celebrated composer James Newton Howard, as well as Lenny Kravitz presented themselves. The album was quickly certified gold, and featured the #1 AC hit, "Here In My Heart."
In 1998, the band followed up with The Heart of Chicago 1967 - 1998 Volume II, which represented another fresh collaboration, in this case with Roy Bittan of the E Street Band. Subsequently, the band entered the studio to record an entire album with Roy Bittan, and the result was Chicago 25, their first ever holiday album. Chicago 25 was certified gold in 1999 and is considered a seasonal classic. In 2003, Chicago recorded six new holiday songs, this time with producer Phil Ramone. Rhino added those tunes to Chicago 25 and released it as Chicago Christmas: What's It Gonna Be Santa?.
In 1999, Chicago released Chicago 26, the group's first live record since the epic Chicago At Carnegie Hall Vols I-IV. The reasoning behind the Chicago 26 was simple: Chicago's current line-up deserved to be captured live and the results speak for themselves.
In 2002, Chicago signed an impressive pact with Rhino Entertainment, which unified their early catalog with the later Warner Bros. work. Since then, Rhino has remastered and repackaged all of the band's early works on CD, giving fans the very best sound and packaging. Rhino has also released an acclaimed 39-song collection called Only The Beginning: the Very Best Of Chicago, which has been certified platinum, a comprehensive 5-CD box set featuring a special archival DVD, and a live performance DVD culled from the band's appearance on the popular TV show, A&E Live By Request.
In 2004 and 2005, Chicago created headlines by partnering with their friends Earth, Wind & Fire for one of the most inspired co-headlining runs in recent concert business memory. Fans were enthralled by the 3 hours of music, featuring solo sets and full-band collaborations that must be seen. A DVD of the tour, "Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire: Live At the Greek Theatre" was certified platinum less than two months after release.
In 2006, Chicago released its 30th album, Chicago XXX. Produced by Jay DeMarcus of the superstar country group Rascal Flatts, Chicago XXX found a large audience of music fans disenchanted by much of today's music. Chicago XXX was welcomed as a tour de force studio album, with inventive melodies, great lead vocals and harmonies, the trademark horn sound, and superb all around musicianship.
Another 2006 highlight was the University of Notre Dame's invitation to perform with its marching band during halftime at the Notre Dame vs. North Carolina football game - the first such invitation in Notre Dame history. Heroes to generations of marching bands, the members of Chicago participated in a weekend full of activities, culminating in a spectacular half-time concert in front of 80,000 people. The entire celebration was filmed and an exclusive DVD, The Greatest Halftime Show, is available now.
Other Chicago highlights of the last few years includes the frequent use of the band's songs and music in TV shows such as HBO's "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City," as well as movies such as " My Girl 2", "Summer Lovers", "Happy Feet", "Three Kings", "Starsky & Hutch", "Little Nicky", and "A Lot Like Love."
Through it all, Chicago continues to be true ambassadors for their beloved hometown, carrying the city's name with pride and dignity around the world.
For more information, check out www.chicagotheband.com.
