Chicago Songs

Chicago is an American rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1967. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a more commercially accessible sound. They had a steady stream of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The group was originally called The Big Thing and actually spent much of 1967 when they first formed, playing cover songs in the upper Midwest. It was a year later when they started playing their own songs, after connecting with producer James Guercio. Guercio later went on to become the band manager. They then changed their name to Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), which they later simply shortened to Chicago. The original lineup included vocalist and keyboardist Peter Cetera, guitarist Terry Kath, bassist Walter Parazaider, trombonist James Pankow, trumpet player Lee Loughnane, and drummer Danny Seraphine. With Seraphine as their lead drummer, they are one of the longest-running and most successful rock groups in history; only two other bands have charted more hit singles in the United States, those being the Beach Boys and the Beatles. The group had a steady stream of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s, starting with their self-titled debut album in 1969. "Beginnings" and "Questions 67 and 68" were their first two singles that made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" and "Make Me Smile" becoming top ten hits in 1970. The band began to experiment with longer musical pieces on subsequent albums such as 1971's Chicago III and 1972's Chicago V, both of which included four-part suites sung by Terry Kath. These experiments continued on subsequent albums such as 1974's Chicago VII, which featured an eight-part suite sung by Kath, and 1976's Chicago X, which featured a three-part suite sung by bassist Peter Cetera. The band's experimental period culminated with the release of 1977's double album Chicago at Carnegie Hall, which was recorded live over the course of seven nights at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The 1980s saw the band return to shorter songs and a more pop-oriented sound on albums such as 1980's Chicago XIV and 1982's Chicago 16, with the latter album featuring the band's first number-one single, "Hard to Say I'm Sorry". The group continued to record and tour throughout the 1980s and 1990s, releasing additional platinum-selling albums such as 1986's Chicago 18 and 1994's Stone of Sisyphus. The band even experimented with electronica on 1998's Chicago XXX, before returning to a more traditional sound on 2002's Chicago XXV: The Christmas Album. The group has been described as "one of the most important bands in music history" by AllMusic, and has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling groups of all time. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2017, a documentary about the band, Now More Than Ever: The History of Chicago, was released to critical acclaim.