Chicago

About Chicago

Chicago started as a bunch of jazz-obsessed rock musicians at DePaul University in 1967, calling themselves the Big Thing before switching to Chicago Transit Authority—a name they had to shorten after the actual CTA threatened legal action. The lineup centered on Terry Kath on guitar, Robert Lamm on keyboards, Peter Cetera on bass, and a three-piece horn section that made them sound nothing like anyone else playing rock clubs at the time.

Their self-titled 1969 debut was a double album that somehow worked, mixing extended jazz-rock workouts with songs that actual radio stations would play. "Beginnings" and "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" got them attention, but it was the follow-up that proved they weren't just experimenting for the sake of it. Chicago II gave them "25 or 6 to 4," a song about writer's block at 3:34 in the morning that became their calling card, mostly thanks to Kath's guitar work that still sounds unhinged in the best way.

They were ridiculously prolific in the early seventies. Chicago III, IV, V, VI—all between 1971 and 1973. Most bands would have imploded from that schedule, but they kept finding hooks. "Saturday in the Park" appeared on V in 1972, Robert Lamm's optimistic song about actual people in an actual park that became the sound of summer. "Make Me Smile" from II had already shown they could do pop without losing the horns that made them interesting.

Then Terry Kath died in 1978 from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound, and the band lost the guitarist Jimi Hendrix once called better than him. They'd already been moving toward softer material—"If You Leave Me Now" from Chicago X hit number one in 1976, their first chart-topper but also a sign of where things were headed. The eighties made that shift complete. "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" in 1982 was pure power ballad territory, co-written by David Foster, who basically turned them into an adult contemporary machine.

Cetera left in 1985, which should have ended them, but they kept going with different vocalists and lineups. They're still touring now, playing casinos and state fairs, which sounds depressing except they're genuinely good at it. The horn section still hits, even if the setlist leans heavily on the ballads that paid for everyone's houses.

They've sold over 100 million records, been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, and influenced basically every horn-driven rock band that came after. The early albums still hold up if you want to hear what happens when jazz players decide rock is more fun.

Professional and polished, sometimes to a fault. The horn section is tighter than it has any right to be. Crowds sing along to the ballads more than the rockers. It's the kind of show where people actually sit down in the middle sections.

Known for 25 or 6 to 4, Saturday in the Park, Make Me Smile, If You Leave Me Now, Hard to Say I'm Sorry

See Chicago Live