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Chicago, United States · 1967 — present

Chicago

It sounds as if jazz and rock had come together on the same stage, but with the energy of a band that didn’t want to stay within any single genre. Chicago was born in 1967 in the city that gave it its name, when a group of musicians gathered to play something that didn’t yet exist: a blend of brass, electric guitars, and vocals that sounded like a party and sophistication at the same time. The curious thing is that, at first, they were called Chicago Transit Authority, but a legal issue forced them to shorten the name. It wasn’t a minor detail: that sound that defined their identity — saxophones intertwining with clean guitars, trumpets cutting like knives, and rhythms dancing between blues and pop — was already there, ready to break molds.

Their first album, Chicago Transit Authority (1969), was a double record released almost as a challenge. Recorded in three weeks with borrowed equipment and no filters, the album mixed tracks like Does anybody really know what time it is? — with its infectious percussion — or Beginnings, which closed with a drum solo that felt like a statement of principles. The most striking detail is that one of its cuts, I'm a man, ended up being used by a New York DJ to create the first rhythmic remix in history, a preview of what would later become disco music. The band wasn’t trying to be avant-garde, but they ended up inventing something new without meaning to.

Rock Pop aor Jazz jazz rock 1960s
1 Albums
10 Songs
1,8M Listeners/mo
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Most played on DoReSol

Essential songs

01

Stay the Night

Chicago 17 · 1984

3:50 02

We Can Stop the Hurtin'

Chicago 17 · 1984

4:12 03

Hard Habit to Break

Chicago 17 · 1984

4:45 04

Only You

Chicago 17 · 1984

3:55 05

Remember the Feeling

Chicago 17 · 1984

4:32 06

Along Comes a Woman

Chicago 17 · 1984

4:16 07

You're the Inspiration

Chicago 17 · 1984

3:49 08

Please Hold On

Chicago 17 · 1984

3:38 09

Prima Donna

Chicago 17 · 1984

4:12 10

Once in a Lifetime

Chicago 17 · 1984

4:13

1 album|s · 1984

Full discography

Chicago 17 1984 ★ Essential

Chicago 17

10 song|s · Rock

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Details, awards, members and more

More about Chicago

Biography

In 1970 came Chicago II, where the group solidified their formula: ambitious suites like Ballet for a girl in Buchanan, in seven movements, or ballads like 25 or 6 to 4 that slipped effortlessly onto the radio. But what’s most interesting is how they maintained that balance between virtuosity and accessibility. Even in Chicago III (1971), when critics accused them of being repetitive, they kept proving they could make music for dancing and for thinking at the same time. Terry Kath, their guitarist, was the soul of the band: his solo in An hour in the shower is pure contained electricity, and his death in 1978 marked a before and after in the band’s sound. Changes in the lineup followed — Cetera left in 1985, Seraphine in 1990 — but the brass section remained, as solid as on day one.

Details

Born
1 Jan 1967
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Genre
Rock

Members

backing vocals, keyboards, percussion, trombone, founder · 1967–present
James Pankow
backing vocals, guitar, percussion, trumpet, founder · 1967–present
Lee Loughnane
guitar, keyboards, vocals, founder · 1967–present
Robert Lamm
backing vocals, clarinet, flute, saxophone, founder · 1967–present
Walter Parazaider
bass, vocals · 1985–present
Jason Scheff
drums, percussion · 1990–present
Tris Imboden
guitar, vocals · 1995–present
Keith Howland
keyboards, vocals · 2009–present
Lou Pardini
percussion · 2012–present
Walfredo de los Reyes, Jr.
tenor vocals · 2018–present
Neil Donell
guitar, keyboards, vocals · 1981–2009
Bill Champlin
drums, percussion, founder · 1967–1990
Danny Seraphine
bass, guitar, vocals, founder · 1967–1985
Peter Cetera
bass, guitar, vocals, founder · 1967–1978
Terry Kath
guitar, vocals · 1986–1995
Dawayne Bailey
percussion · 1975–1981
Laudir de Oliveira
guitar · 1980–1985
Chris Pinnick
drums, percussion · 2009–2012
Drew Hester
bass, guitar, vocals · 1978–1980
Donnie Dacus
percussion · 2012–2012
Daniel de los Reyes

Links

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