Chicago (band)

Chicago is a rock band that was formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. Well known for being one of the first (and, indeed, one of the few) rock bands to make extensive use of horns and for producing a number of hit ballads, Chicago had a steady stream of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

The post-Cetera era

In 1988, the band replaced producer Foster, and they topped the charts again with the Diane Warren composed single, "Look Away" from the album Chicago 19. The album also yielded three more Top 10 hits, including "What Kind of Man Would I Be?"

Related Topics:
Diane Warren - Chicago 19

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During 1989, Chicago did a reprise joint concert tour with The Beach Boys.

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By the end of the decade, Chicago planned and recorded a concept album, Stone Of Sisyphus. Their record company at the time, Warner Bros. Records, was unhappy with the finished result, and thus the album was never released officially, although in succeeding years bootleg recordings of the album have surfaced worldwide, including over the Internet. Selected tracks from the unreleased album have since been officially released on a compilation greatest hits CD box set.

Related Topics:
Stone Of Sisyphus - Warner Bros. Records

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Chicago was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on July 23, 1992.

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The band continued to be innovative in the decade of the 1990s, even though their popularity began to decline; there were also more personnel changes. Danny Seraphine left the band in 1990 and was replaced by drummer Tris Imboden, who first appeared on the unmemorable 1991 album Twenty 1. Keith Howland joined the band as lead guitarist in 1995. That same year, they attempted to merge their unique sound with Big Band music for the album ', which consisted of covers of songs originally recorded by Sarah Vaughan, Glenn Miller, and Duke Ellington (from whom the album mainly got its inspiration). During a Los Angeles concert in 1997, Chicago also teamed up with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra to perform a James Pankow/Dwight Mikelson orchestral arrangement of Pankow's rock epic "Ballet For A Girl In Buchannon".

Related Topics:
1990s - Drummer - Tris Imboden - Twenty 1 - Keith Howland - Sarah Vaughan - Glenn Miller - Duke Ellington - Los Angeles - Hollywood Bowl

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In 1998, Chicago released ', which mixed traditional holiday favorites with original compositions. (The album was re-released with additional tracks in 2003, under the title What's It Gonna Be, Santa?)

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In 2002, the group (minus Cetera) had the opportunity to tell their story in an episode of VH1's Behind The Music. This included gems such as Pankow relating the late 1980s record company executive, "who said we should lose the horns. Lose the horns? Would they tell Elton John to lose the piano?" The show, however, was not without its difficulties. The episode put more emphasis on the death of Terry Kath than their entire career combined. Cetera completely disowned the special and went so far as to not allow VH1 to use any of the songs he composed for the band, even declining to be interviewed (although stock news footage of a Cetera interview does appear).

Related Topics:
VH1 - Behind The Music

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