The Big Thing The group now known as Chicago began on February 15, 1967, at a meeting involving saxophonist
Walter Parazaider, guitarist
Terry Kath, drummer
Danny Seraphine, trombonist
James Pankow, trumpet player
Lee Loughnane, and keyboardist/singer
Robert Lamm. Kath, Parazaider, and Seraphine had played together previously in two other groups—Jimmy Ford and the Executives, and the Missing Links. was recruited from his group, Bobby Charles and the Wanderers. where they signed with
Columbia Records and changed their name to Chicago Transit Authority. subsequently opening for
Janis Joplin and
Jimi Hendrix. Group biographer William James Ruhlmann recorded Walt Parazaider as saying that Jimi Hendrix once told him: Jeez, your horn players are like one set of lungs and your guitar player is better than me. The album included a number of pop-rock songs – "
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?", "
Beginnings", "
Questions 67 and 68", and "
I'm a Man" – which were later released as singles. For this inaugural recording effort the group was nominated for a
Grammy Award for 1969
Best New Artist of the Year. In 2025, the Library of Congress selected
Chicago Transit Authority for inclusion as an album in the National Recording Registry. According to Cetera, the band was booked to perform at
Woodstock in 1969, but promoter
Bill Graham, with whom they had a contract, exercised his right to reschedule them to play at the
Fillmore West on a date of his choosing, and he scheduled them for the Woodstock dates.
Santana, which Graham also managed, took Chicago's place at Woodstock, and that performance is considered to be Santana's "breakthrough" gig. A year later, when he needed to replace headliner Joe Cocker, and then Cocker's intended replacement, Jimi Hendrix, Graham booked Chicago to perform at
Tanglewood, which has been called a "pinnacle" performance by Concert Vault. After the release of their first album, the band's name was shortened to Chicago to avoid legal action being threatened by the
actual mass-transit company of the same name. and was sung by Cetera with Kath on guitar; the lengthy war-protest song "It Better End Soon"; and, at the end, Cetera's
1969 Moon landing-inspired "
Where Do We Go from Here?" The double-LP album's inner cover includes the playlist, the entire lyrics to "It Better End Soon", and two declarations: "This endeavor should be experienced sequentially", and, "With this album, we dedicate ourselves, our futures and our energies to the people of the revolution. And the revolution in all of its forms." The album was a commercial success, rising to number four on the
Billboard 200, The band was nominated for two Grammy Awards as a result of this album,
Album of the Year and
Best Contemporary Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus. The album went gold "out of the box" and on to multi-platinum status. Drummer Danny Seraphine attributes the fact that none of Chicago's first four albums were issued on single LPs to the productive creativity of this period and the length of the jazz-rock pieces. In 1972, the band released its first single-disc release,
Chicago V, which reached No. 1 on both the
Billboard pop The second single released from the album was the Lamm-composed "
Dialogue (Part I & II)", which featured a musical "debate" between a political activist (sung by Kath) and a blasé college student (sung by Cetera). It peaked at No. 24 on the Hot 100 chart. That summer also saw a joint tour across America with the Beach Boys, with the two acts performing separately, then coming together for a finale.
Chicago VI,
VII, and
VIII all made it to No. 1 on the
Billboard 200, ''
Chicago IX: Chicago's Greatest Hits'' was released in 1975 and became the band's fifth consecutive No. 1 album on the
Billboard 200''. and the UK charts for three weeks. It was the group's first No. 1 single, the 1976
Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus, at the
19th Annual Grammy Awards held on February 19, 1977. The single was certified gold by the RIAA the same year of its release. The song almost did not make the cut for the album. and was also nominated for the
Grammy Award for Album of the Year. In honor of the group's platinum album achievement, Columbia Records that year awarded the group a 25-pound bar of pure platinum, made by
Cartier. (
Billboard magazine reported it as a 30-pound bar.) At the
4th Annual American Music Awards, a fan-voted awards show, held January 31, 1977, Chicago won the award for
Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group, the group's first of two American Music Awards they have received. The group's 1977 release,
Chicago XI, includes Cetera's ballad "
Baby, What a Big Surprise", a No. 4 U.S. hit which became the group's last top 10 hit of the decade. Because the arena has a seating capacity of about 20,000, this would require a minimum of five sold-out shows there. Chicago was one of at least eleven other acts that were eligible for the award, Chicago was one of the first acts to receive the award for drawing over 180,000 people to the venue in nine sold-out appearances there over the years.
Cashbox reviewer Ken Terry said of the 1977 Madison Square Garden concert, "Chicago ultimately presents itself in the best light with AM-oriented, good-time music. Its fans are not looking for complicated, introverted songs; they want music to drive to, dance to and work to." Besides recording and touring, during the busy 1970s, Chicago also made time for a movie appearance and several television appearances of note. In 1972, Guercio produced and directed
Electra Glide in Blue, a film about an
Arizona motorcycle policeman. Released in 1973, the film stars
Robert Blake and features Cetera, Kath, Loughnane, and Parazaider in supporting roles. The group also appears prominently on the film's
soundtrack. Chicago made its "television variety debut" in February 1973 when they were the only rock musicians invited to appear on a television special honoring
Duke Ellington,
Duke Ellington... We Love You Madly, which aired on
CBS. They performed the Ellington composition, "Jump for Joy". In July 1973, the group starred in a half-hour television special produced by
Dick Clark,
Chicago in the Rockies, which aired in
prime time on
ABC. The show was filmed on location at
Caribou Ranch, the 3,000-acre ranch-turned-recording studio located outside of
Boulder, Colorado, owned by Chicago's producer, James William Guercio. The only musical guest on the show was
Al Green, who was rated the number-one male vocalist of 1972, and whom
Rolling Stone magazine named "Rock and Roll Star of the Year". That special was followed by a second hour-long special the next year,
Chicago ... Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch, which aired in prime time on ABC in August 1974.
Chicago ... Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch was again shot on location at Caribou Ranch and was again produced by Dick Clark. Singer
Anne Murray and country music star
Charlie Rich were guests on the show. Clark produced a third television special starring Chicago, ''
Chicago's New Year's Rockin' Eve 1975, which aired on ABC on December 31, 1974. Musical guests on the -hour-long show included the Beach Boys, the Doobie Brothers, Olivia Newton-John, and Herbie Hancock. It was the third Rockin' Eve'' Clark had produced, and it competed with
Guy Lombardo's traditional
New Year's Eve television show which aired on a different network and was in its 45th consecutive year of broadcast. Clark hoped the ''Rockin' Eve'' format would become an "annual TV custom".
Death of Terry Kath and transition The year 1978 began with a split with Guercio. and had made two television specials at Guercio's Caribou Ranch. In later years, band members cited Guercio's purchase of Caribou Ranch, more particularly their realization that Guercio had enough money to purchase Caribou Ranch, as a contributing factor to their disillusionment with him as a producer. They felt he had taken advantage of them financially. Then on January 23 of that same year, Kath died of an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound from a gun he thought was unloaded.
Doc Severinsen, who was the bandleader for
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson at the time and a friend of the group, visited them after Kath's funeral and encouraged them to continue. According to writer Jim Jerome, the visit "snapped them back" and helped them make the decision to carry on. After auditioning over 30 potential replacements for Kath, Chicago decided upon guitarist and singer-songwriter
Donnie Dacus. The 1978 album
Hot Streets was produced by
Phil Ramone. featured prominently on the cover (with the ubiquitous logo downsized).
1980s: changing sound Chicago XIV (1980), produced by
Tom Dowd, relegated the horn section to the background on a number of tracks, and the album's two singles failed to make the Top 40.
Chris Pinnick joined the band to play guitar and remained through 1985, Marty Grebb had formerly been with
the Buckinghams, and before that had been Cetera's bandmate in a local Chicago area cover band called the Exceptions. The album peaked at No. 71 on the
Billboard 200, Percussionist Laudir de Oliveira and Marty Grebb departed from the band. During Foster's stewardship, less of an emphasis was placed on the band's horn-based sound, being replaced by lush
power ballads, which became Chicago's style during the 1980s. The new sound brought more singles success to the band. For the 1982 album
Chicago 16, the band worked with composers from outside the group for the first time, and Foster brought in studio musicians for some tracks (including the core members of
Toto), Co-written by Cetera and David Foster, "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" was the group's second single to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart The album produced two more Top Ten (both No. 3) singles, "
You're the Inspiration", written by Cetera and David Foster, and "
Hard Habit to Break", written by
Steve Kipner and John Lewis Parker. The single, "Hard Habit to Break", brought two more Grammy Award nominations for the band, for
Record of the Year and
Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. was brought into the group for the
17 tour to add percussion and high harmony vocals. By 1985, the band was embracing the newest medium, the music video channel
MTV, by releasing music videos for four songs. They featured a track titled "Good for Nothing" on the 1985 global activist album,
We Are the World. As contributors to the album, along with all other artists who were on the album, the band received its last nomination for a Grammy Award, for
Album of the Year. He soon topped the charts with "
Glory of Love" (the theme song of the film
The Karate Kid Part II), and with "
The Next Time I Fall" (a duet with
Amy Grant). Two more songs reached the top ten: a 1988 solo hit called "
One Good Woman" (No. 4 U.S.), and a 1989 duet with
Cher called "
After All" (No. 6 U.S.). In 1992, Cetera released his fourth studio album,
World Falling Down, which earned him three hits on the Adult Contemporary charts, including the single "Restless Heart". Cetera's former position was filled by bassist and singer-songwriter
Jason Scheff, son of
Elvis Presley's bassist
Jerry Scheff. Guitarist Chris Pinnick also left the group in 1985, prior to the recording of the band's next album. For the final Foster-produced album,
Chicago 18, the band filled Pinnick's spot with several session guitarists, none of whom became band members. The album was released on September 29, 1986, and included the No. 3 single "
Will You Still Love Me?", and top 20 single "
If She Would Have Been Faithful...", in addition to an updated version of "
25 or 6 to 4" with a video that got airplay on MTV. The video won an award for Best Cinematography for Bobby Byrne at the
American Video Awards. formerly of
Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band. Bailey and Scheff had previously played in bands together, so Scheff introduced Bailey to the band in time for the
Chicago 18 tour. For the 1988 release
Chicago 19, the band had replaced producer Foster with co-producers
Ron Nevison, who had recently produced two albums for
Heart, and Chas Sanford, who had worked with
Rod Stewart and
Stevie Nicks. They topped the charts again with the
Diane Warren-composed single "
Look Away". It was the third and last Chicago single to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart. The album also yielded two more top 10 hits, "
I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" and "
You're Not Alone", Seraphine was succeeded by
Tris Imboden, and former session drummer with
Peter Cetera. Imboden made his first appearance on the 1991 album
Twenty 1 with a fragment of band's logo, which yielded an eleven-week stretch on the
Billboard 200, a peak at No. 66, and the song "Chasin' the Wind" which peaked at No. 39.
Twenty 1 would be their last released album of original music for fifteen years. The band was recognized with a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame on July 23, 1992. In 1993, Chicago wrote and recorded their 22nd album
Stone of Sisyphus. This album was to have marked their return to their traditional composition of the 1970s, emphasizing major horn accompaniment. However, following a reorganization of the record company, the new executives at
Reprise Records (now part of the newly formed
Warner Music Group) rejected the completed album. It remained unpublished for fifteen years, aside from
bootleg tapes and Internet files. consisting of covers of songs originally recorded by
Sarah Vaughan,
Glenn Miller, and
Duke Ellington. Guitarist
Bruce Gaitsch stepped in and joined the band to handle the album's guitar work. The album featured guest appearances by
Paul Shaffer of
Late Show with David Letterman fame,
Aerosmith guitarist
Joe Perry, and
the Gipsy Kings. Parazaider cited the group's participation in the 1973 television special honoring Duke Ellington,
Duke Ellington... We Love You Madly, as key in their decision to record this album. After this big band album, Chicago acquired the rights to their Columbia recordings and reissued them on their own imprint. In 1998, Chicago released
Chicago XXV: The Christmas Album and a live album in 1999,
Chicago XXVI on their own imprint. after having recorded it at Columbia Records and Warner Bros. Records. In 2002, Rhino released a two-disc compilation,
The Very Best of: Only the Beginning, which spanned the band's career. The compilation made the
Top 40 and sold over 2 million copies in the U.S. Rhino also began releasing remastered versions of all of the band's Columbia-era albums. The following year, the band released their most comprehensive compilation to date in the form of a box set, simply titled
The Box. In October 2003, Rhino reissued
Chicago XXV: The Christmas Album, along with six new recordings, as ''What's It Gonna Be, Santa?''. The American cable music channel
VH1 featured the band in an episode of its
Behind the Music series, "Chicago: Behind the Music", season 1, episode 133. The episode first aired on October 15, 2000. In 2004, 2005, and 2009, Chicago toured with Earth, Wind & Fire. On March 21, 2006, their first all-new studio album since
Twenty 1 arrived with
Chicago XXX. It was produced by
Jay DeMarcus, bassist/vocalist with the country trio
Rascal Flatts, who was a long-time fan of Chicago and had cited the group as an influence on him as a musician in a previous fan letter to Jason Scheff. It also marked the first time the band's music was available as a digital download. The album peaked at No. 41 in the U.S., In July 2006, the band made a series of U.S. appearances with
Huey Lewis and the News. On October 2, 2007, Rhino Records released the two-disc
The Best of Chicago: 40th Anniversary Edition (
Chicago XXXI), a new greatest hits compilation spanning their entire forty years, similar to
The Very Best of: Only the Beginning, released five years earlier. In 2008,
Stone of Sisyphus – once known as the aborted
Chicago XXII, now listed officially as
Chicago XXXII – was released with an expanded format. and continued with the band as a percussionist upon Imboden's return later in the year. In August 2009, Champlin was fired from the band. He was replaced by Grammy-nominated keyboardist
Lou Pardini, who had worked with
Stevie Wonder and
Santana.
2010s In 2010 (just as they had already done in 1999 and 2008), Chicago toured with
the Doobie Brothers (and would do so again in 2017). A 2011 performance in
Chicago became a video for the
HDNet cable channel that featured the Doobie Brothers joining Chicago for three encore tunes. The band also appeared on the season nine finale of
American Idol. On July 24, 2011, the band performed at
Red Rocks in Colorado, accompanied by the
Colorado Symphony Orchestra. With
Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three, the band re-teamed with producer Ramone (he had previously released the new tracks for the expanded Christmas re-release ''What's It Gonna Be, Santa?'') to record a new Christmas album.
Dolly Parton was a guest artist on the album, That same year, Hester left the group shortly before the tour, then by Daniel's brother and former long-term
Santana member,
Walfredo Reyes Jr. In 2013, Lamm, Loughnane, Pankow, and Parazaider appeared in the
HBO film
Clear History as the band Chicago. In late 2013, the band began releasing singles for a new album, starting with "Somethin' Comin', I Know" in August, "America" in September, "Crazy Happy" in December 2013, and "Naked in the Garden of Allah" in January 2014. The album, titled
Chicago XXXVI: Now, was released on July 4, 2014. The group's debut album,
Chicago Transit Authority, released in 1969, was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014. In February 2015, Chicago released a two-disc live album,
Chicago at Symphony Hall, of their performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 2015, Chicago was listed among the nominees for induction into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The original lineup – Cetera, Kath, Lamm, Loughnane, Pankow, Parazaider, and Seraphine – was inducted at the 31st annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on April 8, 2016, along with
N.W.A.,
Deep Purple,
Steve Miller, and
Cheap Trick. In February 2016, it was announced that original drummer Danny Seraphine would join the current lineup of Chicago for the first time in over 25 years for the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Peter Cetera chose not to attend. Terry Kath's daughter Michelle accepted her father's award. In July 2016, Chicago performed on ABC's
Greatest Hits. On September 23, 2016, a documentary called
The Terry Kath Experience was released. The documentary featured most of the members of Chicago talking about Kath's life (most notably Kath's second wife Camelia Kath and original Chicago bassist Peter Cetera). It was directed by Kath's daughter, Michelle Kath Sinclair. it was announced on October 25, 2016, that Jason Scheff had left Chicago after 31 years. Bassist/vocalist
Jeff Coffey, who had been filling in for Scheff during his absence, was promoted to a full-time member. Saxophonist
Ray Herrmann, who had previously filled in for Parazaider on various tour dates since 2005, also became an official member at this time after Parazaider retired permanently from the road. Although Parazaider retired from regular touring, he remained a band member. The film was directed and edited by Peter Pardini, nephew of band member Lou Pardini, and produced by the band. The film's premiere was the highest-rated program in the 25–54 demographic. The film won the 2016 "Best of the Fest" Audience Choice Award at the
Sedona International Film Festival. At the 10th Annual Fort Myers Beach Film Festival in 2016, it won the "People's Choice" award and Peter Pardini won the "Rising Star Award" as director and filmmaker. On February 22, 2017, it was announced that Cetera, Lamm, and Pankow were among the 2017
Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees for their songwriting efforts as members of Chicago. On September 17, 2017, former percussionist Laudir de Oliveira died of a heart attack while performing onstage in his native
Rio de Janeiro. Chicago began their 2018 touring schedule on Saturday, January 13 by performing the grand opening concert at the new
Xcite Center at
Parx Casino in
Bensalem, Pennsylvania. On Wednesday, January 17, 2018, drummer Tris Imboden announced he was leaving the band after 27 years to spend more time with his family. On Friday, January 19, 2018, bassist and vocalist Jeff Coffey announced on his
Facebook page that he was also departing from the band due to its heavy touring schedule. Vocalist
Neil Donell, of Chicago tribute band Brass Transit, was chosen as the band's new lead singer and session musician Brett Simons also joined the band as their new bassist. Daniel de los Reyes' return to the percussion position was announced, filling the vacancy left by his brother's move to the drumset. On April 6, 2018, Chicago released
Chicago: VI Decades Live (This is What We Do), a box set chronicling the band's live performances throughout their history. In May 2018, percussionist Daniel de los Reyes departed Chicago to return to his other group, the Zac Brown Band. On Thursday, May 17, 2018, Chicago announced on their official Facebook page and on their
Twitter account that "Ray" Ramon Yslas had joined the band on percussion. On June 29, 2018, Chicago released the album
Chicago II: Live on Soundstage, a live performance from November 2017 of the then current band lineup performing the entire second album. In July 2018 the band updated its official web site, and no longer listed Parazaider as a member of the band. Instead he is included on the band's "Tribute to Founding Members". On October 26, 2018, Chicago released the album
Chicago: Greatest Hits Live, a live performance from 2017 for the
PBS series
Soundstage. On August 16, 2019, the band announced on their website that they would be releasing their fourth Christmas album, titled
Chicago XXXVII: Chicago Christmas, on October 4, 2019. The album has a greater emphasis on original Christmas songs written by the group than their previous holiday albums. During their 2021 summer tour, Lou Pardini was out for part of August and most of September, with
Who keyboardist
Loren Gold filling in until Pardini was able to return. On November 15, 2021, Howland broke his arm in an accident and took a leave of absence from the band, with guitarist Tony Obrohta filling in for him at shows. On December 1, 2021, Howland announced he was leaving Chicago after over 26 years, citing the recent accident and lengthy recovery period as bringing about the next phase of his life. In November 2021, Chicago and
Brian Wilson of the
Beach Boys announced they would co-headline a 25 date tour in the summer of 2022. On January 21, 2022, Lou Pardini announced he was departing the band. Loren Gold (vocals, keyboards) appeared with the group on tour filling the role vacated by Pardini starting in January 2022, and on March 2, 2022, Chicago updated their website to list Gold as a band member. The group also announced plans to release a new album in the summer of 2022. On July 15, 2022, Chicago released
Chicago XXXVIII: Born for This Moment. Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire toured together on the 2024 Heart and Soul joint tour. On March 2, 2025, Carlos Murguia joined Chicago on keyboards and vocals. Starting in the summer of 2025, Lamm and Pankow both stopped touring with the band due to health concerns, leaving Loughnane as the only original member performing on stage. As depicted by several sources, Gold is no longer listed as a member of Chicago, indicating he had departed from the band. Justin Avery is listed as a keyboardist and vocalist in his place. == Approaches to music ==