Dacus has contributed to a number of artists' albums that went
Gold,
Platinum, and
Multi-platinum as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Dacus’ background vocals may be heard on
Billy Joel's "
My Life". Dacus has worked and performed with a number of notable musicians, including
Billy Joel;
Boz Scaggs;
Crosby, Stills, & Nash;
Neil Young;
Stephen Stills (solo);
The Turtles;
Roger McGuinn;
Badfinger;
Bobby Womack;
Edoardo Bennato;
Mac Davis;
Veronique Sanson;
Bonnie Bramlett;
Deep Purple;
Ambrosia;
Orleans;
Berry Gordy of
Motown's MoWest label group Odyssey;
Rick James;
Spirit; and
Chris Hillman. Dacus has performed at major concert venues such as
The Hollywood Bowl,
Carnegie Hall,
Kennedy Center, the
Greek Theatre,
Dick Clark Live,
Pine Knob Music Festival,
Merriweather Post Pavilion,
Tanglewood, A Week In
Central Park,
Dr. Pepper Stage,
King Biscuit's Concert Hour,
Don Kirshner's Rock Concert,
Midnight Special,
The Olympia in Paris and
Summerfest in
Milwaukee, and Navy Pier at
ChicagoFest, where more than 150,000 people attended. Dacus appeared on the front page of the
Chicago Tribune and the cover of
People magazine during his tenure with the group Chicago, who garnered the
Hollywood Walk of Fame award. Dacus starred as Woof Dachshund in the film version of
Hair, co-starring
Treat Williams,
Beverly D'Angelo,
Annie Golden, and
John Savage, and directed by
Academy Award winner
Miloš Forman.
Hair opened the
Cannes Film Festival in 1979 and was nominated for two
Golden Globe Awards. Dacus debuted with Chicago following the death of founding member
Terry Kath. The first album he appeared on was
Hot Streets, went to No. 12 and become
platinum. He also was in the lineup for
Chicago 13. After the 1979 tour in support of
Chicago 13, he was released from the band without an announcement. It was the start of a period of personnel changes for Chicago. In 1982, Dacus joined
Badfinger with
Tom Evans,
Mike Gibbins, and
Bob Jackson, plus Reed Kailing, who had been lead guitarist with the Grass Roots. In 2016, Dacus returned to the spotlight after years away from the music industry by reuniting with several former bandmates. In January 2016, he appeared as a guest guitarist alongside former Chicago vocalist and bassist
Peter Cetera at a concert at Magic City in Miami, Florida. In April 2016, Dacus appeared as a special guest guitarist alongside former Chicago drummer
Danny Seraphine and former Chicago percussionist
Laudir de Oliveira, in a performance following Chicago's 2016 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. == References ==