Chicago: The Most Underrated Band EVER!?

The band Chicago has created a LOT of songs that a LOT of people love. Somehow, they are still criminally underrated.
From their beginning's in the city that they took their name from, Chicago has touted some extremely talented musicians, from Terry Kath and Peter Cetera to many many more.
Come hang out with Sight After Dark (Sifa and Dan) as they discuss all things about the band Chicago!
There are so many people involved with this story that we definitely messed some things up. Let us know everything we got wrong in the comments below!
#chicagoband #musicpodcast #sightafterdark
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Do you love Music, and Music History, with a side of Comedy? Well you’re in the right place!
Sight After Dark (Singer Sifa Graffiti and Guitarist Dan Berg) is a band out of Brooklyn, NY that loves two things:
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If you want to be entertained by stories of your favorite musicians, BY musicians, there is no better place to be than here.
New episodes every other Wednesday!
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[@musicmaniacspod]

Thanks for being here everyone! This band is by far the biggest we've done so far, with lots of different people and stories involved. We definitely got a few things wrong, so let us know what we messed up! P.S. comment for the algorithm!

[@Chicago_Podcast_Authority]

According to Danny the snare serpent Seraphine's book they parted with James Guercio because he was skimming profits off the top.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Ooof not a good look Jim!

[@s.c.carriere8266]

@@musicmaniacspod Chicago got 50%, and Jimmy G. got 50%...BUT....50% divided between 7 band members didnt equate to much compared to all the money Guercio was making off their backs.

[@musicmaniacspod]

@@s.c.carriere8266 Doesn’t seem like a fair deal to us

[@tomdynes9317]

Wrong. Guercio wasn’t skimming. He had set up contracts that favored him wildly over the band. They signed the contracts eyes wide open because they needed Guercio’s connections and expertise. When they got tired of the arrangement, they parted ways. He was never “skimming” or stole anything from the band.

[@AmberPearcy]

“Dexterous Dan the Ice-Berg Man” and “Sifa the 21st century Nefertiti Graffiti”. I tried😂

[@musicmaniacspod]

😂😂😂 love it!

[@Chicago_Podcast_Authority]

This is genius Amber 🙌🏻

[@LoyalOpposition]

Chicago and Supertramp are the most underrated bands. New subscriber. There has been a boost in Chicago because of the three documentaries made in the last 5 years, as well as a lot of new uploads on KZbin. Concerts and interviews. Kalamazoo is the best concert from 1976 sound quality, and a great performance.

[@karenallan3336]

55 years and still going strong! Their new album (#38!!!!) "Born For This Moment" will be released on Friday, 7/15/22. The first single released from the new album, "If This Is Goodbye" ranks #20 this week, up 2 places from last week, on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Amazing. Thanks for watching!

[@karenallan3336]

@@musicmaniacspod Forgot to mention...Chicago will be on Good Morning America tomorrow morning!

[@musicmaniacspod]

Good morning indeed!

[@lamarravery4094]

Highlights from that album are Robert Lamm's songs, the rest is meh. I really miss the Cetera like tenor vocals this album lacks, just doesn't seem like a Chicago album.

[@craigw1911]

Walter Parazaider was their woodwinds (flute, oboe, etc) & sax player, you tagged him on trumpet in the beginning of the video. He is no longer in the band as he retired a few years ago due to health issues, so the original horn section is no longer intact. The only remaining original members are Robert Lamm, James Pankow and Lee Loughnane. Robert in an interview I saw recently effectively said that Chicago is those three making the decisions and a bunch of hired musicians. Terry is the reason why at 59 I finally bought my first electric guitar (Squier Affinity FMT HSS Strat in Sienna Sunburst). I always wanted to learn to play "25 or 6 to 4", and tried as a teen on an acoustic that didn't really fit my fingers. That is the one song driving me to learn.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Yes! We noticed our mistake during editing and put a little text on screen to credit him with the correct instrument. Terry is amazing and 25 or 6 to 4 is an all time classic. Thanks for watching!

[@craigw1911]

@@musicmaniacspod I missed the credit, I had your video on my laptop screen and I was listening to it while doing my work on another screen. Glad you both are enjoying Classic Chicago! 🎸

[@musicmaniacspod]

@@craigw1911 thanks so much for watching!

[@mmendrick]

Thanks for doing this retrospective on Chicago. One underrated and under appreciated song of theirs is Lowdown from Chicago III. Was a minor hit. Peter rock vocal and incredible bass presence. Terry acoustic and electric guitar including a brief solo. Major horn break. Hammond B3 by Robert. They all shine on this one. Too short but great track. Check it out if you haven’t heard it yet.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Thanks Michael! Appreciate you!

[@Chicago_Podcast_Authority]

They did all of Chicago III including Lowdown

[@karensaldanha4760]

The reason the were not popular right away was that top 40 was almost exclusively on AM radio in FM's infancy. The songs were too long for AM so the only place you heard Chicago (Transit Authority) was on album orient rock (AOR), almost exclusively on FM. Of course, that was niche audience. It was until the edited Make Me Smile was put on AM, did they catch.on big time with more edited songs coming from the 1st & 2nd album in rapid succession.

[@patriciakinnee8512]

In the early to mid-80s, the band was out on tour A LOT -- like never ending! It was draining on their creativity -- and family life. I was pissed when he left, but get it now.

[@lamarravery4094]

They're a touring band, they toured every year. They needed a break to concentrate on making quality music. They got burned out around when Terry died. They also fired their long time manager/producer at that time. And the drugs did them in until Foster came along and worked with them.

[@shameika535]

This is such a great band that definitely deserved a deep dive by you two

[@musicmaniacspod]

So true! So glad we were introduced to them :)

[@cyrus8666]

I love your info mixed with humor. Great show!

[@musicmaniacspod]

Thanks so much! Appreciate you Cyrus!

[@paulwatkins2247]

I hope someone request more After Kath material. It's mostly not good but there are some hidden gems especially before David Foster took over

[@musicmaniacspod]

Thanks Paul! We’re sure some will come up soon. Especially after this

[@isotopia7681]

Really interesting hearing the background, never heard that before, thanks

[@musicmaniacspod]

Thanks for watching!

[@toosharp04]

Came from Instagram because of the Munich joke, didn't regret watching this.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Ayyye! Nice to see you over here! Thanks so much for taking the time ☺️

[@LoyalOpposition]

No one was sued. Guercio lied about not being able to use CTA, because he hired an artist to make the Chicago logo, so he knew that story would placate the other guys. The song Walter heard outside while cleaning his pool was "If You Leave Me Now" (on my Community, I upload an interview/article of Terry saying "That's why we can do a song like 'If You Leave Me Now', alluding to having so many members in the band, but Walt doesn't recognize it, thinking it's McCartney and his wife says, "That's you guys!". These were in the tapes "JWG & Me" which were basically Peter Cetera songs in the can, "Happy Man" was one of them, too, and whenever they needed a song, Guerk went to him. The first hit was "Make Me Smile" and "Colour My World" (cut from the ballet), but "25 or 6 to 4" charted higher in 1970 on II..... Guercio was fired because he was taking 100% of publishing, and Danny kept asking questions, but was rebuffed by Lee, etc.. Guercio owned the studio and all the acreage. Anyway, they renegotiated, with Guercio settling for 51% of FUTURE publishing, and by then, Laudir was a full member, so Chicago had to divide it by 8, which is less than 7% each... Robert Lamm has admitted (interview on my channel) that he was against firing Guercio, who did take a small chance on them, but he was their best producer, and Foster was just a 15-minute producer.. After 15-minutes, it sounds dated and awful. Mixing up "Deliverance" and "The Deer Hunter". Terry was alone with Don Johnson (roadie) when it happened.

[@lamarravery4094]

Great recap. But Foster definitely revamped Chicago's sound and brought them into the 80s and pop radio which they needed. I was an 80s kid and I remember listening to their 16,17,18 and 19 albums and those held up at the time while their 70s tunes sounded out dated in the 80s. But as I got more accustomed to their older tunes in the 1990s, I gained more respect to both eras and amazed at how prolific, creative and talented this band was

[@lindaloe]

REST IN PEACE TERRY.

[@musicmaniacspod]

A true legend

[@joelliebler5690]

Terry was amazing and definitely the leader and the glue that made the band feel good even with doing The Blues!

[@musicmaniacspod]

Rip to Terry

[@lamarravery4094]

Terry was the leader in the beginning then as Cetera became the focal point in the mid 70s, Cetera was the leader.

[@joelliebler5690]

Especially because he elevated that bluesy rock sound!

[@markwideman339]

They still put out great music and their new CD Born for this Moment is a great R & B album.

[@lamarravery4094]

Their latest album isn't that great. It's not an album I can listen to over and over like their earlier albums. I only really liked the Lamm songs on this album.

[@markwideman339]

@lamarravery4094 I'm talking about ALL of their music after Terry. Born For This Moment, their latest álbum is better than most Music today. It doesn't matter what genre of Music they do they are great musicians.There are some great soulful and R & B songs on their last album. They are a great R & B band.

[@patriciakinnee8512]

I recommend reading Seraphine's book Street Player for more insight.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Thanks! Didn’t know he had a book out!

[@lamarravery4094]

I read it yrs ago, it's a very good read. Still waiting for Cetera to come out with a book. I really want to hear his side of being in the band.

[@zgfit]

The song “If you Leave Me Now” was not an 80’s song. Peter wrote that song when Terry was still alive. It’s a 70’s song. And Peter left Chicago in 1985. Danny got fired in 1990. Peter got tired of the drugs going on with the band members. He had cleaned himself up at this point

[@musicmaniacspod]

Thanks for watching!

[@lamarravery4094]

Peter and Danny were the sober ones. Danny started writing songs in the late 70s and early 80s.

[@davidpaxton3590]

I believe Make Me Smile was their first single that got significant radio play.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Thanks David!

[@nowokebloke]

Indeed! I never tire of listening to whatever they put out. The latest album is BIG time! Listen & Enjoy! When I hear the intro to the last song it actually makes me sad that it is coming to a close.

[@musicmaniacspod]

True. Thanks so much for watching!

[@s.c.carriere8266]

Danny was fired several years after Peter left. The way you described it, he was fired before Peter left. Danny discusses in his book that he began losing his "chops" around 89-90, and after a fight with another band employee (Jackie Goudie), the band fired him shortly after. This was around May 1990. Tris Imboden was brought on after Danny was credited for work on the first 20 albums. Chicago 21 was the first album Danny had no part of with the band.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Yup we definitely messed up a few things. Appreciate the corrections. Hopefully you found this to be even mildly entertaining even with the mistakes!

[@lamarravery4094]

And after Danny left, Chicago pretty much ended their chart run. I don't know if that's a coincidence or not.

[@henryhernandez7281]

Ohhhhh...Sight After Dark...Walt Parazaider Plays Woodwinds (Alto and Tenor Saxes, and flute)....Lee Loughnane plays trumpet, flugelhorn.....The first hit that James Pankow refers to is Make Me Smile (shortened version) from Ballet for a Girl from Buchannon. The reference to Viet Nam and the Viet Cong from The Deer Hunter is correct. Regarding the Bass player and tenor singer that replaced Peter Cetera, was Jason Scheff (trivia: his father was Bass player for Elvis). Jason departed Chicago after 26 years around 2016. Neil Donell is a Canadian singer that sings many of the songs previously sung by Peter Cetera and Jason Scheff. Keith Howland (Lead Guitar) and Lou Pardini (Keyboards and vocals) left also. There are new musicians playing lead guitar and bass. Their new album, Born for This Moment, was released July 15. Many of the cuts were released to KZbin and Spotify. It would be a good one for your review. I don't want to bias your review with my thoughts.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Haha yeah we definitely messed up something on this, but we got some things right too! Thanks so much for watching Henry. Hope you enjoyed!

[@LoyalOpposition]

If you are curious enough, I've uploaded over 100 videos (Terry Kath era) on my channel... Concerts, interviews, etc.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Thank you!

[@LoyalOpposition]

@@musicmaniacspod You're welcome! Enjoy!

[@mikeharrison3618]

Make Me Smile and James Pankow heard his song as he was driving down the street.

[@michaelkeefe8494]

There was a pretty good British blues outfit called the Chicago Climax Blues Band... I don't think they'd ever been there, they just fancied themselves as playing Chicago-style blues. They eventually dropped the "Chicago" from their name.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Thanks Michael!

[@patriciakinnee8512]

We called Jimmy "Swivel Hips" -- just watch him play!

[@lindaloe]

I LOVE!!!!CHICAGO!!!!

[@mikeharrison3618]

Kath was working at doing a record with Hendrix and Robert Lamb had solo lps.

[@tomdynes9317]

Especially since Hendrix died in 1970, eight years earlier

[@joelliebler5690]

All you needed to do was listen to their first 2 or 3 albums and instant love!

[@wendellwiggins3776]

Terry was a gift & the psychedelic heart of the band. But there was so much talent throughout. My best friends were horn players at 13 and CHICAGO were heaven sent. Saw them with Terry and a few years later. I felt Terry was ready to move from being in a big band. I stopped listening after Chicago 6. I know little about post Peter.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Thanks for commenting Wendell! Terry was the greatest

[@lindaloe]

It Was JAMES!!

[@s.c.carriere8266]

25th Anniversary was 1992, not 1994.

[@Chicago_Podcast_Authority]

of the first album lol

[@markwideman339]

They are a Zepplin, they have a much more diverse catalog than Zeppelin.

[@cahyoh.harimurti8554]

50:40 Jason Scheff was the new vocalist after Cetera

[@musicmaniacspod]

Thanks!

[@mmendrick]

Robert tried to get Peter to play with them at the Hall of Fame induction. Peter wanted the band to rearrange the songs in a lower key. They declined.

[@musicmaniacspod]

That’s a shame

[@lamarravery4094]

Robert and Peter have a weird relationship. I've heard Robert saying positive things about Peter, then undermining him in other interviews putting down his abilities as a writer. Robert was jealous of Peter's later success within the band as Peter started writing their biggest hit tunes. Funny how I've never heard Peter say anything negative about Robert.

[@lindaloe]

WHISKY A GO GO !!

[@joelliebler5690]

They could have used Robert Lamm more for some lead songs though they would need to do a more rock style when David Foster was involved.

[@s.c.carriere8266]

The new lead singer now is Neil Donnell. Peter Cetera (1967-1985); Jason Scheff (1985-2016); Jeff Coffey (2016-2018); Neil Donnell (2018-present)

[@musicmaniacspod]

Thanks!

[@mikeharrison3618]

Guercio bought Caribou Ranch and they wondered where he got the money for the studio ranch.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Lol that’ll do it

[@markwideman339]

To say they were just a soft rock band after Terry is JUST NOT TRUE. They are still a rock band with Horns and since Terry have become one of the greatest R&B band ever. You guys evidently haven't listened to them after Terry. If you are going to make comments like that then make sure you listen to it all. I've suggested a few after Terry songs and you haven't evaluated them. The album Hot Streets after Terry is great and THEY WERE AND STILL ARE A ROCK/R&B BAND WITH HORNS, NOT A SOFT ROCK BAND. You need to listen to the stuff after Terry.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Hi Mark. We have heard some Post-Terry Chicago (not ALL of it, as there is only so much time in a day 😂) We never said they were ONLY a soft rock band, we said that they lost some edge and soul after Terry died and clearly weren’t the same band afterwards. Would you disagree? That being said, we acknowledged in the pinned comments that we got some things wrong. This is by far the biggest/longest lasting band we have covered so far, and we have only been aware of how great they are for a short time. We tried our best to cover the full history. Didn’t mean to disappoint you, but we hope you at least got some entertainment value out of this. Thanks for spending the time to watch!

[@markwideman339]

@@musicmaniacspod I do agree They are not the same after Terry no band could recover that's like the stones losing Mick Jagger you know it's not the same but however thowever they've continued to adapt their music they're still a rock band with horns they just happened to have a few hits that happened to be soft ballads and they got mislabeled but if you listen to their entire library you're gonna hear every kind of music you can imagine and you guys

[@musicmaniacspod]

Respect. We look forward to continuing to hear more from them as time goes on :)

[@markofrontz1343]

I don't know about 'underrated'. Under-estimated, perhaps. As allot of their fans now, know them as a ballad band, and the earlier works are now largely ignored. Whether it's snobbery on my part, by choice I listen to anything off their first VI releases.

[@musicmaniacspod]

We respect that! Thanks for watching Marko!

[@karenallan3336]

Have you checked out the 2 new releases from their new album coming out next week? If This Is Goodbye and Firecracker.

[@markofrontz1343]

@@karenallan3336 have I checked out the new stuf? No. Will I make an effort? Doubtful. Will I avoid it ifn I run across it. No, I ain't that opposed. Saw 'em touring V and VI, so when they slid into the ballads, they slid off my radar & never made it back. And it's not that I think that stuf sucked. Just held no interest for me. Sorry for the wordy-ness, it happens. Perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised. One can only hope.

[@karenallan3336]

@@markofrontz1343 I get it...but I think you might be pleasantly surprised. Hope you'll hear one soon! :-)

[@karensaldanha4760]

Check out the long critique I left of mistakes and misconceptions I wrote on your promotion on the shorts. I couldn't copy and paste it here.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Thanks Karen! We responded over there

[@zgfit]

Albums 16 & 17 were top selling albums too. 17 had number 1 singles. But after Peter left I think Chicago had maybe one album that did ok

[@musicmaniacspod]

Thanks for watching!

[@cahyoh.harimurti8554]

Chicago 17 didn't had any number 1 singles, but had 6 times platinum, while Chicago 16 that had Hard to Say I'm sorry singles as the number 1 only had a 1 time platinum.

[@lamarravery4094]

After Peter left, their 18 and 19 albums did pretty well. But 19, had 4 top 10 hits.

[@mikeharrison3618]

They were going to quit after Terry 's death but musician Doc Severinsen of The Tonight Show with Johny Carson convinced them not to.

[@s.c.carriere8266]

Walt was the sax player, not the trumpet player. Lee Loughnane (pronounced LOCK NANE) = trumpet and flugelhorn, Jimmy "Pack the house" Pankow - Trombone.

[@Chicago_Podcast_Authority]

they corrected it with on screen text :)

[@joelliebler5690]

Make Me 😊 a great tune!

[@mikeharrison3618]

Walt Parazaider isn't performing any more in the band. Robert,James and Lee for 55 years.

[@mikeharrison3618]

Kath was at a roadies house.

[@timthompson1695]

It was a money issue that led to the sacking of JWC... he was taking too much of the cut (according to the band). I actually think this was the catalyst for the end of 'real' Chicago... I think TK would have left eventually - he was working on a solo album. Chicago X (Chocolate Chicago) which I don't think you've done, has If You Leave Me Now on it, but that's the exception... the album is bookended by TK compositions; the punchy, up-beat rocker 'Once or Twice' and the reflective acoustic ballad 'Hope For Love' where he really sounds like Ray Charles. And the rest of the album is full of great eclectic tracks... Robert Lamm's 'Scrapbook' is one of my favourites with Terry's trade mark wah-wah guitar shining through. But you're right; fame and the demands of being famous took their toll in the end.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Shoutout to the legend Terry Kath. Thanks for watching Tim!

[@timthompson1695]

@@musicmaniacspod Thanks to the both of you for sharing your thoughts and insights 👍

[@mikeharrison3618]

Cetera and Foster wrote together.

[@mikeharrison3618]

Double lp,double lp,double lp, then fourth lp a 4 record live set at Carnegy Hall.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Legendary

[@toddschickel2058]

Walter Parazadier plays woodwinds, not trumpet.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Yup. This was corrected on screen. Thanks for watching Todd!

[@mikeharrison3618]

Hendrix like ZZ Top guitarist.

[@mikeharrison3618]

Cetera wanted to do a Phil Collins.

[@musicmaniacspod]

He needs to learn the drums!

[@zgfit]

He wanted a deal like Phil Collins & Genesis. He wanted to do an album w/ Chicago & then time to do a solo album. This is the deal Phil had

[@markwideman339]

They did NOT just become a soft rock band.

[@lamarravery4094]

Chicago's not underrated. They've been my favorite band since the 1980s.

[@joelliebler5690]

Yes Dan it was Vietnam!

[@lindaloe]

ONE MONTH OLDER THAN ROBERT BOTH IN 1944.

[@lindaloe]

JASON SCHEFF

[@mikeharrison3618]

Hendrix took them on the road with him.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Nice

[@mattjohn4731]

The Minutemen were the most underrated band ⚒⚓

[@musicmaniacspod]

Fair! Maybe we’ll do a podcast on them someday!

[@mattjohn4731]

@@musicmaniacspod Thanks 4 reply! Minutemen had a Woody Guthrie spirit. Songs about US Imperialism, the downtrodden, hypocrisy etc. With Serious musicianship 🎸🥁⚖

[@joelliebler5690]

They also did not want to be full of Bull! So they became CTA.

[@lindaloe]

ROBERT IS 6FT 2 AND AHALF JAMES IS NOT A REAL TALL GUY!!

[@musicmaniacspod]

Oops! That is what we meant to say! Thanks Linda!

[@lamarravery4094]

Robert, Lee and Walt were pretty tall dudes.

[@paulfenwick8767]

Not one to court controversy, but I would say the complete opposite, one of the most over rated bands ever. Sanitised middle of the road music. Think it's an American thing, supporting your own.

[@musicmaniacspod]

Hey Paul, you know we respect your opinion, but as we said in the podcast, we find the original era of Chicago music to be amazing, and if it didn’t come from America, we would still feel the same ☺️ Cheers friend!

[@paulfenwick8767]

@@musicmaniacspod I didn't mean you two, sorry, I meant American society. I love all the different bands and genre's you cover. Variety is the spice of life, lol. Just there's some music I just can't abide.

[@musicmaniacspod]

@@paulfenwick8767 Fair enough!

[@Chicago_Podcast_Authority]

@@musicmaniacspod doing his part for the Al Gore rhythm 🥁 🫡