Chicago

Multi-platinum Grammy winners and big brass rock innovators Chicago return to Hard Rock Live on May 4. In 1967, Chicago musicians Walter Parazaider, Terry Kath, Danny Seraphine, Lee Loughnane, James Pankow, Robert Lamm, and Peter Cetera formed a group with one dream, to integrate all the musical diversity from their beloved city and weave a new sound, a rock 'n' roll band with horns. Their dream turned into 20 Top Ten singles, 12 Top Ten albums (five of which were #1), and sales of more than 120 million records.

Well known for being one of the first (and, one of the few) rock bands to make extensive use of horns, Chicago started as a politically charged, sometimes experimental rock band and later moved to a softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads.

While albums III and Live at Carnegie Hall fared more modestly, Chicago forged ahead with their fifth effort, buoyed by the hit "Saturday In The Park," which reached #3 - the band's biggest hit thus far, making critically-acclaimed Chicago V the biggest hit album of 1972, and Chicago's first #1 album. Albums Chicago VI through XIV are most well-known for the popular hits and ballads "Just You 'N' Me" (#4), "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" (#10), "(I've Been) Searchin' So Long" (#9), "Wishing You Were Here" (#11), "If You Leave Me Now" (#1), "Baby, What A Big Surprise" (#4) and "Alive Again" (#14), but the band's popularity soon waned. It wasn't until 1982's XVI that featured the hits "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" (#1), and "Love Me Tomorrow" (#8) that Chicago bounced back to platinum, reaching #9, rescuing their career in the process. After that, a steady stream of hits including "Stay The Night" (#16), "Hard Habit To Break" (#3), "You're The Inspiration" (#3), "Along Comes A Woman" (#14), "Look Away" (#1), and "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" (#3) inspired a new generation.

Though the line-up may have changed through the years, Chicago retains the legacy of music they inherited from their parents and their teachers and that they have brought to millions of fans Photo by:Johnny Louis/jlnphotography.com