After 30 years, Chicago, a hit-making group throughout the '70s and '80s, returns to Hawaii for the first time in 20 years for a 7:30 p.m. March 29 concert at the Waikiki Shell. Tickets to the show are $25 and $50.
music is a hard
habit to break
Chicago will perform
its many hits at the
Waikiki ShellWIN A TRIP TO CHICAGO
By Tim Ryan
Star-BulletinThe band, formed in 1966 in -- guess where -- Chicago, was originally called the Missing Links, then the Big Thing, and the same year changed its name to Chicago Transit Authority at the suggestion of manager Jim Guercio.
The original lineup featured Terry Kath on guitar and vocals, Peter Cetera as singer, Robert Lamm on keyboards and vocals, Walter Parazaider on saxophone, Danny Seraphine on drums, Walt Perry on bass, James Pankow playing trombone and Lee Loughnane on trumpet.
It was the horn section that set the group apart from other mid-'60s rock bands, though CTA was preceded on record by similar-sounding groups such as Blood, Sweat & Tears and the Electric Flag.
The band's reputation was built during 1967 and 1968 in Los Angeles at clubs like the Whisky A-Go-Go. In 1969 the group landed a contract with Columbia Records, largely through Guercio's reputation as the producer of Blood, Sweat & Tears and the Buckinghams.
In 1969 the group released its self-titled debut album. The recording never made the Top 10 but stayed on the American charts for 171 weeks. The group also enjoyed single hits with "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is" and "Beginnings."
Want to go to Chicago courtesy of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin? Win a trip to Chicago
The concert, that is.
The Star-Bulletin is giving away a dozen pair of tickets to Chicago's 7:30 p.m. March 29 concert at the Waikiki Shell in a contest that asks readers to write about where they were when certain history-making events occurred, such as President John F. Kennedy's assassination, the Pearl Harbor attack, the Apollo moon landing, the Hilo tsunami and Bruddah IZ Kamakawiwo'ole's death. Look for the topics in "Where were you when?" ads appearing in this newspaper. It appears today on page B4.
The top 12 stories will be chosen by the Star-Bulletin staff.
Contestants must email, fax or write their descriptive answers to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin at 500 Ala Moana Boulevard, Seven Waterfront Plaza, Suite 500, Honolulu, HI 96813; fax at 545-4918; or email features@starbulletin.com
The deadline is March 24. Some of your memories will be published in a commemorative issue on April 1.
The group shortened its name to Chicago in 1970.
The second album was released as "Chicago II." Each of the group's albums received a number as its title, up to "Chicago 21" in 1991. Exceptions were the fourth album, the four-record boxed set called "Chicago at Carnegie Hall"; No. 12, "Hot Streets" ; and Nos. 15 and 20, which were "greatest hits" volumes.
By the early '70s, Chicago started breaking away from its rock and jazz sound toward more mainstream pop, scoring hits such as "Color My World," the 1976 No. 1 hit "If You Leave Me Now" and 1982's "Hard to Say I'm Sorry," which also shot to No. 1.
Five consecutive Chicago albums topped the charts between 1972 and 1975. The group experienced a sales slump in the late '70s, but rebounded in the early '80s.
In 1974 the group added Brazilian percussionist Laudir de Oliveira to the lineup. The following year, the group toured with the Guercio-managed Beach Boys.
In 1977, after "Chicago X" was awarded a "Best Album" Grammy, Guercio and the group parted ways. The following year, founding member Kath died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The group continued, with ex-Stephen Stills sideman Donnie Dacus on guitar. Dacus left the following year and was replaced by Chris Pinnick. He, in turn, left in 1981 when Bill Champlin, ex-Sons of Champlin, joined on keyboards.
In 1981, Chicago was dropped by Columbia and signed to Full Moon Records, distributed by Warner Bros. The same year, Cetera released a solo album which became a mild success.
After Cetera left the group in 1985 -- he was replaced by Jason Scheff, son of Elvis Presley bassist Jerry Scheff -- he released two more solo albums, the first of which yielded two No. 1 singles, "Glory of Love" and "The Next Time I Fall," the latter a duet with Amy Grant.
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