How Chicago Continued to Evolve in the ‘70s
Chicago was on a roll in 1971. They'd amassed three albums of studio material released across a two-year timespan. By the time they hit the stage at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in September of that year, they were nearly ready to record their fourth album.
4 Great 1970s Chicago Songs Sung and Written by Peter Cetera in Honor of His 80th Birthday
Here’s sending out Happy Birthday wishes to founding Chicago singer/bassist Peter Cetera, who celebrated his 80th birthday on September 13. Cetera was the last of Chicago’s seven original members to join the group, coming on board to provide the horn-driven band with high-tenor vocals while holding down the bottom end.
Chicago’s Lee Loughnane on Releasing the Band’s Long-Lost 1971 Concert at the Kennedy Center
By 1971, Chicago had been together four years and had three consecutive hit albums from their 1969 debut Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago (1970), and Chicago III (1971). That year, Chicago was one of the first artists to perform at the then-newly opened John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., following Leonard Bernstein, who played its inaugural show on September 8, 1971.
The Story and Meaning Behind “Hard to Say I’m Sorry,” Chicago’s Comeback Hit that Alienated Half the Band
Chicago returned from a commercial slump in a big way in 1982 with “Hard to Say I’m Sorry,” which shot to the top of the pop charts. Little did most fans know the song was mostly the product of the lead singer collaborating with the song’s producer and a bunch of hired-gun session players.
4 Times that Jazz/R&B Singer Randy Crawford Crossed Over with Famous Collaborators
Throughout the 1980s, Randy Crawford was something of a regular on the U.S. album charts, with releases typically peaking in the lower half of the Billboard 200. She had even longer-lasting success on the R&B singles chart, placing songs well into the late ‘90s. For her work with jazz keyboardist Joe Sample, Crawford was nominated for a pair of Grammy Awards in the late 2000s. Yet these successes and accolades haven’t helped her to have more than a fleeting presence on Top-40 radio in the U.S. Crawford’s biggest success as a pop artist came in the UK, where she placed 13 singles on the Official Singles Chart, including two Top-5 hits, “One Day I’ll Fly Away” and “Almaz.”