THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

328-Chicago-If You Leave Me Now.

1976-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 1.36. And today’s Pop quiz question is, do you know where this band were originally formed?

And of course I wouldn’t be naughty, this isn’t a trick question. The band Chicago have indeed got their origins in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The original line up of Walter Parazaider, (saxophone) Terry Kath, (1946-1978) (guitar) Danny Seraphine, (drums) James Pankow, (trombone) Lee Loughnane, (trumpet) and Robert Lamm, (vocals, and keyboards) formed as ‘The Big Thing’ in February 1967, with some of the band members having previously played in other local bands. It was some months later that bassist, and future lead singer Peter Cetera would also become a band member. After signing with ‘Columbia Records’ in 1968 they changed their name to the ‘Chicago Transit Authority,’ but after the success of their self titled debut Album they had to change their name to ‘Chicago,’ in order to avoid legal action from the ‘Chicago Transit Bus Authority’ (C.T.A.) from where they took the name.

In total 26 different band members have come and gone, with Lamm, Loughnane, and Pankow, being the groups three constants. With sales in excess of 100 million they are one of the best selling acts of all time, and were the best selling singles group on Billboard during the 1970’s. They have released 24 studio Albums between 1968-2017, with the first four releases all being double Albums, there are also seven official live Albums, and 11 compilation Albums available. Chicago have issued 64 singles between 1969-2019, with 35 of them reaching the Billboard top 40 in America, and three of those have made the Number 1 spot, including this song. In the UK where they have not been as successful, six of their singles have reached the top 40, with ‘If You Leave Me Now’ ending 1976 as the UK’s sixth best selling song of the year.

For the early part of the groups career a lot of the bands music was more Rock orientated, with the major writing being provided by Terry Kath and Robert Lamm, Chicago described their early sound as a ‘Rock and Roll band with horns’ (see also best songs 631.) ‘If You Leave Me Now’ signified the start of a new era for the band, who were to become better known as a ‘Soft Rock’ act. The song was written and sung by the bands bass player Peter Cetera, with very little input from the other band members, which led to friction within the group. With the success of this new style of sound, the bands record company were eager to pursue the recording of further ballads.

Peter Paul Cetera was born on September 13th, 1944, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. After the success of ‘If You Leave Me Now’ Cetera wanted to pursue a solo career alongside still being a member of Chicago, much in the same way Phil Collins had a solo career separate from Genesis,(see also best songs 741) while still being acknowledged as a band member. Cetera released his first self titled solo Album in 1981 which was a commercial failure, only making Number 143 on the Billboard Album chart, with Cetera blaming his record company for lack of promotion. Cetera eventually parted ways with Chicago in 1984 having recorded 14 studio Albums with the group. As a solo artist he has released seven studio Albums between 1981-2004, and 28 singles, of which seven have reached the Billboard top 40, with two of them ‘Glory of Love,’ and ‘The Next Time I Fall,’ with Amy Grant, making the Number 1 spot.

‘A love like ours is love’s that hard to find, how could we let it slip away. We’ve come too far to leave it all behind, how could we end it all this way.’