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Chicago Transit Authority

Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #43 – Chicago II Jukebox EP: “Movin’ In”/”Wake Up Sunshine”/”To Be Free” b/w “West Virginia Fantasies”/”Colour My World”/”It Better End Soon 2nd Movement” – Columbia Special Coin Operator Release Jukebox EP 7-KGP-24 (D5/E5)

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Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – The Jukebox Series #43 – Chicago II Jukebox EP: “Movin’ In”/”Wake Up Sunshine”/”To Be Free” b/w “West Virginia Fantasies”/”Colour My World”/”It Better End Soon 2nd  Movement” – Columbia Special Coin Operator Release Jukebox EP 7-KGP-24 (D5/E5)

“The Jukebox Series” focuses on the 80 records that inhabit my 1963 Seeburg LPC1 jukebox. I’ve had my jukebox (or as I like to call it “the prehistoric iPod”) for a little over twelve years and in that time I’d like to think that I’ve perfected the mix of 45s within.

Jukebox EPs (or extended plays, or tiny albums) were made for the coin operated jukebox market during the 1950s through the mid-1970s. They were small-holed 7” records that played at 33 1/3 RPM and cost 25-50 cents per play. They typically included four to six tracks from an album and afforded the listener at a diner or bar an extended taste of a record by their favorite artist.

Today’s jukebox EP is culled from the second album by Chicago Transit Authority who by 1970 shortened their name to just plain Chicago. The album carried the title Chicago as well, but it is far better known as Chicago II. Although the album spawned several big singles including “25 Or 6 To 4,” “Make Me Smile,” and “Colour My World,” only one of them is present on the jukebox EP that was released to promote the album on coin operated machines.

Chicago’s first three records were all double albums, which was unheard of at the time. Their manager and producer, James William Guercio, had just come off of working with Blood Sweat & Tears and he used his clout with Columbia Records to push the notion of double albums through.

This gave the band featuring Robert Lamm on keyboards, Terry Kath on guitar, Peter Cetera on vocals, James Pankow on trombone, Lee Loughnane on trumpet, Walter Parazaider on saxophone and Danny Seraphine on drums, room to stretch their musical muscle especially on their debut album. By the time of their second release, Chicago began to shorten their tunes and play up the horns, leading them to the dominance of the singles charts they’d have for the rest of the 1970s.

The highlight of the second Chicago album was the suite that took up most of side two called “Ballet For A Girl In Buchannon” which included three songs on today’s EP, “Colour My World,” “To Be Free” and “West Virginia Fantasies.”  The Buchannon of the suite’s title was actually a misspelling of Buckhannon, West Virginia.

After the band recorded the suite, they were hesitant to have singles edited from it for release. When the band acquiesced, they ended up releasing two of their most beloved singles, “Make Me Smile” which climbed to the #9 position on the charts in 1970, and “Colour My World” which went two slots higher to #7 in 1971.

“Colour My World” was the slow dance classic of 1970 and has also proven over the years to be one of the band’s best-loved recordings. It was written by trombone player James Pankow and features Terry Kath singing the lead vocals with Walter Parazaider on the flute solo.

James Panko (as told on The Chris Isaac Hour TV show): “It’s a small segment of a multi-movement piece on our second album which is basically a tribute to my first love. I had been listening to Bach – the Brandenburg Concertos, and they had all those arpeggiated melodies. I sat at a piano and started messing around with these arpeggios. That cycle of arpeggios became the foundation of the song. Frank Sinatra called our publicist and said, ‘Ask that kid to write another verse for that song.’ I thought about it, I called him back and said I can’t do it – it’s like sewing another arm on your kid, I can’t do it.”

Other songs on the EP include “West Virginia Fantasies,” an instrumental from the Suite that highlights the group’s compositional acumen; “It Better End Soon 2nd Movement” which was also from the album’s other extended suite that took on the Nixon administration, “Movin’ In” the opening track to Chicago II, “To Be Free” (another instrumental) and the single “Make Me Smile.” The album climbed to the #4 position on the U.S. charts upon its release in 1970.

The band continued to rule the charts throughout the 1970s becoming one of the decade’s biggest hit makers until Terry Kath died of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1978 while participating in a game of Russian roulette. The band would never be the same again without him.

Song Of The Day – “Poem 58” by Chicago Transit Authority

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chicagotransitauthorityThe fact that Chicago Transit Authority was the horn band of the late 1960s has obscured the fact that Chicago was also one hell of a guitar band. Proof positive is this somewhat obscure track from their eponymously titled debut album from 1969.

(Play the track and continue reading.)

This song has it all! The track kicks off with a funky rhythm guitar pattern that quickly moves into an extended guitar solo courtesy of one of the most underrated guitarists of all time Terry Kath. Heck, even Jimi Hendrix was a big fan of Kath, and his intuitive and imaginative playing is what sets this Chicago record apart from all of the rest.

Then there’s a breakdown of sorts right in the middle of the track leading into a monster riff that settles into a spooky boogie pattern that’s both sinister and funky. Then the golden toned vocals courtesy of Peter Cetera takes the song into another more conventional radio-friendly direction.

But being radio friendly wasn’t where the band was at in 1969. There was only one single released from the record while Chicago Transit Authority was the band’s current album, and that song, “Question 67 And 68” wouldn’t become a chart hit for two more years when it was released again as a single after Chicago II took off.

CTA’s debut album was a double record, unheard of at the time, especially for a debut album. Their manager and producer, James William Guercio, had just come off of working with Blood Sweat & Tears on their second album which was a smash hit, and he used his clout with Columbia Records to push the notion of a double album through.

This gave the band featuring Robert Lamm on keyboards, Terry Kath on guitar, Peter Cetera on vocals, James Pankow on trombone, Lee Loughnane on trumpet, Walter Parazaider on saxophone and Danny Seraphine on drums, room to stretch their musical muscle. In fact this would be the only Chicago album where the band really did stretch out. After this album, Chicago began to shorten their tunes and play up the horns, leading them to the dominance of the singles charts they’d have for the rest of the 1970s.

CTA spawned several hit singles including “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?,” “Beginnings,” “I’m A Man” and “Question 67 And 68,” but they were all released after their second album became a hit, so while the album sold well and charted at number 17, its popularity was not driven by single releases. And anyway, it’s the album cuts that weren’t released as singles where all the action is.

For the vinyl album-centric fans out there, the third side of this record is especially tasty.  “Free Form Guitar,” begins this side with seven minutes in pure improvised sonic heaven featuring Kath plugged directly into his amp without the use of any pedals. When I was younger, this particular track used to leave me cold, but now I could listen to this all day long. As the first take fury of “Free Form Guitar” comes to an close, “South Carolina Purples” kicks in with another memorable opening guitar riff before settling in for some great horn and organ jamming. The track gives a nod to the Beatles by quoting “I Am The Walrus” in the opening line. The side culminates with an Afro-Cuban cover of Spencer Davis Group’s “I’m A Man.” The track became a chart hit in 1971 when DJs found it on the B-side to the single “Question 67 And 68” and began playing it on the radio.

Politics were never far from the band’s mind, especially after the anti-war demonstrations that took place outside of the Democratic Presidential Convention in the summer of 1968 on the band’s home turf in Chicago. In an early use of sampling, the band took the demonstrator’s chant “The whole world is watching” and turned it into the track “Prologue August 29, 1968” which segues into “Someday (August 29, 1968)” where the chant reappears.

The album culminates with the nearly fifteen minutes of fury called “Liberation” which is another killer Terry Kath showpiece featuring even more free form guitar soloing.

Their debut album would be the only album where the group went by the name Chicago Transit Authority. Shortly after its release, the actual Transit Authority of Chicago threatened a law suit and the group was forced to shorten their name to Chicago. Terry Kath died of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1978 while participating in a game of Russian roulette. The band would never be the same again without him.

Song of the Day – “Poem 58” by Chicago Transit Authority

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45-adapter-logo2chicagotransitauthority

Song of the Day by Eric Berman – “Poem 58” by Chicago Transit Authority

The fact that Chicago Transit Authority was the horn band of the late 1960s has obscured the fact that Chicago was also one hell of a great guitar band. Proof positive is this somewhat obscure track from their eponymously titled debut album from 1969.

(Play the track and continue reading.)

This song has it all! The track kicks off with a funky rhythm guitar pattern that quickly moves into an extended guitar solo courtesy of Terry Kath, one of the most underrated guitarists of all time. Heck, even Jimi Hendrix was a big fan of Kath, and his intuitive and imaginative playing is what sets this Chicago record apart from all of the rest.

Then there’s a breakdown of sorts right in the middle of the track leading into a monster riff that settles into a spooky boogie pattern that’s both sinister and funky. Then the golden toned vocals courtesy of Peter Cetera takes the song into another more conventional radio-friendly direction.

But being radio friendly wasn’t where the band was at in 1969. There was only one single released from the record while Chicago Transit Authority was the band’s current album, and that song, “Question 67 And 68” wouldn’t become a chart hit for two more years when it was released again as a single after Chicago II took off.

CTA’s debut album was a double record, unheard of at the time, especially for a debut album. Their manager and producer, James William Guercio, had just come off of working with Blood Sweat & Tears on their second album which was a smash hit, and he used his clout with Columbia Records to push the notion of a double album through.

This gave the band featuring Robert Lamm on keyboards, Terry Kath on guitar, Peter Cetera on vocals, James Pankow on trombone, Lee Loughnane on trumpet, Walter Parazaider on saxophone and Danny Seraphine on drums, room to stretch their musical muscle. In fact this would be the only Chicago album where the band really did stretch out. After this album, Chicago began to shorten their tunes and play up the horns, leading them to the dominance of the singles charts they’d have for the rest of the 1970s.

CTA spawned several hit singles including “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?,” “Beginnings,” “I’m A Man” and “Question 67 And 68,” but they were all released after their second album became a hit, so while the album sold well and charted at number 17, its popularity was not driven by single releases. And anyway, it’s the album cuts that weren’t released as singles where all the action is.

For the vinyl album-centric fans out there, the third side of this record is especially tasty. “Free Form Guitar,” begins this side with seven minutes in pure improvised sonic heaven featuring Kath plugged directly into his amp without the use of any pedals. When I was younger, this particular track used to leave me cold, but now I could listen to this all day long. As the first take fury of “Free Form Guitar” comes to a close, “South Carolina Purples” kicks in with another memorable opening guitar riff before settling in for some great horn and organ jamming. The track gives a nod to the Beatles by quoting “I Am The Walrus” in the opening line. The side culminates with an Afro-Cuban cover of Spencer Davis Group’s “I’m A Man.” The track became a moderate chart hit in 1971 when DJs found it on the B-side to the single “Question 67 And 68” and began playing it on the radio.

Politics were never far from the band’s mind, especially after the anti-war demonstrations that took place outside of the Democratic Presidential Convention in the summer of 1968 on the band’s home turf in Chicago. In an early use of sampling, the band took the demonstrator’s chant “The whole world is watching” and turned it into the track “Prologue August 29, 1968” which segues into “Someday (August 29, 1968)” where the chant reappears.

The album culminates with the nearly fifteen minutes of fury called “Liberation” which is another killer Terry Kath showpiece featuring even more free form guitar soloing.

Their debut album would be the only album where the group went by the name Chicago Transit Authority. Shortly after its release, the actual Transit Authority of Chicago threatened a law suit and the group was forced to shorten their name to Chicago. Terry Kath died of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1978 while participating in a game of Russian roulette. While ultimately very successful, the band would never be the same again without him.