The Chicago Band Official Store

Band formed: Feburary 15, 1967

Original name: The Big Thing

Name change: Chicago Transit Authority
Due to legal issues with the city the band dropped Transit Authority.

Name that stayed: Chicago

Formed: Kitchen of Walt Parazaider's apartment

Walt Parazaider formed the band the Missing Links before the idea of Chicago. The Missing Links feature Terry Kath on Bass, Danny Seraphine on Drums and Lee Loughnane occasionally sat in with the band.

Lee Loughnane played with The Shannon Show Band and Ross & The Majestics & occasionally performed with The Missing Links before the birth of Chicago.

Walt Parazaider recruited Jimmy Pankow to join the band in the fall of 1966 who then recruited a piano player named Bobby Charles from a band called Bobby Charles & The Wanderers. Bobby Charles real name ......... Robert Lamm.

After Lamm joined the band Walt Parazaider, Terry Kath, Danny Seraphine, Lee Loughnane and Jimmy Pankow decide to pick a new name for the band that name was the Big Thing.

In 1967, the Big Thing played with a band called the Exceptions who's bass player came early to check out the band the bass player was Peter Cetera who shortly after their show together was out of the Exceptions and joined the Big Thing.

The Big Things next set of shows at Barnaby's March 6-10 1968, producer and friend of Walt Parazaider named James William Guercio came to Chicago from LA to check out the band and told them to prepare to come to LA. That move came in June 1968.

After the band moved to LA, the band changed its name to Chicago Transit Authority (A.K.A CTA)
James Williams Guercio set up two show cases of Chicago Transit Authority for his employer CBS Records (West Coast Division) which turned down the band so Guercio decided to put a demo together of CTA which was getting attention with in the industry and then President Clive Davis reversed the West Coast Division decision and signed the band to CBS Records.

Jimi Hendrix was a fan of the band and took the band on the road as his warm up act after seeing them play at the Whiskey on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.

Terry Kath was idolized by Jimi Hendrix and quoted by James Guercio as saying "You know I am pretty good but that cat blows me away"

1969 & 1970 besides touring with Jimi Hendrix the band also toured with Janis Joplin

September 13 1969 the band plays the Toronto Peace Festival with The Doors and John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band

Terry Kath was a co-founder of Pignose Amplifiers.

Bill Champlin founded the San Francisco based 60's band Son's of Champlin

1978 one day after guitarist Terry Kath's death Bill Champlin is contacted as a possible replacement for Terry but turned it down

Bill Champlin joins Chicago in 1981

1985 Jason Scheff joins the band to replace Peter Cetera

Jason Scheff's debut with Chicago was a vocal performance on the hit What Kind Of Man Would I Be?

Jason Scheff's father Jerry was Elvis Presley's bass player

Tris Imboden joined Chicago in 1990 replacing original drummer Danny Seraphine.

Tris Imboden was one of the founding members of the band Honk in 1970. He is also a seasoned studio musician. Among his studio work have been sessions for Neil Diamond, Kenny Loggins, Firefall, Richard Marx, Steve Vai, Roger Daltrey and Crosby, Stills & Nash. He has also toured as a drummer with Kenny Loggins, Al Jarreau, Firefall, Cock Robin and numerous others.

Bands first four Albums were multi disc releases that include 4-disc album called Live Carnegie Hall.

Have toured for 40 consecutive years

Have had hits in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s & '00plus a multi platinum selling DVD with Earth, Wind & Fire Live at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles in 2004 the year -.

120,000,000 Albums sold worldwide

19 Gold & 13 Platinum Albums

12 Top 10 Albums

5 Number 1 Album’s

Number of hit songs 30

20 Top 10 singles

5 number 1 singles

First number 1 single: If You Leave Me Now (1976)

Last number 1 single: Look Away (1988)

First Two Top 10 singles: Make Me Smile & 25 Or 6 to 4 (1970)

Does Anybody Know What Time It Is? And Beginnings were on the bands Debut album but were not hits until 1971

April 5-10 1972 Chicago sets a record as the first rock n roll group to sell out Carnegie Hall for a week.

In 1975 Chicago sold 20 million records

The Beach Boys sang background vocals on the hit Wishing You Were Here

The Gypsy Kings played on Sing Sing Sing from The Night & Day album

Aerosmith’s Joe Perry plays guitar on Blues In The Night from The Night & Day album

Frank Sinatra wanted to record Colour My World and asked the band to add additional lyrics and the band respectfully declined

July 23, 1992 received star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

All Time ranking of 13th of the most successful bands by Billboard Magazine

Ranked 35 in all time record sales with over 120 million

1976 won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus for "If You Leave Me Know"

1977 & 1986 won an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Band, Duo or Group

Chicago's Bill Champlin has won 3 Grammy Awards starting in 1976 with Chicago for "If You Leave Me Know", 1979 as a song writer for "After The Love Has Gone" by Earth, Wind & Fire and in 1982 as a song writer for "Turn Your Love Around" by George Benson.

1970 the band plays The Isle Of Wight festival a line up which included over fifty performers which included The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, The Doors, Ten Years After, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Joni Mitchell, The Moody Blues, Melanie, Donovan, Free, Chicago, Richie Havens, John Sebastian, Joan Baez, Supertramp, Redbone, Sly & The Family Stone, Everly Brothers, Leonard Cohen, Jethro Tull, Taste and Tiny Tim

Billboard chart statistics, Chicago is second only to the Beach Boys as the most successful American rock band of all time, in terms of both albums and singles. Judged by album sales, as certified by the R.I.A.A., the band does not rank quite so high, but it is still among the Top Ten best-selling U.S. groups ever.

In 2002, Chicago's biggest hits were assembled together on the two-disc set The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning and the album debuted in the Top 50, giving the band the distinction of having had chart albums in five consecutive decades.

Through all of their success they have yet to be elected to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame.