Post by erik on Apr 10, 2021 19:59:53 GMT -5
An early hit from rock's most popular group to integrate big-band horn sections into its line-up is in this week's Pop Music Hits Spotlight.
QUESTIONS 67 AND 68 (Chicago; CBS; 1969)—A number of bands have gotten in trouble because of their name/moniker. This is the case with the legendary band Chicago, which was formed in their namesake in 1967. Arguably the most popular band in the world to re-merge rock with its roots in jazz, to the point of having a large brass section, they first called themselves Chicago Transit Authority; but they were forced to shorten it after Chicago’s legendarily vicious mayor Richard Dailey took exception. Still, the band persevered, occasionally being political when they started out, with some parts of their first album Chicago Transit Authority utilizing sound excerpts from the chaos that erupted outside the Democratic National Convention in August 1968. Once the album was released, the band, along with their producer James William Guercio, had relocated to Los Angeles, and would remain there throughout most of the subsequent decades. Among the many singles that were released from that album (released in April 1969), one of them was a fairly enigmatically titled song, “Questions 67 And 68”. The song was written by the group’s keyboardist/vocalist Robert Lamm and given a lead vocal by the band’s bass player Peter Cetera; and according to Lamm, it was about a girl he knew during that period of time, “with a hint of acid imagery, and Beatles-influenced”. Like so many bands from that time forward, Chicago was generally an album rock band; and initially, “Questions 67 And 68” could only reach #71 on the Hot 100 when it was first released during the hot summer of 1969. But when the album’s other singles, including “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”; “Beginnings”; and “I’m A Man”, became big hits in 1970 and 1971, “Questions” was re-released in a more radio-friendly version in July 1971; and in that form, it peaked at #25 that September. Along with two #1 hits (1976’s “If You Leave Me Now”; 1982’s “Hard To Say I’m Sorry”), Chicago retained its popularity through any number of personnel changes (and what many felt was a diminution of their familiar horn-based approach when David Foster took over as producer in 1982), with each successive (and numbered album). They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, and got a Lifetime Achievement Grammy from the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in 2020.
QUESTIONS 67 AND 68 (Chicago; CBS; 1969)—A number of bands have gotten in trouble because of their name/moniker. This is the case with the legendary band Chicago, which was formed in their namesake in 1967. Arguably the most popular band in the world to re-merge rock with its roots in jazz, to the point of having a large brass section, they first called themselves Chicago Transit Authority; but they were forced to shorten it after Chicago’s legendarily vicious mayor Richard Dailey took exception. Still, the band persevered, occasionally being political when they started out, with some parts of their first album Chicago Transit Authority utilizing sound excerpts from the chaos that erupted outside the Democratic National Convention in August 1968. Once the album was released, the band, along with their producer James William Guercio, had relocated to Los Angeles, and would remain there throughout most of the subsequent decades. Among the many singles that were released from that album (released in April 1969), one of them was a fairly enigmatically titled song, “Questions 67 And 68”. The song was written by the group’s keyboardist/vocalist Robert Lamm and given a lead vocal by the band’s bass player Peter Cetera; and according to Lamm, it was about a girl he knew during that period of time, “with a hint of acid imagery, and Beatles-influenced”. Like so many bands from that time forward, Chicago was generally an album rock band; and initially, “Questions 67 And 68” could only reach #71 on the Hot 100 when it was first released during the hot summer of 1969. But when the album’s other singles, including “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”; “Beginnings”; and “I’m A Man”, became big hits in 1970 and 1971, “Questions” was re-released in a more radio-friendly version in July 1971; and in that form, it peaked at #25 that September. Along with two #1 hits (1976’s “If You Leave Me Now”; 1982’s “Hard To Say I’m Sorry”), Chicago retained its popularity through any number of personnel changes (and what many felt was a diminution of their familiar horn-based approach when David Foster took over as producer in 1982), with each successive (and numbered album). They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, and got a Lifetime Achievement Grammy from the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in 2020.