Chicago discography

Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, generating several hit ballads. The group had a steady stream of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Second only to The Beach Boys in Billboard singles and albums chart success among American bands, Chicago is one of the longest-running and most successful rock groups, and one of the world's best-selling groups of all time, having sold more than 100 million records.[1][2]

Chicago discography
Chicago in 2004 (L-R): Keith Howland, James Pankow, Bill Champlin, Walt Parazaider, Tris Imboden, Lee Loughnane, Robert Lamm (view blocked) and Jason Scheff.
Studio albums24
Live albums7
Compilation albums11
Singles64

According to Billboard, Chicago was the leading US singles charting group during the 1970s. They have sold over 40 million units in the US, with 23 gold, 18 platinum, and 8 multi-platinum albums.[3][4] Over the course of their career they have had five number-one albums and 21 top-ten singles. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 8, 2016 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Albums

Canon albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
No. Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
US
[5]
AUS
[6]
CAN
[7]
GER
[8]
ITA UK
[9]
1 Chicago Transit Authority
  • Released: April 28, 1969
  • Label: Columbia
  • Formats: LP, cassette, 8-track
  • Cover design: Painted shingle
17 23 10 9
2 Chicago
  • Released: January 26, 1970
  • Label: Columbia
  • Formats: LP, cassette, 8-track
  • Cover design: Silver bar
4 5 4 20 8[12] 6
3 Chicago III
  • Released: January 11, 1971
  • Label: Columbia
  • Formats: LP, cassette, 8-track
  • Cover design: Tattered flag
2 6 7 17 9[13] 9
4 Chicago at Carnegie Hall
  • Released: October 25, 1971
  • Label: Columbia
  • Formats: LP, cassette, 8-track
  • Cover design: White tile
3 26 3
5 Chicago V
  • Released: July 10, 1972
  • Label: Columbia
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD, 8-track
  • Cover design: Carved wood
1 5 1 13[14] 24
6 Chicago VI
  • Released: June 25, 1973
  • Label: Columbia
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD, 8-track
  • Cover design: Engraved bill
1 12 2 22[15]
7 Chicago VII
  • Released: March 11, 1974
  • Label: Columbia
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD, 8-track
  • Cover design: Embossed leather
1 13 4
8 Chicago VIII
  • Released: March 24, 1975
  • Label: Columbia
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD, 8-track
  • Cover design: Embroidered textile
1 27 3
9 Chicago IX: Chicago's Greatest Hits
  • Released: November 10, 1975
  • Label: Columbia
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD, 8-track
  • Cover design: Painted billboard
1 16 1
  • US: 5× Platinum[10]
  • CAN: 3× Platinum[11]
10 Chicago X
  • Released: June 14, 1976
  • Label: Columbia
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD, 8-track
  • Cover design: Chocolate bar
3 3 3 5 8[16] 21
11 Chicago XI
  • Released: September 12, 1977
  • Label: Columbia
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD, 8-track
  • Cover design: Regional map
6 7 4 39 15[18]
12 Hot Streets
  • Released: October 2, 1978
  • Label: Columbia
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD, 8-track
  • Cover design: Photo of band
12 14 10
13 Chicago 13
  • Released: August 13, 1979
  • Label: Columbia
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD, 8-track
  • Cover design: Marina City tower
21 24 21
14 Chicago XIV
  • Released: July 21, 1980
  • Label: Columbia
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD, 8-track
  • Cover design: Fingerprint
71 71 60
15 Greatest Hits, Volume II
  • Released: November 23, 1981
  • Label: Columbia
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD, 8-track
  • Cover design: Series of signs
171
16 Chicago 16
  • Released: June 7, 1982
  • Label: Full Moon
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD, 8-track
  • Cover design: Computer chip
9 22 17 11 13[19] 44
17 Chicago 17
  • Released: May 14, 1984
  • Label: Full Moon
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD, 8-track
  • Cover design: Brown paper package
4 65 4 12 24
18 Chicago 18
  • Released: September 29, 1986
  • Label: Full Moon
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD, 8-track
  • Cover design: Mosaic tiles
35 53 49
19 Chicago 19
  • Released: June 20, 1988
  • Label: Full Moon
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD, 8-track
  • Cover design: Modern painting
37 38 42
20 Greatest Hits 1982–1989

Issued as: The Heart of Chicago in Europe.

  • Released: November 21, 1989
  • Label: Full Moon
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD
  • Cover design: Masonry
37 92 73 47 23[20] 6
21 Twenty 1
  • Released: January 29, 1991
  • Label: Full Moon
  • Formats: LP, cassette, CD
  • Cover design: Painted number "1"
66 73 66
22 Night & Day: Big Band
  • Released: May 23, 1995
  • Label: Giant
  • Formats: cassette, CD
  • Cover design: Musical instruments
90
23 The Heart of Chicago 1967–1997
  • Released: April 22, 1997
  • Label: Reprise
  • Formats: cassette, CD
  • Cover design: Red satin
55 47 21
24 The Heart of Chicago 1967–1998 Volume II
  • Released: May 12, 1998
  • Label: Reprise
  • Formats: cassette, CD
  • Cover design: Blue satin
154
25 Chicago XXV: The Christmas Album

Reissued as: What's It Gonna Be, Santa? (2003).

  • Released: August 25, 1998
  • Label: Chicago
  • Formats: cassette, CD
  • Cover design: Christmas wreath
47
26 Chicago XXVI: Live in Concert
  • Released: October 12, 1999
  • Label: Chicago
  • Formats: CD
  • Cover design: Billboard on highway
27 The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning

Issued as: The Chicago Story: Complete Greatest Hits in Europe.

  • Released: July 2, 2002
  • Label: Rhino
  • Formats: CD
  • Cover design: Green grass logo
20 86 25 11
28 The Box
  • Released: July 22, 2003
  • Label: Rhino
  • Formats: CD
  • Cover design: Pushed out pins
29 Love Songs
  • Released: January 25, 2005
  • Label: Rhino
  • Formats: CD, digital download
  • Cover design: Rose petals with box of chocolates & stemmed roses
57
30 Chicago XXX
  • Released: March 21, 2006
  • Label: Rhino
  • Formats: CD, digital download
  • Cover design: Granite inlay on concrete with jackhammered XXX cutouts
41
31 The Best of Chicago: 40th Anniversary Edition
  • Released: October 2, 2007
  • Label: Rhino
  • Formats: CD, digital download
  • Cover design: Red wax seal
100
32 Chicago XXXII: Stone of Sisyphus
  • Released: June 17, 2008
  • Label: Rhino
  • Formats: CD, digital download
  • Cover design: Chiseled out of stone boulder
122
33 Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three
  • Released: October 4, 2011
  • Label: Chicago Records II
  • Formats: CD, digital download
  • Cover design: Candy cane
170
34 Chicago XXXIV: Live in ‘75
  • Released: 2011
  • Label: Rhino
  • Formats: CD, digital download
  • Cover design: Sun and clouds special logo
35 Chicago XXXV: The Nashville Sessions
  • Released: 2013
  • Label: Chicago Records II
  • Formats: CD, digital download
  • Cover design: Map with Nashville at top
36 Chicago XXXVI: Now
  • Released: July 4, 2014
  • Label: Frontiers
  • Formats: CD, digital download
  • Cover design: Swirling black-and-white checkerboard
82 56 181
37 Chicago Christmas (2019)
  • Released: October 11, 2019
  • Label: Rhino
  • Formats: LP, CD, digital download
  • Cover design: Green-and-white striped wrapped gift with red bow
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

Notes:

Other albums

Live albums

  • 1975: Live in Japan
  • 2015: Chicago at Symphony Hall
  • 2018: Chicago: VI Decades Live (This is What We Do) (box set)
  • 2018: Chicago: Chicago II Live on Soundstage
  • 2018: Chicago: Greatest Hits Live

Compilation albums

  • 1983: If You Leave Me Now
  • 1984: The Ultimate Collection
  • 1985: Take Me Back to Chicago
  • 1991: Group Portrait
  • 1995: Overtime
  • 1995: 25 Years of GoldAUS #30[6]
  • 1997: Chicago Presents The Innovative Guitar of Terry Kath
  • 1997: The Very Best of Chicago
  • 1997: The Heart of Chicago: 1967–1997
  • 1998: The Heart of Chicago : 1967–1998, Volume II

Unauthorized releases

In 1969, Chicago appeared at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, the same one day rock festival that produced John Lennon's Live Peace in Toronto 1969. (Also appearing at the Festival were Alice Cooper, Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry - whose performances of the event were also issued on albums.) Since 1978, there have been innumerable unauthorized LP, Cassette and CD releases of the same poor-quality recording of this performance.

There were eight songs recorded at the gig, seven from Chicago Transit Authority plus the then unreleased "25 or 6 to 4." Almost all of these releases include only seven of the songs; "Beginnings" is nearly always omitted, its title often being wrongly given to the first track "Introduction". Virtually all of them give at least a couple of incorrect song titles, such as "Purple Song" instead of "South California Purples", or "Questions 57 and 58" instead of "Questions 67 & 68". One release is titled so as to imply that the recordings are from 1967.

The one song in the set not to appear on any official live album is "Liberation", which is frequently edited or faded early and whose correct total runtime is approximately 16:05. On some versions, all the songs are faded early. Some LP versions include talking between songs, most notably Lamm pointing out that "25 or 6 to 4" was a brand new song. This talking was not carried over to CD versions.

Despite its shortcomings, some reviewers have regarded the recording quite positively. For example, the 1984 LP release Chicago: Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival 69 by Design Records is considered by reviewer Doug Stone to be a "choice concert souvenir...captur(ing) the group in its live prime. Supporting the Chicago Transit Authority debut, before mastering wedding material, Chicago was a rock & roll force to be reckoned with."[21] A reviewer of an earlier version of same recording, entitled Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival 1969, Volume 1 (Accord, 1981) considers that "...there's certainly nothing wrong with the performance. In some ways, the at times fuzzy sound works in the album's favor, giving Chicago a garage-y edge rarely found on their studio works."[22]

Singles

Year Title US 100
[5]
US AC
[23][24][5]
AUS
[6]
UK
[9]
IRE
[9]
CAN
[25]
Certification Lead singer Album B-side Label and cat#
July 1969 "Questions 67 and 68" 71 54 Peter Cetera/Robert Lamm Chicago Transit Authority "Listen" Columbia 44909
Oct. 1969 "Beginnings" Lamm "Poem 58" Columbia 45011
March 1970 "Make Me Smile" 9 33 11 Terry Kath Chicago II "Colour My World" Columbia 45127
June 1970 "25 or 6 to 4" 4 12 7 13 2 Cetera "Where Do We Go from Here" Columbia 45194
Oct. 1970 "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" 7 5 35 2 Lamm Chicago Transit Authority "Listen" Columbia 45264
Feb. 1971 "Free" 20 99 12 Kath Chicago III "Free Country" Columbia 45331
April 1971 "Lowdown" 35 19 Cetera "Loneliness Is Just a Word" Columbia 45370
June 1971 "Beginnings" (A-side) 7 1 8 Lamm Chicago Transit Authority Columbia 45417
June 1971 → "Colour My World" (B-side) 7 Kath Chicago II Columbia 45417
Sept. 1971 "Questions 67 and 68" (A-side) 24 34 Cetera/Lamm Chicago Transit Authority Columbia 45467
Sept. 1971 → "I'm a Man" (B-side) 49 8 13 8 Kath/Cetera/Lamm Columbia 45467
July 1972 "Saturday in the Park" 3 8 43 2 Lamm/Cetera Chicago V "Alma Mater" Columbia 45657
Oct. 1972 "Dialogue (Part I & II)" 24 91 26 Cetera/Kath "Now That You've Gone" Columbia 45717
June 1973 "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" 10 74 12 Cetera Chicago VI "Jenny" Columbia 45880
Sept. 1973 "Just You 'n' Me" 4 7 23 3 Cetera "Critic's Choice" Columbia 45933
Feb. 1974 "(I've Been) Searchin' So Long" 9 8 44 5 Cetera Chicago VII "Byblos" Columbia 46020
June 1974 "Call on Me" 6 1 9 Cetera "Prelude to Aire" Columbia 46062
Oct. 1974 "Wishing You Were Here" 11 1 51 12 Kath/Cetera "Life Saver" Columbia 10049
Feb. 1975 "Harry Truman" 13 23 16 Lamm Chicago VIII "Till We Meet Again" Columbia 10092
April 1975 "Old Days" 5 3 80 6 Cetera "Hideaway" Columbia 10131
Aug. 1975 "Brand New Love Affair (Part I and II)" 61 27 65 Kath/Cetera "Hideaway" Columbia 10200
June 1976 "Another Rainy Day in New York City" 32 2 37 Cetera Chicago X "Hope for Love" Columbia 10360
July 1976 "If You Leave Me Now" 1 1 1 1 1 1 Cetera "Together Again" Columbia 10390
March 1977 "You Are on My Mind" 49 17 75 James Pankow "Gently I'll Wake You" Columbia 10523
Sept. 1977 "Baby, What a Big Surprise" 4 8 14 41 3 Cetera Chicago XI "Takin' It on Uptown" Columbia 10620
Jan. 1978 "Little One" 44 40 49 Kath "Till the End of Time" Columbia 10683
May 1978 "Take Me Back to Chicago" 63 39 66 Lamm "Policeman" Columbia 10737
Oct. 1978 "Alive Again" 14 39 37 11 Cetera/Dacus Hot Streets "Love Was New" Columbia 10845
Dec. 1978 "No Tell Lover" 14 5 67 10 Cetera/Dacus "Take a Chance" Columbia 10879
March 1979 "Gone Long Gone" 73 93 Cetera "The Greatest Love on Earth" Columbia 10935
Aug. 1979 "Must Have Been Crazy" 83 Dacus Chicago 13 "Closer to You" Columbia 11061
Oct. 1979 "Street Player"* Cetera "Window Dreamin'" Columbia 11138
July 1980 "Thunder and Lightning" 56 46 Cetera/Lamm Chicago XIV "I’d Rather Be Rich" Columbia 11345
Oct. 1980 "Song for You" Cetera "The American Dream" Columbia 11376
May 1982 "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" 1 1 4 4 1 1 Cetera Chicago 16 "Sonny Think Twice" Full Moon/Warner 29979
Sept. 1982 "Love Me Tomorrow" 22 8 82 35 Cetera "Bad Advice" Full Moon/Warner 29911
Jan. 1983 "What You're Missing" 81 Cetera "Rescue You" Full Moon/Warner 29798
April 1984 "Stay the Night" 16 47 Cetera Chicago 17 "Only You" Full Moon/Warner 29306
July 1984 "Hard Habit to Break" 3 3 20 8 3 5 Cetera/Bill Champlin "Remember the Feeling" Full Moon/Warner 29214
Nov. 1984 "You're the Inspiration" 3 1 43 14 9 5 Cetera "Once in a Lifetime" Full Moon/Warner 29126
Feb. 1985 "Along Comes a Woman"** 14 25 96 17 Cetera "We Can Stop the Hurtin'" Full Moon/Warner 29082
Aug. 1986 "25 or 6 to 4" (Newly re-recorded version) 48 52 Jason Scheff Chicago 18 "One More Day" Full Moon/Warner 28628
Oct. 1986 "Will You Still Love Me?" 3 2 6 Scheff/Champlin "25 or 6 to 4" (Newly re-recorded version) Full Moon/Warner 28512
March 1987 "If She Would Have Been Faithful..." 17 9 54 Scheff/Champlin "Forever" Full Moon/Warner 28424
June 1987 "Niagara Falls" 91 Scheff/Champlin "I Believe" Full Moon/Warner 28283
May 1988 "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" 3 5 60 4 Champlin Chicago 19 "I Stand Up" Full Moon/ Reprise 27855
Sept. 1988 "Look Away" 1 1 77 1 Champlin "Come in from the Night" Full Moon/ Reprise 27766
Jan. 1989 "You're Not Alone" 10 9 22 Champlin "It’s Alright" Full Moon/ Reprise 27757
April 1989 "We Can Last Forever" 55 12 74 Scheff "One More Day" Full Moon/ Reprise 22985
Nov. 1989 "What Kind of Man Would I Be?" 5 2 14 4 Scheff Chicago 19/Greatest Hits 1982-1989 "25 or 6 to 4" Full Moon/ Reprise 22741
July 1990 "Hearts in Trouble" 75 77 Champlin Days of Thunder soundtrack "Car Building" DGC 19679
Jan. 1991 "Chasin' the Wind" 39 13 50 Champlin Twenty 1 "Only Time Can Heal the Wounded" Reprise 19466
Apr. 1991 "Explain It to My Heart" Scheff/Champlin "God Save the Queen" Reprise 19449
Aug. 1991 "You Come to My Senses" 11 57 Scheff "Who Do You Love" Reprise 19205
June 1995 "Dream a Little Dream of Me" Scheff/Jade Night & Day Big Band Giant
April 1997 "Here in My Heart" 59* 1 Champlin/Scheff The Heart of Chicago 1967–1997 Reprise
Oct. 1997 "The Only One" 17 Lamm/Champlin/Scheff
June 1998 "All Roads Lead to You" 14 Champlin/Lamm/Scheff The Heart of Chicago 1967–1998 Volume II
Oct. 1998 "Show Me a Sign" 28 Scheff/Champlin
Sept. 1999 "Back to You" Scheff Chicago XXVI: Live in Concert Chicago Records
Feb. 2006 "Feel" 19 Lamm Chicago XXX Rhino
May 2006 "Love Will Come Back" 21 Scheff/Champlin
June 2008 "Let's Take a Lifetime" Scheff Chicago XXXII: Stone of Sisyphus
Dec. 2011 "My Favorite Things" 9 Lamm Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three Chicago Records II
Nov. 2019 "All Over the World" 28 Neil Donell Chicago Christmas (2019) Rhino
Dec. 2019 "Sleigh Ride 2019" 15 Donell
  • "Street Player" peaked at #91 on the US R&B chart in December 1979.
  • The #59 peak of "Here in My Heart" was on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. The record was not eligible for the Hot 100 at the time, not being released as a retail single.

Billboard Year-End performances

Year Song Year-End
Position
1970 "Make Me Smile" 59
1970 "25 or 6 to 4" 61
1971 "Beginnings"/"Colour My World" 56
1972 "Saturday in the Park" 76
1973 "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" 54
1974 "(I've Been) Searchin' So Long" 73
1974 "Call On Me" 98
1976 "If You Leave Me Now" 48
1982 "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" 10
1984 "Hard Habit to Break" 45
1985 "You're the Inspiration" 37
1987 "Will You Still Love Me?" 50
1988 "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" 48
1989 "Look Away" 1
1990 "What Kind of Man Would I Be?" 71

Other appearances

Year Song Album
1985 "Good for Nothing" We Are the World

Videos

Music videos

List of music videos, with directors, showing year released
Year Video Director[27]
1976 "If You Leave Me Now" (Live)
1978 "Alive Again" (Live)
1982 "Love Me Tomorrow" (Live)
1984 "Stay the Night" Gilbert Bettman Jr.
1984 "Hard Habit to Break" Leslie Libman
1984 "You're The Inspiration" Leslie Libman
1985 "Along Comes a Woman" Jay Dubin
1986 "25 or 6 to 4" Andy Brenton
1986 "Will You Still Love Me?"
1988 "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love" Paul Boyington
1988 "Look Away"
1989 "You're Not Alone" Richard Levine
1990 "Hearts in Trouble" Michael Bay
1991 "Chasin' the Wind"
1991 "Explain It to My Heart"
2006 "Feel"
gollark: Oh, so your issue is its increasing CISCness?
gollark: I'd like to know *why* you think ARM is so bad, since it is increasingly prevalent nowadays.
gollark: I mean, I don't know much about ARM vs x86, yes, but calling it "garbage" seems at least very hyperbolic to me.
gollark: Please excuse me if I am not convinced by an argument which is basically just one assertion.
gollark: In what way?

References

  1. Ruhlmann, William. Chicago. Biography, AllMusic. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
  2. St. Augustine Record Staff (2012-12-10). "Chicago to perform April 7 in Amphitheatre". The St. Augustine Record. Archived from the original on 2013-06-06. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  3. "Gold and Platinum – Top Selling Artists". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on July 1, 2007. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
  4. "Gold and Platinum – Artist Tallies". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on July 11, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
  5. "Chicago – Awards: AllMusic". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  6. Australian chart peaks:
  7. "Results – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  8. "Search Results for 'Chicago'". Charts.de (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  9. "Chicago | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  10. "American certifications – Chicago". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  11. "Canadian certifications – Chicago". Music Canada. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  12. "Hitparadeitalia.it". Archived from the original on 2017-01-29. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  13. "Hitparadeitalia.it". Archived from the original on 2017-01-17. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  14. "Hitparadeitalia.it". Archived from the original on 2012-12-14. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  15. "Hitparadeitalia.it". Archived from the original on 2012-12-14. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  16. "Hitparadeitalia.it". Archived from the original on 2017-03-13. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  17. "British certifications – Chicago". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 9, 2013. Type Chicago in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  18. "Hitparadeitalia.it". Archived from the original on 2017-03-13. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  19. "Hitparadeitalia.it". Archived from the original on 2012-12-29. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  20. "Hitparadeitalia.it". Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  21. Review of Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival 69; AllMusic
  22. Bob Koch, Vinyl Cave: Toronto Rock 'n Roll Revival 1969, Volume I by Chicago Transit Authority Archived 2008-10-13 at the Wayback Machine; Thedailypage.com, November 10, 2008.
  23. "Chicago Chart History: Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 9, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  24. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary 1961–2001. Record Research. ISBN 9780898201499.
  25. Bac-lac.gc.ca
  26. "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2019-02-09. Retrieved 2019-01-20.
  27. "Chicago artist videography". mvdbase.com. Archived from the original on 2018-02-10. Retrieved 2018-02-10.
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