Chicago. No, not the city (though I actually really loved the city the one time we’ve ever visited). No, I’m talking about Chicago, the kick-ass rock and horns band from the late sixties and early seventies. It’s impossible to count their hits on two hands, but all of my favorite songs are from their early days. Chicago provided part of the soundtrack of my childhood on Wright Avenue. The Archie Bunker-like curmudgeon who was my dad, an avid listener of music from the Big Band Era, really like Chicago’s sound – the mix of contemporary rock with the most amazing arrangements of horns. Their sound was unique; no one was producing the kinds of amazing ballads and pop tunes that this group of musicians was doing, to perfection. I have chosen one of their most famous releases, along with a melancholy ballad, to be today’s top songs by Chicago. Call On Me starts with percussion and then the horns. Oh, those horns! This was one of my dad’s favorites. It’s also one of mine. It elicits summer breezes in the backyard with family gatherings, Chicago playing on the 8-track player from the garage. In all the years I knew my parents as a married couple, I think the only time I ever saw them as two people who were into each other was this era, around 1974, with Chicago playing the score. Then there is the ballad Wishing You Were Here, from the same album with such a different tone. Needless to say, the message to this song is pretty clear. Always wishing they were here.
From the historical writing archive. Original date: December 17, 2018. Recovered from local source material; editorial review is still in progress.