Chicago The Band: Beginnings Trivia Quiz

Answer: Chicago Transit Authority

Jimmy Guercio was a musician who was involved in the Chicago music scene and acquainted with some of the members of "The Big Thing" before it was formed. He eventually became a record producer for CBS Records. The band eventually settled on the name, "The Big Thing", and was performing both cover songs and original material. It was while they were playing in Michigan in 1967, that Guercio came to hear the band and gave a positive review. Early the next year, he heard them once more and suggested they move to Los Angeles so he could become their manager. Shortly after, the band traveled to New York to make its first album. Guercio choose a new name for the band, "Chicago Transmit Authority" (CTA), from the public transportation he had used when he lived in Chicago to ride to school.

The album, "Chicago Transit Authority" (1969) was a double album; this was very uncommon for a first album, but many of the guys were prolific songwriters. Within a year, the album was certified platinum, and four singles had been released, including the song, "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?". Threatened with legal action over the name, as the Chicago Transit Authority was actually a company in Chicago, Illinois, the band shortened its name to "Chicago".

The other choices are names of bands to which the various members belonged before they formed Chicago.

Answer: Walter Parazaider

Parazaider's story is quite interesting; he was trained as a classical musician on the clarinet, and was planning to take his teacher's place with the Chicago Symphony. He found out, however, as a teenager that if he also learned to play saxophone he could join a rock band, which would allow him to make some money and meet girls. He continued with both musical pursuits, and even received a playing degree in orchestral clarinet. Then, in the early 1960s, the composition of the typical rock band changed for a time, with most using only guitars, bass, and drums. It was not until the Beatles released "Revolver" (1966) with the song, "Got To Get Your Into My Life", that horns became fashionable again, according to Parazaider; it was the perfect time to implement his idea of a "rock 'n' roll band with horns". He was in a band, and he suggested to two of the band members that they ask Lee Loughnane, a trumpet player, to sit in with the group. Then they invited a trombone player, James Pankow, to join. It must be emphasized here that Parazaider did not intend to use the horns as backup musicians like some groups; when songs were composed, horns were thoroughly integrated into the compositions.

While Parazaider is still listed as a member of the group, he was forced to retire from touring with the band in 2017 due to health reasons. He was replaced by Ray Herrmann, who had previously filled in from time to time when needed.

Imboden (drums) and Champlin (keyboard and vocals) are former members of the group. Pardini (keyboard and vocals) joined in 2009.

Answer: Terry Kath

Terry Kath had been teenage friends with Walter Parazaider and Jimmy Guercio. During his time with the "Missing Links", which also included Parazaider and Seraphine, Kath played bass, as the band already had a guitar player! In fact, when Guercio became a producer, he asked Kath if he wanted to join another band and play bass, but Kath declined the offer, saying that he felt guitar was his main instrument and he wanted to be a lead singer. Kath did not have the formal training in music that the others had; he was mostly self-taught, influenced by both jazz and rock. He was, however, viewed by the others as the leader of the group. Jimi Hendrix once told a member of the band Chicago: "Jeez, your horn players are like one set of lungs and your guitar player is better than me". That was high praise, now wasn't it?

Donnie Dacus (guitar) and Dawayne Bailey (guitar) are past members of the group. Keith Howland joined the band as lead guitarist in 1995, after showing up at an audition without an appointment.

Answer: He said he could play bass pedals on the organ.

In the early days, when the band Chicago was being formed as "The Big Thing", people were needed to fill certain positions for the band. They wanted to recruit someone to play bass and keyboards, and had come into contact with a band called "Bobby Charles and the Wanderers", that featured Robert Lamm as Bobby Charles. When Lamm was called to see if he would be interested in joining, he was asked if he could play the bass pedals on an organ. He said he could (when he really couldn't), and had to learn how to really fast! His first meeting with the others (Parazaider, Kath, Seraphine, Loughnane, and Pankow) took place on February 15, 1967. The band was formed - almost.

Ultimately, the bass pedals on the organ did not provide the range of sound that the band wanted. In the winter of 1967 they met someone - Peter Cetera - who could play bass and also provide a tenor voice. The group finally had the sound - both vocally and instrumentally.

Answer: True

After the members of CTA moved to L.A., they performed at Whisky a Go Go and began opening for acts such as Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. According to Peter Cetera, the band had a contract with a promoter, Bill Graham, who exercised his right to reschedule them for the dates that Woodstock was held. Graham also managed the group Santana, who replaced CTA on the program.

By the way, Graham apparently made it up to CTA a year later by replacing both Joe Cocker and Jim Hendrix with the band at a concert at Tanglewood, Massachusetts, which is considered to be an important turning point concert for the band.

Answer: Beginnings

"Beginnings" was written by Robert Lamm using an acoustic guitar that was missing two strings! In early music videos, he plays keyboards on the song and Terry Kath plays the distinctive guitar riff at the beginning and throughout. In many later concert videos, however, Lamm is playing acoustic guitar. After the release of the band's second album, "Beginnings" was re-released with "Colour My World" on the B-side. Both songs became huge hits for the band, with "Beginnings" going to number one on the U.S. Easy Listening chart.

The other choices are all songs that were released from the first album, "Chicago Transit Authority".

Answer: 25 or 6 to 4

There has been a lot of discussion regarding the meaning of the song, "25 or 6 to 4". It was banned in Singapore from the time of its release until 1993. Due to its cryptic lyrics, people believed it might be a reference to drug use.

Robert Lamm, the song's writer, however, has said that it was a song about writing a song at either 3:35 or 3:36 in the morning, and that he really hadn't planned to keep those lyrics in the song. Once the band started playing it, however, the lyrics fit. He was living in Hollywood Hills at the time and would look over the city at nighttime, "Waiting for the break of day, searching for something to say". The song, with its showcase of the horn section and the use of the wah-wah pedal by Kath, made it to number 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in June 1970. It was the band's first top five hit.

All of the choices were found on the second album made by the band Chicago, which was released in 1970. By this time the group was no longer called Chicago Transit Authority, and the album was simply called "Chicago"; it soon became known as Chicago II.

Answer: His jaw was broken.

This story is important to relate along with Lamm's story about how the song "25 or 6 to 4" was written. Peter Cetera was to be the lead singer on the song, but had hurt his jaw during a fight at Dodger Stadium. It was broken in three places and wired shut when it was time to record the song. With their producer unwilling to wait, Cetera had to learn to sing with his teeth clenched, which he said he continued to do after his jaw was healed.

In addition, with all the convalescing time involved, Cetera needed something to do, so he decided to try song writing. During the the summer of 1969, while watching the moon landing, he was inspired by something Walter Cronkite said and wrote "Where Do We Go From Here?". It is found on the Chicago II album.

Answer: Caribou Ranch

Jimmy Guercio built a recording studio at Caribou Ranch, which, over time, attracted numerous artists, including Elton John, the Beach Boys, and Dan Fogelberg. For the band Chicago, it was supposed to be a quiet place where they could work without distractions with better, less expensive equipment than had been available in the New York studios they had been using. The albums, Chicago VI (1973), Chicago VII (1974), Chicago VIII (1975), Chicago X (1976), and Chicago XI (1977), were recorded there. They also starred in two television specials filmed at Caribou Ranch and produced by Dick Clark, "Chicago in the Rockies" (1973) and "Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch" (1974).

In the upcoming years, many changes would take place for the band Chicago. But they always found a way to keep going.

The other choices are among the top ten largest ranches in the United States today.

Answer: It was a single rather than a double album.

Most music fans, delighted with the release of a double album, do not know the problems that are connected with issuing two albums instead of one. The members of the band Chicago were prolific writers and always had a lot of music to record. But in order to release their first album, "Chicago Transit Authority" as a double album, they had been forced by the record company to agree that they would reduce their royalties. After selling out a week at Carnegie Hall in 1971, the band wanted to release a four record live set called "Chicago IV". Even with the band's initial success, the record company did not want to release the album set because of its additional manufacturing cost. Their producer, Jimmy Guercio, had to agree to cover the extra costs if the record didn't sell a million copies, which, of course, he never had to do.

Lee Loughnane has explained that by the time "Chicago V" (1972) was released, record companies were only willing to pay for ten copyrights per record, which really limited albums to ten songs. It wasn't profitable for any band to release a double album after that.