Saturday In The Park: A Preview Of Chicago At Ravinia
If you're a fan of classic rock and live in the Chicago area, this is a big week for you. Between tonight and next Sunday you can see ZZ Top, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Foo Fighters, Cheap Trick and Santana at various venues.
But the music starts tonight with the iconic band, Chicago, playing at Ravinia, in suburban Highland Park.
Chicago formed in 1967 and their sound back then was something you didn't hear much of....hard edged rock music with a brass section.
One of their biggest fans was a pretty good guitarist named Jimi Hendrix. He told Chicago Saxophonist, Walt Parazaider, "Jeez, your horn players are like one set of lungs and your guitar player is better than me."
That guitar player was Terry Kath. I always felt Kath was the soul of Chicago. When he died in a gun accident in 1978, the band's sound changed. It became much softer with more ballads. It was the Peter Cetera era.
It's been almost 50 years for Chicago and constants for this group are keyboardist/vocalist Robert Lamm plus the horn section of Lee Loughnane, Jimmy Pankow, and Parazaider. All have been together for the entire run. They still put out albums, it's now at 36 and they still tour.
Lots of memories when you hear the old songs but I still miss the Terry Kath days.
Chicago plays at Ravinia tonight and tomorrow. The gallery below features some of their photos and music.
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If you want to hear some more music, with Summer coming to an end, here's some songs that celebrate the season.
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