Chicago

Released: July 10, 1972

Songwriter: Robert Lamm

Producer: James William Guercio

[Verse: Terry Kath & Peter Cetera]
Are you optimistic
About the way that things are going?
No, I never ever think of it at all

Don't you ever worry
When you see what's going down?
Well, I try to mind my business
That is, no business at all

When it's time to function
As a feeling human being
Will your Bachelor of Arts help you get by?
I hope to study further
A few more years or so
I also hope to keep a steady high
Oh oooh

Will you try to change things
Use the power that you have
The power of a million new ideas?
What is this power you speak of
And the need for things to change?
I always thought that everything was fine
Everything is fine

Don't you feel repression
Just closing in around?
No, the campus here is very, very free

Don't it make you angry
The way war is dragging on?
Well, I hope the President knows what he's into, I don't know
Ooh, I just don't know

Don't you see starvation
In the city where you live
All the needless hunger, all the needless pain?
Ooh, I haven't been there lately
The country is so fine
My neighbors don't seem hungry
'Cause they haven't got the time
Haven't got the time

Thank you for the talk
You know, you really eased my mind
I was troubled by the shapes of things to come
Well, if you had my outlook
Your feelings would be numb
You'd always think that everything was fine
Everything was fine

Chicago is a rock band hailing from the Illinois city of the same name. With its multitude of certified gold and platinum hits, the band has had enough longevity to last for over fifty years.

Chicago was formed on February 15, 1967, between keyboardist/singer Robert Lamm, trumpeter Lee Loughnane, saxophonist Walter Parazaider, drummer Danny Seraphine, guitarist Terry Kath, and trombonist James Pankow. The group called themselves “The Big Thing,” and played Top 40 hits in nightclubs in Chicago. In 1968, the band relocated to Los Angles, and changed their name to Chicago Transit Authority. They gained massive amounts of exposure to famous musicians of the time by regularly playing at the Whiskey A Go Go nightclub. In 1969, they released a self-titled album which peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. The next year, the band shortened their name to “Chicago” to avoid a lawsuit from the actual company of the same name.

The band has released a plethora of albums, most of them titled Chicago enumerated with Roman numerals. The band changed its sound in the late 70s and 80s following the death of Terry Kath. Since then, the band has still carried on a legacy for the decades following, but has slowed the release of original music to a trickle.

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