you people are being stupid. these guys gig like this because for the love of music. I know what it is...you are jealous of success....and want people to feel sorry for you just because you have no job, no future, and sit on a couch all day....you asked for it.....your opinion reflects how pathetic and lonely a person can get. boo hoo...go fuckin die somewhere else ...welfare idiots..chicago rules....and you...r a loser on youtube who cries all day because you cant get off your ass and get a job
Well spoken by Lee and Bobby. So much great music, so many performances, so much history to the band - both fun and sad. Over 40 years of memories to a band that broke barriers. It couldn't have been easy for them. Thanks for posting.
I'm replying with a posting of my own, "40 years of history in 3 minutes", a music video capturing key moments of our history set to the music of one of Chicago's favorite bands of all time. Hope you enjoy! - Keeton
Robert Lamm is so soft spoken and humble; fact is, though you'd never hear him say it, he's one of the greatest composers of the last 100 years. A genius.
Lamm didn't lose his writing ability. The music industry changed. Lamm's edgy, jazz-influenced musical style and politically astute lyrics fell out of favor.
@WrestlingHeretic Which is just another way of saying he started pandering pablum to an audience of newly retarded infants who liked staying idiotic. Basically he sold his ass for money & to keep the lifestyle he was used to, so he convinced himself he really liked the sappy pop crap he was putting out. If he had integrity he would lose money, lose his house, lose a few of his cars, lose some of the mountains of cocaine he was sniffing, even lose everything & still play only progressive music.
He did write the line "Listen, if you think that we're here for the money, you could be right you know." He also wrote "I'd Rather Be Rich." He also got clean of coke in 1982 (the reason for his absence from Chicago 16) and I've never read anything to indicate he went back on it. I also don't like your pejorative use of the word "retarded," which is an insult to people with disabilities. Please look at r-word dot org. Use of that word is not particularly... progressive.
@WrestlingHeretic Exactly, "I'd Rather Be Rich," Lamm said it himself, he's a sell-out, he'd rather be rich than an artist. I don't like your use of the word 'disablities,' that is an insult to retarded people. How dare you call someone 'disabled' you insensitive twit? They are just as 'able' as anybody else, only about 17 and a half times slower & therefore, retarded. You're not much of a GANGSTA-ASS NIGGA are you 'wrestling heretic' if you're afraid to even say the word RETARDED ?
Lost his writing abilty ?! Are you nuts or tone deaf? What @ 'Too Many Voices,' Subtely and Passion,' Skinny Boy'
'Life is Good in My Neighborhood,' Check out what he wrote on Chi VI, VII, VIII with ' Harry Truman,' ' Manipulation on XIV, Thunder and Lightning,. Ever hear of ' Stone of Sisyphus? The man has been writing over 40 years! If he stopped tomorrow, he'd still be remembered as one of America's greatest songwriters.
@libralady1010 Yeah but only for the stuff he wrote in the 60s & 70s. The rest of the stuff is sappy awful pop at worst & medicore attempts at regaining artistry sold-out at best. Problem is, once integrity gets sold, as soon as you pander, artistry ends & it's rare that someone is able to go back. People also change & become different or deteriorate, never mind the environment or zeitgeist of the times. Paul McCartney of today is a joke compared to what he was in the Beatles or even Wings.
@metamorphosis67 Yes but the 60's and 70's are in the rear-view mirror. As for McCartney, well everyone knows what happened there. [ somebody say Yoko ?!?! ] Kudos to all of them for carrying on.
My continued problem with your line of reasoning is that you assume that terms like "artistry" and "integrity" are objective. They're not. They're subjective. The relationship between artist, the creative act and auditor is very complex. It is certainly not the binary "integrity or sellout" false dichotomy you've constructed.
@WrestlingHeretic The 'auditor' is ultimately reality, not critics & certainly not some asswipe neanderthal in the audience who wouldn't know his way around a nursery rhyme if not for true artists. When an artist panders to a market audience in order to continue having a lavish, extravagant lifestyle dependent on lots of money, he's a retarded WHORE, plain & simple. He'll play a silly tune with idiotic lyrics that he doesn't really like & pretend he does IF you pay him LOTS of cash.
@metamorphosis67 you are awesome man....you like being politacally correct AND RIGHT ALL THE TIME. lets make a comparison....you talk about chicago the way you do....chicago gigs ...and the band members are in their late seventies and have nothing to prove. the hall of fame admits iggy pop and the degenerate stooges(shit , at best)...why is it that you dont like what the band has become? they make bocu $..while you grow into a degenerate government dependent couch potato.
I use to be a bus driver in Toronto. I was asked to pick up some band by the name of Chicago and take them to the airport. It was 1996 I think. I parked the bus and saw a man leaning against the hotel wall where I was to do the pick up. I said to him where is your group and who is the leader of your band. It was Robert Lamm ---had no idea who he was. Took them to the airport in a rush. Later became a musician myself -- and now look back --what a great opportunity to have met the band.
My favorite quote here: "The genius of Jim Guercio was that he recognized that there was a charm, and a strength, and a character to the music that we were composing, arranging and playing. And he made the decision to capture that sound, rather than augment it in any way."...If only subsequent producers (David Foster?????) had felt the same way. Why the they parted ways with Guercio, claiming he had too much control, only to then, a few years later, go with David Foster, I'll never know!
@WrestlingHeretic It would be in your best interests to try and not piss off somebody like David Foster but even then, it doesn't work. Anyone who writes a book and titles it ' Hit Man?' You have to wonder. He's a legend in his own mind. He's the sole reason Peter Cetera left. He's done a lot for Cetera,I've noticed. NOT !!!
you people are being stupid. these guys gig like this because for the love of music. I know what it is...you are jealous of success....and want people to feel sorry for you just because you have no job, no future, and sit on a couch all day....you asked for it.....your opinion reflects how pathetic and lonely a person can get. boo hoo...go fuckin die somewhere else ...welfare idiots..chicago rules....and you...r a loser on youtube who cries all day because you cant get off your ass and get a job
amzingjourney 1 week ago
Maybe they meant they don't have many hits these DAYS! Trust me, Chicago has had plenty! Iconic band!
MrCarl220 2 months ago
strange that robert thinks that they did 80 to 100 shows a year, in fact they did 250 to 300!!
ladiezroom 6 months ago
Well spoken by Lee and Bobby. So much great music, so many performances, so much history to the band - both fun and sad. Over 40 years of memories to a band that broke barriers. It couldn't have been easy for them. Thanks for posting.
I'm replying with a posting of my own, "40 years of history in 3 minutes", a music video capturing key moments of our history set to the music of one of Chicago's favorite bands of all time. Hope you enjoy! - Keeton
keetongeer 6 months ago
Robert Lamm is so soft spoken and humble; fact is, though you'd never hear him say it, he's one of the greatest composers of the last 100 years. A genius.
vampyros1 1 year ago 2
Let me see....Lee, Jimmy, and Robert screwed Danny....ummmm. I wonder if they remember that?
Quixote010 1 year ago
Is it me or does Robert Lamm looks like John Travolta?
nearmedinalake 1 year ago
@nearmedinalake It's just you. ;-)
LovelySouthStar 1 year ago
is there a Chicago band club on the Facebook to join? We fans are keenly waiting. Boris (Sofia, BG-Toronto ON)
ramonacostache 1 year ago
Wonderful interview. Thanks for posting this!
TheSweetSpot52 2 years ago 3
Lamm didn't lose his writing ability. The music industry changed. Lamm's edgy, jazz-influenced musical style and politically astute lyrics fell out of favor.
WrestlingHeretic 2 years ago 3
@WrestlingHeretic Which is just another way of saying he started pandering pablum to an audience of newly retarded infants who liked staying idiotic. Basically he sold his ass for money & to keep the lifestyle he was used to, so he convinced himself he really liked the sappy pop crap he was putting out. If he had integrity he would lose money, lose his house, lose a few of his cars, lose some of the mountains of cocaine he was sniffing, even lose everything & still play only progressive music.
metamorphosis67 3 months ago
He did write the line "Listen, if you think that we're here for the money, you could be right you know." He also wrote "I'd Rather Be Rich." He also got clean of coke in 1982 (the reason for his absence from Chicago 16) and I've never read anything to indicate he went back on it. I also don't like your pejorative use of the word "retarded," which is an insult to people with disabilities. Please look at r-word dot org. Use of that word is not particularly... progressive.
WrestlingHeretic 2 months ago
@WrestlingHeretic Exactly, "I'd Rather Be Rich," Lamm said it himself, he's a sell-out, he'd rather be rich than an artist. I don't like your use of the word 'disablities,' that is an insult to retarded people. How dare you call someone 'disabled' you insensitive twit? They are just as 'able' as anybody else, only about 17 and a half times slower & therefore, retarded. You're not much of a GANGSTA-ASS NIGGA are you 'wrestling heretic' if you're afraid to even say the word RETARDED ?
metamorphosis67 2 months ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Lamm was the main composer and driving force in Chicago's early days. Too bad he lost his writing ability after Saturday in the Park.
boongg 2 years ago
Lost his writing abilty ?! Are you nuts or tone deaf? What @ 'Too Many Voices,' Subtely and Passion,' Skinny Boy'
'Life is Good in My Neighborhood,' Check out what he wrote on Chi VI, VII, VIII with ' Harry Truman,' ' Manipulation on XIV, Thunder and Lightning,. Ever hear of ' Stone of Sisyphus? The man has been writing over 40 years! If he stopped tomorrow, he'd still be remembered as one of America's greatest songwriters.
libralady1010 2 years ago 9
Well said! Some people think that 'writing ability' means that the song MUST end up at the top of the charts!
bze2nlz1 2 years ago 2
@libralady1010 Yeah but only for the stuff he wrote in the 60s & 70s. The rest of the stuff is sappy awful pop at worst & medicore attempts at regaining artistry sold-out at best. Problem is, once integrity gets sold, as soon as you pander, artistry ends & it's rare that someone is able to go back. People also change & become different or deteriorate, never mind the environment or zeitgeist of the times. Paul McCartney of today is a joke compared to what he was in the Beatles or even Wings.
metamorphosis67 3 months ago
@metamorphosis67 Yes but the 60's and 70's are in the rear-view mirror. As for McCartney, well everyone knows what happened there. [ somebody say Yoko ?!?! ] Kudos to all of them for carrying on.
libralady1010 3 months ago
@metamorphosis67
My continued problem with your line of reasoning is that you assume that terms like "artistry" and "integrity" are objective. They're not. They're subjective. The relationship between artist, the creative act and auditor is very complex. It is certainly not the binary "integrity or sellout" false dichotomy you've constructed.
WrestlingHeretic 2 months ago
@WrestlingHeretic The 'auditor' is ultimately reality, not critics & certainly not some asswipe neanderthal in the audience who wouldn't know his way around a nursery rhyme if not for true artists. When an artist panders to a market audience in order to continue having a lavish, extravagant lifestyle dependent on lots of money, he's a retarded WHORE, plain & simple. He'll play a silly tune with idiotic lyrics that he doesn't really like & pretend he does IF you pay him LOTS of cash.
metamorphosis67 2 months ago
@metamorphosis67 you are awesome man....you like being politacally correct AND RIGHT ALL THE TIME. lets make a comparison....you talk about chicago the way you do....chicago gigs ...and the band members are in their late seventies and have nothing to prove. the hall of fame admits iggy pop and the degenerate stooges(shit , at best)...why is it that you dont like what the band has become? they make bocu $..while you grow into a degenerate government dependent couch potato.
amzingjourney 1 week ago
@libralady1010
Completely agreed.
WrestlingHeretic 2 months ago
I use to be a bus driver in Toronto. I was asked to pick up some band by the name of Chicago and take them to the airport. It was 1996 I think. I parked the bus and saw a man leaning against the hotel wall where I was to do the pick up. I said to him where is your group and who is the leader of your band. It was Robert Lamm ---had no idea who he was. Took them to the airport in a rush. Later became a musician myself -- and now look back --what a great opportunity to have met the band.
beewardrobe 2 years ago
My favorite quote here: "The genius of Jim Guercio was that he recognized that there was a charm, and a strength, and a character to the music that we were composing, arranging and playing. And he made the decision to capture that sound, rather than augment it in any way."...If only subsequent producers (David Foster?????) had felt the same way. Why the they parted ways with Guercio, claiming he had too much control, only to then, a few years later, go with David Foster, I'll never know!
maysno24 2 years ago 2
But, that is exactly what he's talking about. David Foster.
WrestlingHeretic 2 years ago
@WrestlingHeretic It would be in your best interests to try and not piss off somebody like David Foster but even then, it doesn't work. Anyone who writes a book and titles it ' Hit Man?' You have to wonder. He's a legend in his own mind. He's the sole reason Peter Cetera left. He's done a lot for Cetera,I've noticed. NOT !!!
libralady1010 3 months ago
Thanks for posting this. Good to see these guys!
HyacinthBoo 3 years ago 5
Just fascinating. Thank you so much for posting this.
WrestlingHeretic 3 years ago 5
Thanks for this video.
Only hope I need is,,,,please add Caption,japanese is better,but English is Okay.I understand about 60% Bobby and James were talking.^^;
LumReturns 3 years ago
These guys are LEGEND! Thanks for posting -
luciamimi7 3 years ago
Glad Lee is still thin and looking healthy!!
These guys are GREAT!!!
davylou 3 years ago 3
Robert's almost 64 and still hot!!!!!!!!
5177845 3 years ago 4
Holy cow! Never knew that.
I saw these guys perform at the China Club in NYC in 2000 and they were fabulous seeing them in play in a club setting where it was much closer.
MeAndMyRC 3 years ago
No prob, just trying to put up more footage to promote one of America's best Rock Bands. There is a lot more coming!
ChicagoCollectors 3 years ago
Thank you so much for posting this! Lee is the best!
megs1031 3 years ago 2