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What are some key albums by Chicago featuring Robert Lamm?
Executive summary
Robert Lamm is a founding member, keyboardist and chief songwriter of Chicago; he contributed many key songs across the band’s catalogue beginning with their 1969 debut Chicago Transit Authority and continues to write for recent albums such as Chicago XXXVI: Now and Born For This Moment [1] [2] [3]. Major Chicago albums featuring Lamm’s writing and performances include Chicago Transit Authority (the debut with seven Lamm-penned tracks), several classic 1970s records that contain hits like “25 or 6 to 4” and “Saturday in the Park,” and contemporary releases like Born For This Moment and Chicago XXXVI: Now [1] [4] [3].
1. Robert Lamm: the band’s founding songwriter and keyboard voice
Robert Lamm joined the group that became Chicago in 1967 and is consistently described as an “unchanging frontman” and one of the band’s chief songwriters; his contributions span the band’s entire run from the first album through 2020s releases [4] [1]. Chicago’s history of horn-driven rock and pop is inseparable from Lamm’s role arranging horns and supplying signature songs, and reporting repeatedly credits him with many of the band’s recognizable early and later hits [4] [1].
2. The debut — Chicago Transit Authority [5]: Lamm’s early imprint
Chicago’s first album, released as Chicago Transit Authority, featured seven songs written by Lamm including “Beginnings,” “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” and “Questions 67 & 68,” cementing his central creative role from the outset [1]. That debut is repeatedly cited by Lamm and band sources as a watershed moment for Chicago’s sound and for Lamm’s place in the group [1].
3. 1970s peak era: albums with signature Lamm songs
The 1970s era of Chicago produced many of the group’s signature songs written or co-written by Lamm — for example “25 or 6 to 4,” “Saturday in the Park,” “Another Rainy Day in New York City,” and “Wake Up Sunshine” — which appear across their early albums and double-album projects from that decade [1] [6]. Contemporary profiles and interviews with Lamm point to this period as when his songwriting and horn arrangements became central to Chicago’s identity [4] [1].
4. Later classic and crossover records that still feature Lamm work
Chicago continued to score major hits into the late 1970s and 1980s (for example “If You Leave Me Now,” which earned a Grammy), and Lamm remained involved as a songwriter and vocalist through those charting years even as the band’s sound shifted at times [4]. Sources note that Lamm continued writing key tracks as the band evolved, and his authorship is often highlighted in retrospectives about Chicago’s catalogue [4] [1].
5. Recent albums: Chicago XXXVI: Now and Born For This Moment
Reporting from interviews and profiles shows Lamm still writing and contributing major fractions of newer Chicago records: he is credited with writing or co-writing many tracks on Chicago XXXVI: Now and on Born For This Moment, which was promoted as the band’s 38th studio album [2] [3] [7]. Rock Cellar and SongwriterUniverse pieces cite Lamm saying he wrote or co-wrote about half the tracks on recent releases and that the band recorded on the road and in segments for these projects [7] [2].
6. What to listen for — albums and tracks that showcase Lamm
If you want a representative list of Chicago albums that prominently feature Lamm’s songwriting and voice based on the supplied coverage, prioritize: Chicago Transit Authority (debut with seven Lamm songs), several early- to mid-1970s studio albums that contain “25 or 6 to 4” and “Saturday in the Park,” and the band’s recent records Chicago XXXVI: Now and Born For This Moment, where Lamm again wrote or co-wrote multiple tracks [1] [4] [2] [3].
7. Caveats, gaps and competing emphases in coverage
Available sources emphasize Lamm’s role across many albums but do not provide a neat canonical list titled “key Chicago albums featuring Robert Lamm” — coverage instead highlights select albums and songs where his authorship or performance is important [1] [4]. For a complete track-by-track accounting of Lamm’s credits across all Chicago releases you would need discography listings or liner notes; that level of granular attribution is not present in the supplied excerpts (not found in current reporting).
8. Takeaway for listeners and researchers
Begin with Chicago Transit Authority to hear Lamm’s early songwriting signature, then explore 1970s studio albums for the band’s most famous Lamm-penned hits, and finally sample Chicago XXXVI: Now and Born For This Moment to hear his later-era contributions; for detailed credit verification consult full album liner notes or authoritative discographies beyond these summaries [1] [4] [2] [3].