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American guitarist and singer (1946–1978)
Three of Chicago’s founding members — Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane and James (Jimmy) Pankow — remain listed as members of the band and have performed with the group in recent years, while fellow origina...
Chicago was formed in February 1967 with seven core founding members: Terry Kath, Robert Lamm, Danny Seraphine, Walter Parazaider, Lee Loughnane, James Pankow and (added in December 1967) Peter Cetera...
Chicago began in 1967 and has kept touring every year since, but its personnel have shifted dramatically: three founders — Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane and James Pankow — remain active as of 2025 while ...
Peter Cetera’s voice and ballad-writing drove Chicago’s biggest singles run in the 1970s–mid‑1980s, including the No. 1 “If You Leave Me Now” and the 1982 comeback No. 1 “Hard to Say I’m Sorry,” and h...
You asked why each original Chicago member left the band. Available reporting documents most high-profile departures and gives reasons for a few: Peter Cetera left in July 1985 to concentrate on a sol...
Peter Cetera left Chicago in mid‑1985 after mounting tensions about his solo ambitions, the band’s touring schedule, and disagreements over promotion and musical direction; he has largely avoided perf...
Chicago’s exits of founding figures—most notably Terry Kath’s death in 1978, Peter Cetera’s 1985 departure, and Danny Seraphine’s dismissal in 1990—helped push the band away from its early horn-led, j...
The band's pivot in the 1980s under producer David Foster deprioritized the horn-forward, extended compositions penned by Chicago's early members in favor of polished power ballads, and that shift is ...
Creative disagreements, changing commercial pressures, producer influence, and leadership frictions shaped multiple departures from Chicago across the late 1970s and 1980s: the death of lead guitarist...