Back When Chicago Rocked

Mention the name Chicago now and your friends will probably have a good laugh and check your iPod for signs of Michael Bolton or Air Supply. Back in 1967, however, they were the Next Big Thing, a band whose dedication to bringing James Brown to rock lead to invitations to tour with the likes of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.

Sax player Walter Parazaider recalls a mind-blowing meeting with Hendrix:, "We had just started the band, and were playing at The Whisky in Los Angeles. After the show, I'm putting away my horns and this guy taps me on the shoulder. When I turn around, I see it's Jimi Hendrix, and he couldn't have been more complimentary to the band. I
could barely speak, 'cause it was Jimi Hendrix, but he said he loved the band, and he told me a lot about what to expect from rock 'n' roll. Then, he took us on the road, like Joplin had done only a few months before. All before we'd ever made a record!"

Chicago, or Chicago transit Authority as they were then known, were essentially the first major funk-rock band. Their double LP debut, released in 1969 couldn't be more different than the horror of 'If You Leave Me Now' and 'Hard to Say I'm Sorry'.

Last year Chicago fans got yet another taste of their ability to rock and roll with the release of "Stone of Sisyphus", an album that was originally due for release way back in 1993. This album represented a conscious attempt by the band to return to their roots. Their record company at the time, Warner Brothers, was having none of it and refused to release the record

"It was a little too adventuresome, shall we say, for the label at the time," recalls trombonist James Pankow.

"They heard the album and they didn't get it,they asked us to go back and do it again and we said, 'Sorry, this is where we're at.'"