Chicago 17 | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 14, 1984 [1] | |||
Recorded | Mid 1983 – early 1984 | |||
Studio | The Lighthouse (North Hollywood, CA) Sunset Sound (Hollywood, CA) The Record Plant (Los Angeles, CA) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:53 | |||
Label | Full Moon/Warner Bros. [2] | |||
Producer | David Foster [2] | |||
Chicago chronology | ||||
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Singles from Chicago 17 | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
Chicago 17 is the fourteenth studio album by American rock band Chicago, released on May 14, 1984. It was the group's second release for Full Moon/Warner Bros. Records, their second album to be produced by David Foster [6] and their last with founding bassist/vocalist Peter Cetera. As of 2023, it remains Chicago's best-selling album, with over 6.1 million units being sold in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. [7] Four singles were released from the album, all of which peaked in the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. [8] The success of the music videos for "Stay the Night", "You're the Inspiration", and "Hard Habit to Break" on MTV propelled Chicago 17 to achieve an RIAA certification of six times platinum. [9]
In 1985, the album received three Grammy Awards. David Foster won for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical (tied in this category with Lionel Richie and James Anthony Carmichael), [10] [11] Humberto Gatica won for Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical, [12] and David Foster and Jeremy Lubbock won for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) [12] for "Hard Habit to Break" which was also nominated for Record of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals and Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices. [13] In his review of the album for AllMusic, music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine says Chicago 17 is "the pinnacle of [producer David Foster's] craft and one of the best adult contemporary records of the '80s," and one of the most influential albums "within its style." [14] Writing for Billboard , Bobby Olivier said the album "is one of the greatest pure power ballad albums of all time — or at least from 1984 — and "[Hard] Habit [to Break]" is one of the finest entries." [15]
In 2006, Rhino Entertainment remastered and reissued the album, using the original analog versions of "Please Hold On" (which was co-written with Lionel Richie who was enjoying success from his album Can't Slow Down ) and "Prima Donna" and adding a Robert Lamm demo, "Here Is Where We Begin" as a bonus track.
In keeping with the majority of their albums up to that time (1984), the traditional "Chicago" logo, designed by John Berg and Nick Fasciano, [16] [17] is the main feature of the album cover. It does not feature any photos of the group. In a 2020 article for Muse by Clio, it was listed among "Nine Great Album Covers, Chosen by Gregory Sylvester." Sylvester describes the cover as, " ... an illusion of a package within a package ... brown kraft paper, twine and a faux red stamp." [18] The album cover looks like a package wrapped in brown paper tied with twine and (on the back) secured with tape. On the front, the "Chicago" logo appears to be in bas-relief (it is not), covered by the wrapping paper. The number "17," in Arabic numerals rather than the Roman numerals used by the group formerly, appears to be stamped on the wrapping paper below the logo. In the upper left-hand quadrant of the cover back, a pink "receipt form" is depicted (designated as a "TOPS FORM 3014" in small print at the bottom of the "receipt"), tucked underneath the "twine," with the "Chicago" logo stamped on it near the top in purple ink and, below the logo, a "DESCRIPTION OF PACKAGE" lists the tracks on side one and side two. The bottom of the "receipt form" shows production and engineering credits and the Warner Bros. logo "stamped" on the slip. On the inner dust sleeve, a large group photo of the band appears on one side: (back row, left to right) Lee Loughnane, Bill Champlin, James Pankow, Walt Parazaider, Robert Lamm, (front row, left to right) Danny Seraphine, Peter Cetera. The reverse side of the dust sleeve gives track listings, song lyrics, and song and album credits, including credits for artwork and packaging: Art Direction/Design, Simon Levy; Album Cover Art, Larry Vigon; Photography, Harry Langdon, James Goble. [2]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Stay the Night" | Peter Cetera, David Foster | Peter Cetera | 3:48 |
2. | "We Can Stop the Hurtin'" | Bill Champlin, Robert Lamm, Deborah Neal | Robert Lamm | 4:11 |
3. | "Hard Habit to Break" | Steve Kipner, John Lewis Parker | Cetera with Bill Champlin | 4:43 |
4. | "Only You" | Foster, James Pankow | Lamm with Champlin | 3:53 |
5. | "Remember the Feeling" | Cetera, Champlin | Cetera | 4:28 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
6. | "Along Comes a Woman" | Cetera, Mark Goldenberg | Cetera | 4:14 |
7. | "You're the Inspiration" | Cetera, Foster | Cetera | 3:49 |
8. | "Please Hold On" | Champlin, Foster, Lionel Richie | Champlin | 3:37 |
9. | "Prima Donna" | Cetera, Goldenberg | Cetera | 4:09 |
10. | "Once in a Lifetime" | Pankow | Champlin with Cetera | 4:12 |
Total length: | 41:53 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
11. | "Here Is Where We Begin" (featuring David Pack) | Lamm | Lamm with David Pack | 3:53 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
11. | "Sweet Marie" | Cetera, Foster [19] | Champlin |
Some songs were recorded during the Chicago 17 sessions but not released. "Good for Nothing" was later released on the We Are the World superstar charity album in 1985. [20] [21] This is the last released Chicago song to feature Peter Cetera on vocals.
A song called "Sweet Marie" recorded during sessions for the Chicago 17 album has been performed by the Norwegian band TOBB. Bill Champlin offered this song to the band. It was released on May 14, 2014 by TOBB, the 30th anniversary of the Chicago 17 album's release. [22] It was performed by Chicago on rare occasions in 1984, [22] and has surfaced online from VHS recordings of some of their performances.
A subsequent international release in 2010 (included in the Studio Albums 1979 - 2008 boxed set from 2015) has the original album restored, with additional bonus tracks of alternate versions of "Only You", "You're the Inspiration", and "Prima Donna" as well as "Here Is Where We Begin". A demo version of "Hard Habit to Break" exists with Robert Lamm on vocals, as briefly heard during the documentary “Now More Than Ever: The History of Chicago.”
All information in this section from except as noted. [23]
Chicago
Additional personnel
Production
Production for 2006 reissue
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [42] | Gold | 25,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [43] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [44] | 6× Platinum | 6,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Chicago is an American rock band formed in Chicago in 1967. The group began calling themselves the Chicago Transit Authority in 1968, then shortened the name in 1969. Self-described as a "rock and roll band with horns," their songs often also combine elements of classical music, jazz, R&B, and pop music.
Chicago Transit Authority is the debut studio album by the American rock band Chicago, known at the time of release as Chicago Transit Authority. It was recorded and released in April 1969 and became a sleeper hit, reaching number 17 on the Billboard 200 by 1971. Chicago Transit Authority spawned several successful singles, including "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?", "Questions 67 and 68" and "Beginnings". The album stayed on the Billboard chart for 171 weeks, beating the previous record for a rock album's longevity of 155 weeks and has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). For this inaugural recording effort, the group was nominated for a Grammy Award for 1969 Best New Artist of the Year. The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014.
Peter Paul Cetera is a retired American musician best known for being a frontman, vocalist, and bassist for the American rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985. His career as a recording artist encompasses 17 studio albums with Chicago and eight solo studio albums.
Chicago III is the third studio album by the American rock band Chicago. It was released on January 11, 1971, through Columbia Records. The album was produced by James William Guercio and was the band's third consecutive double album in less than two years.
Chicago V is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Chicago. It was released on July 10, 1972 by Columbia Records. It is notable for being the group's first single album release, after having released three consecutive double albums and a four-disc box set of live material.
Chicago VII is the sixth studio album by American rock band Chicago. It was released on March 11, 1974 by Columbia Records. It is notable for being their first double album of new material since 1971's Chicago III and remains their final studio release in that format. It features session percussionist Laudir de Oliveira, who would become a full-fledged band member for the release of Chicago VIII the following year.
Chicago X is the eighth studio album by the American rock band Chicago. It was recorded at Caribou Ranch and it was released by Columbia Records on June 14, 1976. The album made it to number three on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on June 21, 1976, a week after its release. It was the band's first album to be certified platinum, on September 14, 1976, and has since been certified multi-platinum. In honor of the group's platinum album achievement, Columbia Records awarded the group a 25-pound bar of pure platinum, made by Cartier.
Chicago XI is the ninth studio album by the American rock band Chicago. It was released on September 12, 1977 through Columbia Records. It was both the last to feature guitarist and vocalist Terry Kath prior to his death in a gun accident just over four months later, and the last to be produced by longtime associate of the band James William Guercio.
Chicago XIV is the twelfth studio album by American rock band Chicago, released on July 21, 1980. Recorded at a time of waning interest in the band, Chicago XIV remains one of Chicago's poorest-selling albums, failing to reach Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and was deemed a commercial flop. It is also notable for being their last studio album with Columbia Records, and the last one to feature percussionist Laudir de Oliveira.
Greatest Hits, Volume II is the second greatest hits album by American rock band Chicago, released on November 23, 1981 by Columbia Records.
Chicago 16 is the thirteenth studio album by the American rock band Chicago, released on June 7, 1982. It is considered their "comeback" album because it was their first album to go platinum since 1978's Hot Streets. It made it into the Billboard 200 top ten, and produced their second number one single in the United States, "Hard to Say I'm Sorry". The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in August, 1982, two months after its release, and platinum in December, 1982. "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Chicago 18 is the fifteenth studio album by the American rock band Chicago, released on September 29, 1986. This album is the first without original vocalist Peter Cetera, and the first to feature Jason Scheff on bass guitar and vocals.
William Bradford Champlin is an American singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the rock band Chicago from 1981 to 2009. He performed lead vocals on three of Chicago's biggest hits of the 1980s, 1984's "Hard Habit to Break" and 1988's "Look Away" and "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love". During live shows, he sang the lower, baritone, vocal parts originally performed by founding guitarist Terry Kath, who had died in 1978. He has won multiple Grammy Awards for songwriting.
"Hard to Say I'm Sorry" is a 1982 power ballad by the group Chicago. It was written by bassist Peter Cetera, who also sang the lead vocals on the track, and producer David Foster. It was released on May 17, 1982, as the lead single from the album Chicago 16. On September 11 it reached No. 1 for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the group's second No. 1 single. It was their first top 50 hit since "No Tell Lover" in 1978 and it spent twelve weeks in the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100. The single was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in September of the same year. Songwriter Cetera, a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), won an ASCAP Pop Music Award for the song in the category, Most Performed Songs.
"Hard Habit to Break" is a song written by Steve Kipner and John Lewis Parker, produced and arranged by David Foster and recorded by the group Chicago for their 1984 album Chicago 17, with Bill Champlin and Peter Cetera sharing lead vocals. Released as the second single from the album, it reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was prevented from charting higher by "Caribbean Queen" by Billy Ocean and "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder. "Hard Habit to Break" also peaked at No. 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The lyrics of the song appear to describe a man having a hard time getting over a significant other getting away after he took her for granted and she left him for someone else. Overseas it peaked at No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Love Me Tomorrow" is a song written by Peter Cetera and David Foster for the group Chicago and recorded for their album Chicago 16 (1982), with Cetera singing lead vocals. The second single released from the album, it reached No. 22 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 8 on the adult contemporary chart. Songwriter Cetera, a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), won an ASCAP Pop Music Award for the song in the category, Most Performed Songs.
"Stay the Night" is a song written by Peter Cetera and David Foster for the group Chicago and recorded for their album Chicago 17 (1984), with Cetera singing the lead vocals. The song features noted session drummer Jeff Porcaro taking the place of Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine.
"You're the Inspiration" is a song written by Peter Cetera and David Foster for the group Chicago and recorded for their fourteenth studio album Chicago 17 (1984), with Cetera singing lead vocals. The third single released from that album, it reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1985 and also climbed to the top position on the Adult Contemporary chart at the same time. The song won honors for Cetera from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), in 1986 in the most-performed songs category.
"Along Comes a Woman" is a song written by Peter Cetera and Mark Goldenberg for the group Chicago and recorded for their album Chicago 17 (1984), with Cetera singing lead vocals. The fourth single released from that album, it is the last Chicago single released with original singer/bassist Cetera, who left the band in the summer of 1985.
"Will You Still Love Me?" is a song recorded by the American rock band Chicago for their studio album Chicago 18 (1986). The song was written by David Foster, Tom Keane and Richard Baskin.
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