Chicago dominated pop radio in the 1970s and 1980s with their original songs. But several of their hits would have also worked at country radio as well. We found four songs by Chicago that sound like country songs.
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“You’re The Inspiration”
“You’re The Inspiration” came out in 1984. Written by Peter Cetera and David Foster, the sweet love song was actually written for Kenny Rogers instead, who ultimately passed on the song.
“David Foster called me up and he said, ‘I’m in the studio with Kenny Rogers, and he would like you to write a song for him,’” Cetera recalls in a 2004 interview. “And I said, ‘That’s great!”
Cetera goes on to say that he was leaving for Italy, intending to write something when he came back, until Foster told him Rogers needed the song immediately.
“We basically, in about three hours, came up with a little chordal structure for ‘You’re the Inspiration’, which it wasn’t called that at the time,” Cetera remembers. “And we sort of made this little tape of this chord structure; I took it on the plane, [and] went to Italy.”
Cetera finished “You’re The Inspiration” while in Italy, making it a big hit for Chicago instead.
“If You Leave Me Now”
“If You Leave Me Now” became a multi-week No. 1 hit for Chicago. Out in 1976, the song is about the anticipation of heartache, before the relationship officially ends.
Written by Peter Cetera, “If You Leave Me Now” begins with, “If you leave me now / You’ll take away the biggest part of me / Oh no, baby, please don’t go / And if you leave me now / You’ll take away the very heart of me / Oh no, baby, please don’t go.”
Country music loves heartbreak songs, and this one could have easily been covered by a country artist.
“Saturday In The Park”
“Saturday In The Park” is Chicago’s fifth studio album, Chicago V, released in 1972. Written by Robert Lamm, the lyric sounds just like a country music song.
“Saturday In The Park” is about trying to make the world a better place. The song says, “Another day in the park / I think it was the Fourth of July / People talking, really smiling / A man playing guitar and singing for us all / Will you help him change the world / Can you dig it? / And I’ve been waiting such a long time / For today.”
“Hard Habit To Break”
Steve Kipner and John Lewis Parker penned “Hard Habit To Break” for Chicago. The song, out in 1984, became a Top 5 hit for Chicago, earning them numerous Grammy Award nominations. Country music is built on sad break-up songs, and this one would work perfectly.
The heartbreaking ballad says in part, “Being without you / It’s all a big mistake / Instead of getting easier / It’s the hardest thing to take / I’m addicted to you, babe / You’re a hard habit to break.”
Photo by Gina Wetzler/Redferns
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