What is it about lead singers and the bands they front not being able to get along? That phenomenon befell Chicago at the absolute height of their popularity in the 1980s. They were one of the few top rock acts from the ‘60s and ‘70s who were able to navigate that tricky decade, emerging better than ever, in large part due to a newfound reliance on power ballads featuring the elastic voice of their longtime lead singer, Peter Cetera.
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But Cetera and the group had a falling out and, for the 1986 album Chicago 18, he was off to pursue what would turn out to be a successful solo career. He was replaced in the band—in which he had played since they were still known as the Chicago Transit Authority—and relations between the group and their former lead singer didn’t improve over the years. When Chicago was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, Cetera didn’t show.
Yet that doesn’t in any way diminish what the band and Cetera did when they were still on better terms. Their string of hits is one that any band would envy. Even though they insisted on only numbering their albums instead of giving them titles—which makes it tough to remember what album has what song on it—those singles certainly stand out.
Rock fans can spot Cetera’s acrobatic vocals immediately when they hear them. But did you know that Peter Cetera also stepped up often as a songwriter during his time with the band? Here are four major hits that were at least partly written by Peter Cetera for Chicago.
1. “If You Leave Me Now” (from Chicago X, 1976)
Cetera’s output as a songwriter started slowly with the band, but began to pick up as the ’70s progressed. Eventually, his writing started to make its way onto the band’s singles, including hits like “Feeling Stronger Every Day” and “Wishing You Were Here.” But “If You Leave Me Now” marked a major turning point in the band’s career. It was a song the band allegedly resisted, not only as a single, but even for inclusion on Chicago X.
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It’s a good thing they relented. Cetera had an edge on other writers because he could always imagine himself singing those notes that other singers couldn’t even approach. The verses are pretty, but then Cetera takes off into a middle-eight that arches into another stratosphere. “If You Leave Me Now” proved irresistible upon its release and gave the band its first No. 1 hit. That gave Cetera more leverage to bring even more ballads on future releases—which would indirectly cause much of the tension that eventually led to his departure about a decade down the road.
2. “Baby, What a Big Surprise” (from Chicago XI, 1977)
After the massive success of “If You Leave Me Now,” there was no doubt Cetera would be called upon to come up with another big ballad for the band’s follow-up album. With “Baby, What a Big Surprise,” he showed no letdown whatsoever, as the song slow-danced its way up to the Top 5 in 1977.
Cetera devised a sweet melody that proved just right for ornate orchestration. And once again, he manages a memorable middle-eight. “Baby, What a Big Surprise” sounds like what would happen if you imagined a collaboration between The Beatles and The Beach Boys. (Carl Wilson even sings backing vocals on the track to drive that point home.) It’s a touching track about unexpected love and how it can change everything in a heartbeat. With Cetera bringing the vocals and the tunefulness, it wasn’t really all that big of a surprise (title of the song notwithstanding) that this was a massive success.
3. “Hard to Say I’m Sorry (from Chicago 16, 1982)
The hit singles dried up somewhat for Chicago following “Baby, What a Big Surprise.” They had a pair of Top 20s in 1978, but nothing on the level of Cetera’s smash ballads. When the ‘80s dawned, you wouldn’t have bet on Chicago being one of the bands to stay afloat amidst the musical sea change that was taking place.
But the band proved willing to change with the times (they even got rid of the Roman numerals and just used regular old numbers for their album titles), and “Hard to Say I’m Sorry,” which returned them to the top of the charts, was the catalyst. Cetera wrote it with David Foster, the producer whose magic touch with a power ballad proved the perfect fit for what Chicago’s lead singer brought to the table.
“Hard to Say I’m Sorry” is mostly bereft of the horn section for which the band became known in the ‘70s. In fact, a horn-filled addendum to the song entitled “Get Away” was jettisoned by radio stations playing the track. Foster also chose to use session musicians on the track, another departure. Cetera, in a song about the agony of regret, takes the spotlight and runs with it.
4. “Stay the Night” (from Chicago 17, 1984)
By the time Chicago 17 rolled around, you could understand why some members of Chicago were getting a bit antsy about Cetera’s dominance within the group. Three of the four Top 20 singles taken from the album were written by him, and the one that wasn’t, “Hard Habit to Break,” written by outside songwriters Steve Kipner and John Lewis Parker, was sung by him.
“Stay the Night” proved a bit of a departure to his formula, as it revved up the tempo while co-writer Foster added all the appropriate ’84 vintage production touches. There was even a video, which put Cetera in the starring role (again, probably not the best situation for band harmony). In any case, “Stay the Night” is a fun, seductive number, with another inventive bridge that marks it as a classic Peter Cetera offering, regardless of the pace.
Photo by George Pimentel/WireImage
