4th track from \"Chicago X\" (1976). Mmm...yum! The \"chocolate bar\" album is notable for its sweet soulfulness, and ended up being a turning point in the band's career thanks to this song.
Although the other band members liked the song, they felt that, as a romantic ballad with strings, it was completely out of place stylistically and should not be allotted a place on the album. The song was one of the very last to be completed and, according to reports, was very nearly left off the final product. Band member Walter Parazaider has been quoted as saying he heard the song on the radio while cleaning his pool and initially thought \"it sounded like McCartney,\" not realizing it was his own band's work.
However, James William Guercio (the album producer) overruled the band and included it, and when it became the band's first #1 hit in the US and UK, it completely changed the public's perception of Chicago, leading to more demand from Columbia Records for Cetera ballads. Lamm and Kath, in particular, were uncomfortable with this turn of events, and it led to a growing dissatisfaction with Guercio's control over the band, contributing to his impending 1977 dismissal.
Album Personnel:
Chicago:
Peter Cetera – bass, lead & backing vocals, possible acoustic guitar
Laudir de Oliveira – percussion, vocals
Terry Kath – electric & acoustic guitars, lead & backing vocals
Robert Lamm – Hammond organ, piano, Fender Rhodes, clavinet, ARP 2600, tack piano, ARP String Ensemble, lead & backing vocals
Lee Loughnane – trumpet, vocals, lead vocals on \"You are on My Mind\"
James Pankow – trombone, vocals, brass arrangements, lead vocals on \"Together Again\"
Walter Parazaider – woodwinds, vocals
Danny Seraphine – drums, vocals
Additional personnel:
David J. Wolinski – piano and mellotron on \"Hope For Love\"
James William Guercio – acoustic guitar and bass on \"If You Leave Me Now\"; guitar on \"Hope For Love\"
Othello Molineaux – steel drums on \"Another Rainy Day in New York City\"
Leroy Williams – steel drums on \"Another Rainy Day in New York City\"
Jimmie Haskell – string and french horn orchestration on \"If You Leave Me Now\"; string conductor on \"Gently I'll Wake You\"
~Wikipedia
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Image Credits (other than album art, in order of appearance): Chris Goldberg / Michael Dorokhov / Janine / Shawn Hoke / Georgia Pallaro / Denis Messié / Matilde Zacchigna / Gokhan Altintas / Nova / Gokhan Altintas / Aivaras Čiurlionis / Alice Popkorn / Mathilda Samuelsson / Alex Schwab / Julia Shashkina / Gabriel Amadeus / Reny Kim / Daniel Piraino / Nicolee Camacho https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode
