Maps of Music

Chicago 13 (1979)

Where the lyrics of Chicago 13 take you, and where it was really made.

Chicago's eleventh studio album was the first in the band's history with no significant hit single, and its first to miss the Top 20.

Key places

Recording at Le Studio, Morin-Heights (1979)

Recording site Le Studio — Part of the album was recorded at Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Quebec, during the sessions that also took place in Hollywood. The release credits list this studio as a recording location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at A&M Studios, Hollywood (1979)

Recording site A&M Recording Studios — The album's Hollywood sessions are linked to A&M Studios in the release credits. The point is placed at the studio's listed location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Chicago 13 is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band Chicago
• Released on 13 August 1979 by Columbia Records
• Final release with guitarist Donnie Dacus, who followed founding guitarist Terry Kath after Kath's death
• All band members contributed to the songwriting, one of only two Chicago albums where this is the case (the other is Chicago VII)
• Produced by Phil Ramone and Chicago
• The band returned to numbering its albums, and this is the first to use an Arabic numeral in its numbering
• The album displays the band's logo

Background

• Preceded by Donnie Dacus's "Must Have Been Crazy" as lead single
• The first Chicago album to bear no significant hit singles
• "Street Player" was the first single in the band's history to miss the Billboard Hot 100 entirely
• The opening track is the extended, disco-styled "Street Player"
• "Street Player" was first recorded by Rufus, who recorded it before Chicago

Recording

• Recording sessions took place in Morin-Heights, Quebec and in Hollywood
• Release credits list Le Studio and A&M Studios as recording locations
• Engineer Jim Boyer, with several assistant engineers credited
• Mixed at A&R Studios, and mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York City

Cover

• Cover design concept by Tony Lane
• Logo design by Nick Fasciano
• Back cover and sleeve photography by Gary Heery

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Chicago is an American rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1967.
• The band described itself as a "rock and roll band with horns" and blended classical music, jazz, R&B, and pop.
• The group first called itself the Big Thing, became Chicago Transit Authority in 1968, and shortened its name to Chicago in 1969.

Members

• The original line-up was Peter Cetera (bass), Terry Kath (guitar), Robert Lamm (keyboards), Lee Loughnane (trumpet), James Pankow (trombone), Walter Parazaider (woodwinds), and Danny Seraphine (drums).
• Lamm, Loughnane, and Pankow have remained constant members since 2009.
• Terry Kath died in 1978 after an accidental gunshot wound.

Career

• The band's debut double album, Chicago Transit Authority (1969), was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014.
• In 1971 Chicago became the first rock act to sell out a week at Carnegie Hall.
• "If You Leave Me Now" (1976) became the group's first number-one single and won its only Grammy.
• Billboard placed the band among the most successful chart acts in its history, and it has sold more than 100 million records.
• The original line-up was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.
• Chicago received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award on October 16, 2020.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Specialist press reviewed the album harshly
• Critics targeted its move toward disco, which was very popular in the late 1970s
• Critics also pointed to the album's lack of hit singles

Records

• Reached No. 21 on the charts, going gold
• The first Chicago album to miss the Top 20
• The lowest-charting Chicago release since the debut album
• "Street Player" missed the Billboard Hot 100 entirely
• "Street Player" reached number 91 on the R&B singles chart
• "Street Player" later reached hit status through sampling, including on the 1995 hit by The Bucketheads and the 2009 hit by Pitbull
• Chicago 13 is noted as the band's final release with Donnie Dacus

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Donnie Dacus was fired from the band shortly after the tour supporting the album ended, with no explanation given.
• "Street Player" was sampled for the 1995 hit "The Bomb! (These Sounds Fall into My Mind)" by The Bucketheads.
• "Street Player" was recorded by Rufus before Chicago recorded it.
• The album was issued with a custom lyric inner sleeve.
• Peter Cetera sang the lead vocals on "Window Dreamin'" and "Aloha Mama" under the credited name P.C. Moblee, appearing as the Peter Cetera Vocal Company.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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