Maps of Music

Chicago Transit Authority (1969)

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

This debut was the only album released under the name Chicago Transit Authority, which the band later dropped after legal threats from the real transit agency.

Key places

Where the debut was recorded (1969)

Recording site Columbia — The band recorded the album in late January 1969 at CBS studios on 52nd Street in New York City. Studio time was limited to five days of basic tracking and five days of overdubbing. Simon & Garfunkel had the same studio booked for the rest of each day. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Chicago Transit Authority: debut studio album by the American rock band Chicago
• The only album released under the original name Chicago Transit Authority
• Double album released on April 28, 1969
• Became a sleeper hit, reaching number 17 on the Billboard 200 by 1971
• Spawned the singles 'Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?', 'Questions 67 and 68' and 'Beginnings'
• Stayed on the Billboard chart for 171 weeks, beating the rock album longevity record of 155 weeks set by the Beatles' White Album
• Certified double platinum by the RIAA
• Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014
• Selected for the National Recording Registry in 2025

Background

• Band formed in early 1967 as the Big Thing, then took the name Chicago Transit Authority when producer James William Guercio took them on in 1968
• Trademark: fusing brass and jazz with a soulful rock and roll feel
• Signed to Columbia Records late in 1968
• Guercio had recently produced Blood, Sweat & Tears' second album to raise capital for his band and secure the Columbia contract
• The band wanted a double album; Columbia agreed only if the group took a royalty cut

Recording

• Recorded in late January 1969 at CBS studios on 52nd Street in New York City
• Studio time was limited to five days of basic tracking and five days of overdubbing
• Simon & Garfunkel had the same studio booked for the rest of each day, so the band recorded from midnight to 8 a.m.
• Guercio said the album was made on an 8-track console
• 'Free Form Guitar' was improvised by Terry Kath, who plugged his guitar directly into the studio amplifier without pedals

Cover

• Cover design called 'Painted Shingle' on the group's official website, designed by Nick Fasciano
• Inside jacket features individual photos of each band member

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

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

• Critical reaction was generally favorable, but sales were slow at first
• The album initially failed to produce any hit singles, and the group was seen as an album-oriented collective
• FM radio, with its album-oriented format, helped push sales along
• In 1970 and 1971, 'Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?', 'Beginnings' and 'Questions 67 and 68' reached the Billboard Hot 100 belatedly
• While the band toured the album, the real Chicago Transit Authority threatened legal action, and the group shortened its name to Chicago

Reappraisal

• AllMusic critic Lindsay Planar wrote that few debut albums are as consistently solid as this one
• Planar also wrote that few debut albums have enough material to fill a double-disc affair
• The album has been acclaimed since its release
• The band was nominated for the 1970 Grammy Award for Best New Artist, but lost to Crosby, Stills and Nash

Records

• Peaked at number 17 on the Billboard 200 in the US and number 9 in the UK
• Stayed on the Billboard chart for 171 weeks as of June 1975
• Certified gold, later platinum and double platinum by the RIAA
• Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014
• The only Chicago album listed in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was released under the name Chicago Transit Authority, which the band later shortened to Chicago after legal threats from the real transit agency.
• The album is cited in Robert Dimery's reference work 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
• A Japanese Discogs release lists CBS/Sony Inc. in Tokyo as the manufacturer.

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

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