Maps of Music

Chicago XIV (1980)

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

Chicago XIV is one of the band's worst-selling records, and its label ended the contract with the band soon after release.

Place unknown

Do you know where this album was recorded, or where its cover was shot? Tell us and we will add it to the map.

Followed the commercial and critical disappointment of Chicago 13 and the departure of guitarist Donnie Dacus
Chris Pinnick played guitar on the sessions and later became an official member
New producer Tom Dowd was brought in; he had worked with Aretha Franklin, Cream, and Eric Clapton
The band abandoned the dance club sound of the previous album
Recorded at a time of waning interest in the band
Possibly a response to the under-produced new wave records on the radio at the time
The band's least orchestrated effort to date

Designed by John Berg, art director of Columbia/CBS Records
Front: album-size black thumbprint on white, with the Chicago logo embedded in the whorls
Back: album-size fingerprint or thumbprint on white, without the logo
The cover artwork is in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art in New York City

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.

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.

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.

Went unnoticed on release and bombed
Reached only number 71 on the Billboard 200 in the US, then disappeared quickly
No single hit: "Thunder and Lightning" stalled below the top fifty, and "Song for You" failed to chart
Poor attendance in many venues during the supporting tour
Columbia Records, unhappy with the sales, ended the contract with a buyout of about $2 million
As part of the settlement, Columbia released the band's second greatest-hits album
Robert Lamm recalled in 1982 that CBS wanted out of the deal and had not recouped its money

Failed to reach RIAA Gold certification
Spanish Wikipedia notes that the album did not obtain Gold certification and sold poorly worldwide
Remastered and reissued by Rhino Records in 2003, with three outtakes as bonus tracks
Berg nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Album Package for this album

The label paid the band to leave: Columbia ended the contract early in exchange for a buyout of about $2 million.
The settlement money was used to record Chicago 16 independently, while the band sought a new label; they eventually signed with Warner.
Peter Cetera wrote four solo songs and co-wrote one, taking a greater songwriting role than before.
"Birthday Boy" was the final collaboration between Danny Seraphine and his songwriting partner Hawk Wolinski.
During the hiatus after this album, Peter Cetera worked on his first self-titled solo album.