Remembering Chicago guitarist Terry Kath - 40 years gone, but his legend remains

Great tribute to one of the greatest guitarists to come out of the late 60s.
Remembering Chicago guitarist Terry Kath - 40 years gone, but his legend remains

EXCERPT FROM THE ARTICLE:
Tuesday, January 23rd marks the 40th anniversary of the death of legendary guitarist Terry Kath of the band Chicago.

Terry Kath - the best guitarist you've probably never heard of.

If you just said, "Who?," I promise not to hit you upside the head, as chances are that you come by your ignorance honestly.

Sadly, there are generations of music lovers - including even Chicago fans - who don't know the name Terry Kath. So we'll start here - with 25 or 6 to 4, from Chicago's legendary 1970 concert at Tanglewood in Lenox, MA.

(It takes a minute for the song to kick in - drummer Danny Seraphine has trouble with a cymbal, so lanky keyboardist Bobby Lamm gives him a hand while Terry - the denim-clad dude with the Strat - plucks some intro notes. Turn it up, because the intro's great - dig how the bass, keyboard and drums snake in with the guitar. Then, suddenly, Terry blows in like a 454 'Vette engine …..)

That, my friends, was Chicago. Guitarist Kath, bassist Peter Cetera (yes, that Peter Cetera), keyboard man Robert Lamm, drummer-extraordinaire Danny Seraphine and the kick-ass horn section of James Pankow (trombone), Walter Parazaider (woodwinds) and trumpeter Lee Loughnane.

A hot rock band with horns. Decidedly not the ballad-driven band they became.


Their sound was transcendent, smokin' hot alchemy. As Terry wrote in his song Introduction, "With heaven's help, it blended /And we do thank the Lord.

 

An article for the uninitiated. We Kathites have been there for a while now.

 

Chicago on MV

The video from the article.

 

Goddamn, 40 years without Terry. I remembered that today was ten years since Heath Ledger's death, but totally forgot the anniversary of Terry's.

Nonetheless, Terry was a huge loss and Chicago was never the same without him.

 

True, but how many of the general public know who Kath was? Or Danny Seraphine?
Chicago, unfortunately, was a faceless band, until Cetera began doing most of the lead vocals & starred in the videos.

 

Having recently been re-immersed in the discography of Chicago, I've been grateful to be able to continue appreciate Kath's talents and prominent role in making the band what it was.

The group as a gifted whole remains very undervalued in my eyes.

He is definitely missed.

Might have to start up "Sing A Mean Tune Kid" this evening.

 

Well, not a lot...hence my comment.

 

greatness never ages...this applies.; )

 

Nextflix has a nice documentary just up

Robert Lamm still hasn't gotten past Terry's death

Lamm states every time he sings "a man playing guitar" in Saturday in the Park he looks skyward

 

Terry’s soulful vocals were as important to the group as his guitar. Put the two together and you had a formidable talent.

 

Robert Lamm wrote a song in Terry Kath’s memory from one of his solo albums-“Living Proof
It is called “Out of the Blue”. I really like it.

 

The Tanglewood 25 Or 6 To 4 performance is phenomenal. If I'm ever in need of a kick start, I stick it on. And watch it as well as listen. The fluidity of the playing, the speed, the precision, absolutely incredible. And he makes it look so easy ....

 

I'd say his legend doesn't just remain ... it's grown. Speaking as someone who came to Chicago's music only recently I'd say that I've heard increasingly urgent recommendations for Chicago Transit Authority this century and re-releases such as the Quadio set and the Steven Wilson remix of II have maintained the pressure.

 

I'm glad to see more people mentioning or acknowledging Kath these days. He was such a great rhythm and lead guitar player and singer. I am putting on Poem 58 and Aire today.

 

Terry Kath played like it was his last ever performance every night
Not only was he a brilliant guitar player, he was also sang with incredible passion in the league of Gregg Allman

 

Such a beautiful vocal.

 

Will never forget the morning I heard the news. Just waking up for school and it came over the radio. I was only in 8th grade BUT Chicago was already my favorite band at that time. It was the first time anybody's death "affected" me. So glad that my older brother turned me onto them in the early 70's. Here is Terry's Chicago VIII award that his mother gave to their next door neighbor in 1990. I am very lucky and fortunate to have it. RIP Terry..."Thank you Great Spirit".

 

Was just thinking about it having been 40 years with Kath today.

 

very happy to see early Chicago and Terry have ongoing popularity. I chose well back in the day
Love the bonus stuffings in their album covers back then, I mean 2 posters for V? wow.
...and those Carnegie box extras were insane! When it came out, I paid $7 and change for it new....4 albums and a ton of extras.

 

I will spin some Kath era tunes today.

 

Love Terry. Miss Terry

That's...that's about it.

 

Terry Alan Kath.

This guy kept telling us that rock was the big thing, everyone's talking
about the big thing, our band was the big thing. So he made us change
our name to The Big Thing. Can you believe that? - Terry Kath.


The Big Thing, from l: James Pankow, Lee Loughnane,
Daniel Seraphine, Walter Parazaider, Robert Lamm and
Terry Kath.

 

Here's a couple of my favorite Terry tunes....