The group was originally called The Big Thing; they spent much of the Summer of Love (1967) playing cover songs in the upper Midwest, but started playing their own songs a year later. Since they were from the Chicago area, they changed their name to Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), which they later shortened, because the actual CTA threatened legal action and not for the sake of simplicity, as a lot of people think.
From early on, the band was political with their music. In their 1971 4-record release from Carnegie Hall, they make several references to the evils of the "military industrial complex," air pollution, and America's most famous crook, Richard Nixon.
Despite their tremendous influence and success, they didn't get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame until 2016. One band member said: "It doesn't really add up.. I have heard from inside sources that we are not well liked by people...at Rolling Stone."
Today’s song was written by David Foster and was their first top-ten hit since the departure of their lead singer Peter Cetera, who went onto great solo success. The second single released from the 18 album, it reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1987, and also number two on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.
In the late 1960’s this band did some shows with Jimi Hendrix. The legendary guitar player was blown away by the band’s Terry Kath and his guitar playing.
When first hearing Terry Kath play, Jimi Hendrix was quoted as saying that he thought Terry Kath played guitar better than he did. Later on, Jimi Hendrix doubled down and called Terry Kath the “Best Guitarist in the Universe.”
That is high praise since we are talking about JIMI HENDRIX who is regarded by many as the greatest guitar player of all time!
Chicago…Will You Still Love Me...On K103’s I Know That Song