Chicago will celebrate 55 years of gold with Tuscaloosa concert

Chicago will play the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater on Oct. 21, according to a release from Birmingham-based Red Mountain Entertainment, which books and operates the venue.

The show is being billed "an evening with..." which is tour-speak for no opening band. The featured act will play the whole concert.

It's the second time Chicago has been booked at the Amp, but this will mark its first performance. The planned August 2012 concert, with Kool and the Gang, was called on account of travel problems because of Hurricane Isaac.

But Chicago has played Tuscaloosa at least once before, on Oct. 23, 1976, at Memorial (now Coleman) Coliseum. That same year, the coliseum also hosted Elvis Presley, Elton John, Joni Mitchell, the Allman Brothers and the Charlie Daniels Band.

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For this tour, Chicago is celebrating 55 years since Feb. 16, 1967, when saxophonist Walter Parazaider, guitarist Terry Kath, drummer Danny Seraphine, trombonist James Pankow, trumpet player Lee Loughnane, and keyboardist Robert Lamm formed a group originally known as The Big Thing, considered a rock band, but with horns, influenced by jazz. Later that year, they were joined by Peter Cetera on bass.

They formed, unsurprisingly, in the city which later became its name, after a run as the Chicago Transit Authority (the actual mass-transit group threatened to sue). The CTA's self-titled debut double album sold platinum, but singles — "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?," "Questions 67 and 68," and "I'm a Man" — weren't released until after a pair of top 10 hits, "25 or 6 to 4," and "Make Me Smile," scored from the second album.

That disc was titled after the shortened band name; thereafter, Chicago made the possibly-confusing choice to largely name its albums "Chicago," followed by a Roman numeral. The next disc wasn't "Chicago II," though, but "Chicago III," thanks to the original CTA disc. This went on until their disco-experiment disc "Hot Streets," in 1978. After that, discs went back to mostly numerals, occasionally paired with another title, such as their most recent album, released July 15, "Chicago XXXVIII: Born for This Moment."

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Chicago is said to have toured every year since its formation. Lamm, Loughnane and Pankow continue as core of the original group. The band also includes Wally Reyes Jr. on drums, Tony Obrohta on guitar, Loren Gold on keyboards and vocals, Ray Herrmann on sax and flute, Neil Donell on vocals, Eric Baines on bass and Ramon "Ray" Yslas on percussion.

Early on, Chicago was more politically motivated and occasionally experimental, but the band reached its greatest chart success later with more easy-listening ballads. They've sold more than 100 million records, with 21 Top 10 hits, five consecutive No. 1 albums, 11 No. 1 singles, and five gold singles. Of their 38 albums, 25 sold platinum.

The string of hits was strongest through the ’70s and ’80s, with a few in the ’90s. Chicago frequently pops up on adult-contemporary and oldies radio, with singles such as “Colour My World,” “Saturday in the Park,” “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day,” “Just You and Me,” “(I’ve Been) Searchin’ for So Long,” “Call On Me,” “Wishing You Were Here,” “Old Days,” “If You Leave Me Now,” “Baby What a Big Surprise,” “No Tell Lover,” “Hard to Say I’m Sorry,” “Love Me Tomorrow,” “Hard Habit to Break,” “You’re the Inspiration,” “Will You Still Love Me?,” “I Don’t Wanna Live Without Your Love,” “Look Away,” “What Kind of Man Would I Be?” and “Here In My Heart.”

In Billboard Magazine's Top 125 Artists Of All Time, Chicago's the top American group listed, and the first American rock band to score Top 40 albums across six consecutive decades.

The band has received multiple Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, and its CTA debut disc was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2016, Chicago was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Lamm and Pankow were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017. For more on the group, see www.chicagotheband.com.

How to get Chicago tickets

Tickets for the 8 p.m. Oct. 21 show go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, for $99.50, $85, $65 and $35, plus fees, through www.ticketmaster.com, or at the Amp box office. For more, see www.tuscaloosaamphitheater.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Chicago's Tuscaloosa Amphitheater show will celebrate 55 years of gold