Hans Worst Hits of the 80’s- ‘You’re The Inspiration.”- at one point Chicago was as they described themselves- a rock and roll band with horns. During the late 60’s and though out the 70’s they tallied up a string of hits. I can’t say I was ever a big fan- I own two Chicago albums- Chicago VIII because of the song Harry Truman- and later on I bought their box set. But- for the most part if one of their hits came on the radio I didn’t reach to change the channel- most were decent to good. Then in the 80’s they made a terrible turn- into the wimp rock genre. Looking at the singles I’d pin point the Hard To Say I’m Sorry single which went to #1 in 1982 as the start of the downfall into wimpdom. Peter Cetera had been one of Chicago’s singers over the years and had sung lead on his share of Chicago’s hits during the 70’s. In the late 70’s- they went cold. 5 singles in a row failed to come close to the Top 40 from Chicago XIII and Chicago XIV. At this point Cetera became the dominate force in the band and Chicago went into the world of soft – very soft rock- wimp rock. Having a #1 hit with Hard To Say I’m Sorry must have sealed the deal. They were back on the charts and Cetera delivered a series of crappy lame hits. I guess it was one of those trade offs- they were riding high on the charts. You’re The Inspiration went to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100- it was written by Cetera and songwriter David Foster.
slicethelife 
NO!!!! I must profess I like this and some of their other wimpy tunes, like ‘If you leave me now’. The fault I have with the song is they should have added another verse (or extended the verses) and had less reliance on the ‘chorus’.
I love If You Leave Me Now- that is a great song- this is just wimpy.. I don’t think If You Leave Me Now is- it’s a great pop song.
The verses in You’re the Inspiration just really do it for me. I remember playing this song over and over when my gf left for England. I was a mess buddy lol
I always find it interesting songs some people like others hate. Songs that bring back memories- stay with you. Even if they are sad ones.
Yes, I’m sure we all have fond memories for shitty songs lol
and then there are songs that for some reason are too painful to even want to listen to..
Like ‘Who Let the dogs Out’ lol. I know what you’re saying.
I think this one’s tuneful enough for a pass – must be some worst late Chicago songs. Have you explored pop acts going disco. David Gates from Bread had a terrible song called Took The Last Train.
I have listed a few – Rod Stewart Do Ya Think I’m Sexy… there was another one- escaping me at the moment.. established stars doing their disco song usually didn’t work well.
I agree Chicago sound became “vanilla.” The loss of Terry Kath really devastated their music later. I still like the horn licks however.
I loved Chicago. I would just assume it’s almost impossible to keep putting out good stuff all the time: I didn’t know about the Terry Kath connection. Sounds similar to George Lucas in the movies. He wasn’t a very good story-teller on his own, without his support systems: his wife and Gary Kurtz.
Good point- everyone or group has if they are around awhile- a downfall- how do you keep up putting out great stuff? Chicago in the 70’s seemed to have a countless number of hits.
🙂