What Instruments Did the Band Chicago Perform With in the Song Baby, What a Big Surprise

Terry Kath'southward Official Bio Pages

Written by Tim Wood

Who is Terry Kath?

Simply, he was an original fellow member of the pioneering rock group Chicago who played guitar, sang, and wrote songs.  He was in a league with Jimi Hendrix - this according to no less an say-so than Hendrix. After hearing the band in 1968 at the Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles, Hendrix told Chicago saxophone player Walter Parazaider "Your guitar actor is better than me."  That may exist the highest praise Kath received. Unfortunately, stone critics didn't offering much for Kath.  Pop music critics seemed to lambast Chicago with regularity during the band's heyday in the 1960s and 1970s.

Simply Kath deserved recognition, even if he didn't seek it.  He was an integral function of a seven, and sometimes eight, person band.  While even four-piece rock bands often use 2 guitarists, Kath held down both rhythm and atomic number 82 guitar parts past himself.  On top of this, he sang lead vocals on many of the band'southward songs and did backing vocals on most of the others.  He also was the ring's on-stage leader.

Born Jan. 31, 1946, Terrance Allan Kath, his all-besides-short life ended Jan. 23, 1978, in a freak blow involving a handgun.  His expiry concluded ane affiliate of the long-running Chicago saga.  Chicago keyboardist-vocalizer-songwriter Robert Lamm has said that Kath's expiry shifted the balance of ability within the ring.  Chicago was already headed toward its "ballad" stage at the fourth dimension of Kath's decease, soaring on the success of "If You Leave Me Now" from the tenth album and "Babe What a Big Surprise" from Chicago xi.

The ballads returned in force on Chicago 16 and 17.  The band's striking songs of the 1980s and 1990s are a sharp contrast from the ambitious audio featured on its debut album Chicago Transit Authority.  Think Chicago is just a pop ballad band?  Bank check out their debut album in which Kath'southward blazing guitar work is featured throughout.  He mixes dejection, jazz, and stone riffs throughout the double-album ready.  Also present are his soulful vocals.

Running a Stratocaster and an SG through a Bogen pre-amp and into a Dual Showman amplifier, Kath produced an array of crunchy, tube amp sounds that virtually of today'due south guitar players would die for.  The bout de force was "Free Form Guitar," which grew out of Kath playing effectually during a tiffin break.  Engineer Fred Catero decided to scroll tape, and the result is possibly the wildest seven minutes of music Chicago ever put out.

The ring's 2d album featured more innovative Kath songwriting, ranging from the rocking "In the Country" to the classically-influenced "Prelude," "AM Mourning," "PM Mournng" and "Memories of Love."  Just the highlight of the album was Kath's solo on the Lamm-penned "25 or half-dozen to 4," which ranks every bit one of the best guitar solos ever recorded.  This song would go Chicago'south master concert closer, frequently featuring 10-minute Kath solos that kept the audience on its anxiety.

Kath did not read music, but rather played and composed totally by ear.  Existence an "untrained" musician in a group of higher-trained musicians was not a handicap.  If anything, his bandmates were in awe of him.  His education was playing which began in his early on teen years.  He played in a "fun" group which did covers of Ventures songs and other pop acts of the fourth dimension.  In 1961, he joined Jimmy Rice and the Gentlemen, a band which also included Parazaider.  In 1965, both joined the group Jimmy Ford and the Executives which was the dorsum-upward band on Dick Clark'due south Caravan of Stars.  Kath also was an accomplished bass player, and that was his musical instrument in many of his early groups.

While Kath seldom rates mention in guitar magazines, a couple of books accept at to the lowest degree ranked him in the best 1,000 guitar players of all time - not a bad accomplishment. But in this fan'south eyes, Kath is easily in the top 10 of guitar players, if not at the tiptop.  The records Kath played on even so sell hundreds of thousands of copies a year and nowledgeable musicians nod knowingly at the mention of Kath.

Kath was built-in Jan. 31, 1946, in Chicago to Ray and Evelyn Kath. He died Jan. 23, 1978

He left this world besides soon, but his music lives on.

 Kath had listed guns and motorcycles every bit his primary hobbies.

"I practice target shooting, but I prefer only to go out into the desert and shoot at beer cans," he once said.

Frequently Ask Questions:

• In the final years of his life, Kath favored a heavily-modified Fender Telecaster. He famously used a Cry Baby wah-wah and various effects pedals. Amplifier preference by Terry included Knight, Acoustic, and Fender brands. Gibson Les Paul Professional, Gibson SG, and a Fender Stratocaster were other guitars Terry collected and loved to use.

  Click here for more about Terry'southward gear

• Kath died on January 23, 1978, of an accidental gunshot wound. He was at the dwelling house of a Chicago crew member cleaning his guns. Kath enjoyed shooting at targets and was a gun collector. The crew fellow member expressed some concern over what Terry was doing, but Kath told him that considering the prune was not an automatic pistol, there was no need to worry. All the same, a round was already chambered before he removed the prune. While he wave the gun around, it fired, killing Kath instantly. Reportedly, his last words were "Don't worry, information technology's not loaded."

• His survivors included his married woman, Camille, and a daughter, Michelle. Camille later on married actor Kiefer Sutherland. Michelle is married with 2 children. The Chicago Records CD "Chicago Presents the Innovative Guitar of Terry Kath" was dedicated to her. Kath'south male parent, Ray, passed away several years ago. His female parent, Evelyn, is buried alongside Kath in Woods Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, Calif.

• A few accept surfaced on the Rhino Records reissues of early Chicago albums. Kath was working toward a solo album at the time of his death. In fact, he was to accept started rehearsals on Jan. 24, ane twenty-four hour period later on he died. Whether Kath made whatever demos of songs for that solo anthology is unknown. Some sources have told me he had a home studio and recordings may be. A recording Terry made with i of his early bands, The Mystics, exists but has not been released to the public at this time.

  Will interviewing Jim Guercio for the documentary, Michelle learned that Terry would often lock himself in the studio and records. Will those tapes ever surface?

• Kath had Pignose decals all over the Fender Telecaster guitar he used extensively. According to an article Piignose had put out, Kath helped plant the Pignose visitor. He also was featured in a Pignose advert that appeared in Rolling Stone Mag. Kath, dressed as a gangster, tried to make prospective amp buyers an "offer they could not refuse."

• He tried banjo, accordion, bass, and drums before going on guitar full time. He played bass equally a sideman in a ring earlier joining Chicago. he occasionally played bass on Chicago songs, often on his own compositions, and occasionally in concert. He played bass on Robert Lamm's solo anthology "Skinny Boy" and was a bass histrion for the film "Electra Glide in Blue."

• "Tell Me' was the closing song for the 1070s pic "Electra Glide in Blueish." Chicago producer James William Guercio wrote the song while Kath's soulful voice is featured. The song also was used in the final episode of "Miami Vice."

• Terry had bones music reading skills simply could non read music every bit complex as that performed by Chicago. He learned that music by ear and oft had other band members write out the music in his head. He once expressed a want to return to school and study music.

• While some would say this is physically impossible, Kath's playing probably gave this impression. He would speedily alternate between playing chords and lead lines in some cases. His rhythm playing was so creative that it sounded like pb playing in other cases. As good as Kath was on atomic number 82 guitar, his rhythm playing may take been his strong suit. Robert Lamm has said as much, describing the guitarists who followed Kath every bit bully lead players but unable to lucifer Kath'south rhythm playing. Kath had difficulty being the just guitar player in a seven and eight-slice band. He too sang lead or backing vocals on most songs and was the on-phase leader.

• No, "Little I" was written by Danny Seraphine and David Wolinski and dedicated to Danny's two daughters. All the same, one could speculate that Terry had his daughter in mind when he sang the song. It is one of his all-time vocal performances.

• When Chicago first started doing their ain songs in concert, this Kath composition was one of their starting time performances. It first appeared on record on the 1972 "Live in Nihon" anthology, which, at that time, was bachelor merely in Japan. After that, a studio version fabricated it on Chicago XI, and the live performance on the Terry Kath tribute album. Finally, however another version surfaced on the Rhinoceros Records re-releases.

• This was probably due to his desire to exist a team player and not seek the individual spotlight. The fact that critics loathed Chicago didn't assistance matters any. Nonetheless, he received some recognition. He was featured every bit the encompass story in one of the early issues of Guitar Player magazine, and at to the lowest degree ii books have listed him as one of the top ane,000 guitarists of all time. In addition, there is a line in the movie "1 Trick Pony" when ii characters briefly discuss Kath, describing him as a "Monster with a Telecaster who could stand toe to toe with (Jimi) Hendrix.

• Hendrix one time told Chicago saxophonist Walter Parazaider, "Your guitar player is ameliorate than me." The two guitarists knew each other, and when Hendrix took Chicago on tour, he reportedly jammed with Kath on stage.

  A long-fourth dimension Chicago fan has reported that at one Hendrix concert, Jimi made a reference to Kath out of the blue, saying something to the result, "You gotta cheque out this guy Terry Kath. His band is CTA. He's the best guitar player in the universe."

• Steiger was a close friend of Kath and has been an banana (roadie) to Chicago for nearly of the ring'southward history. He is regarded as one of the best in the business organization. Hank was also the flagman to much of Terry's gear later his passing. In the moving picture "The Terry Kath Experience," Michelle attempts to accomplish out to Hanks family to photo Terry's memorabilia.

• A Chicago fan told me that a band member had told a friend that the song "Byblos" was based on a true story. Yet, the location of the nightclub Byblos has been placed in Southward America, Japan, and, (virtually probably) in Los Angeles.

"I simply don't quite know how he got that audio"

-Joe Walsh - speaking on 'Gratis From Guitar' in the documentary "The Terry Kath Experience"ource

Who is Tim Forest anyway?

Bulletin from Michelle:

At ane point there was simply one website dedicated to the human, Terry Kath. Earlier Wikipedia, Facebook, and fifty-fifty this site, there was an obscure little website by a human named Tim Woods. His site was filled with very extensive and knowledgeable essays virtually my Dad. This collection of information was the making of a truthful Terry Kath fansite. I used to link our bio page to his site because he had written in such particular nearly my Dad's life and career that there was no need for me to include information technology on our site. These were proper essays.

Permit me accept a moment to talk about the Terry Kath fan. I accept always credited Tim every bit being the start hardcore Terry Kath fan to make a identify for him on the world broad web. But as the internet has grown so has the intensity of the fans. My about favorite matter about Facebook and the only reason I nevertheless have a profile is that I had finally found a home for the fans. I think I originally joined FB because it had a not bad platform for hosting groups. The TK Fan Grouping is going stiff, and I am amazed past how active they are every 24-hour interval. Now thousands of other fans join in Mr. Forest' love for promoting Terry to all the people of the world.

A while back Tim contacted me to inform me that he would exist taking his website downwardly. He no longer wished to maintain the site (those dang hosting fees) and asked me if I would like to put his content on my site. Um...ya! How could I say no?

I am at present very excited to host Terry Kath'south Official Bio Pages past Tim Forest. He ran his site for more than 17 years and had put a lot of work into it. These pages, in themselves, are mini-websites within a website. All of his writings and findings are hither. When you lot have a moment or only want to geek out on some Chicago knowledge, read these pages.

Cheers, Tim, for all the years you lot kept the human being'southward proper noun alive. You truly rock!

Message from Tim Wood:

It's been more than 17 years since I starting time put something on the Internet near Terry Kath. The Internet was still finding its way at that point. I was enthusiastic about information technology, and decided to put some content out in cyberspace to see what would happen.
A priority was to create content that was not duplicated anywhere else. After some searching of the Internet, I adamant that there wasn't much virtually Terry Kath on the Internet.
I've been a fan of Terry Kath before I knew who he was. When I offset heard Chicago Ii in 1970, the guitar playing was fascinating. It would be years before I began my long-time fascination with the guitar. The playing appealed to me in part because information technology and then seamlessly fit with the music. Even at that immature historic period, I could appreciate the solo in "25 or 6 to iv."
Afterward , I became a big fan of Chicago and learned more about the band. Depending on my musical involvement at the time, I focused on dissimilar parts of Chicago. When songwriting and keyboard playing was my matter, I focused on Robert Lamm. In my ring days, information technology was the horn saxophone, particularly Walter Parazaider, considering I played the saxophone. For bass playing, Peter Cetera was my "inspiration."
And when, at about age 15, I stumbled onto the guitar, it was all over. Terry Kath was the man. Through his playing, songwriting and singing, I fabricated a musical connection with him. I identified with him more than than any other fellow member of the ring, non but considering I was playing guitar. Who couldn't chronicle in some style to the story in the song "Byblos?" "Oh Thank You, Nifty Spirit," was the tribute all of the states wanted to make to Jimi Hendrix.
And those guitar solos – oh, those solos! They were heed extraordinary. The first album, Chicago Transit Authority, hit my turntable and I went nuts. I wore out 2 of the vinyl copies. It was so much more raw and edgy than his playing on subsequent albums. This was rock and roll.
In later years, I discovered his rhythm guitar playing, at which Kath might accept been meliorate than playing lead. I just had a connection with his playing, singing and songwriting that I've had with no other musician.
Hence, the selection to put upwards a spider web site of Terry Kath material. It all started on a GeoCities site. The starting time pages were created on an Apple Macintosh laptop in my basement. Then, I claimed my ain domain (timmwood.com) and used Yahoo equally a host. The Terry Kath page became part of a spider web site dedicated to the music of Chicago the Ring.
Over the years, I added items. I compiled data from (hopefully) reliable Internet sources. I wrote some items myself. Viewers of the page contributed data and photographs. It grew and grew.
A companion to the Terry Kath was a Kath give-and-take forum. This went on for several years and was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the host visitor discontinued the free hosting service and I couldn't find an acceptable replacement.
One of the neatest things about hosting the page was getting e-mails from its visitors. It turned out that many, many people were fans of Terry Kath and had found this page. For years, it was the first page to pop upwardly on a Google search for "Terry Kath." The stories they told were eye-warming. These east-mails popped up at odd times and were dainty surprises to observe when I checked my e-postal service.
However, a few years later I was under a lot of stress and very decorated with managing life. Gradually, my updates to the site became few and far betwixt. That still didn't stop people from visiting it and sending me e-mails. Even noted former Chicago guitarist Dawayne Bailey, himself a fan of Terry Kath, said he had referred to it for years, fifty-fifty up to this yr (2014).
For several years, I let the entire site sit down dormant except for occasional updates. A couple of years, I tried to do some updating, merely just ran out of energy and time to do it. I finally decided the money I was spending to maintain it just wasn't worth it if I wasn't going to be active with it. There also were some technical bug with uploading files that would take toll money to overcome.

Terry Kath's daughter, Michelle, and I had communications nearly her absorbing the content into her site, terrykath.com. Movement has been slow, however, so I did some more checking into web site hosts. After finding an acceptable deal, I decided to put it back up. Information technology withal may withal end upward on the terrykath.com page, but for at present, at least it over again has a dwelling house in cyberspace!

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Source: http://www.terrykath.com/bio