"Chicago" Album 'Chicago Transit Authority' Released 50 Years Ago

On April 28, 1969, the rock group "Chicago Transit Authority" released its self-titled debut album, and this was before they had to change their name to simply "Chicago" at the insistence of the Chicago Transit Authority public transportation agency.

50 years ago the band members were: Peter Cetera, Terry Kath, Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane, James Pankow, Walter Parazaider, and Danny Seraphine.

The 12 tracks on that album are: Introduction, Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?, Beginnings, Questions 67 and 68, Listen, Poem 58, Free Form Guitar, South Carolina Purples, I'm A Man, Prologue, Someday, Liberation. Almost every song was written by members of the group, except for their cover version of I'm A Man originally by The Spencer Davis Group.

This first album (also known as "CTA") was initially successful, but it managed to become even more successful as Chicago released more albums.

In terms of Billboard music charts, CTA reached #17 in the USA while on the charts for 171 weeks, and it also reached #9 in the UK. Questions 67 and 68 was initially a single that only reached #71 in 1969, but it was re-released in 1971 and it then reached #24. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is hit #7 in 1970, Beginnings hit #7 in 1971, and I'm A Man hit #49 in 1971.

In terms of sales, it has sold over 2 million copies, and this was initially an expensive double LP album, then a double CD, and it's now a single CD.

CTA allowed the group to get nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist of the Year in 1969, and it's in the acclaimed book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" published in 2005, and it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014.

Chicago still tours every year and they're one of the longest-running and most successful rock groups, and they're also one of the world's best-selling groups since they've sold over 100 million records in the past 50 years.

Other accolades include being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, and original band members Peter Cetera, Robert Lamm, and James Pankow being elected into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017.

Chicago will start another concert tour next week and they will be at Ravinia in Highland Park on August 10 & 11.

Chicago is online at https://www.facebook.com/Chicago.Official and https://chicagotheband.com.