Chicago Guitar Club

Chicago Guitar Club

By Tim Wood

Talk about big shoes to fill.

In 20 years since the death of founding Chicago guitarist Terry Kath, the band has used a variety of musicians to fill the void he left.

Kath was such a tremendous talent, it would be unfair to negatively compare any of his successors to him. This article will mention some of the musicians who have strapped on a guitar to record and/or perform live with Chicago.

Kath's last album for Chicago was XI. According to reports published at the time, Chicago had great difficulty in finding a guitarist to replace him. Reportedly, the band auditioned at least 30 guitarists. According to published reports, the band turned down some guitarists because they played Kath's parts just as they were recorded. The band, however, was looking for someone who would add their own style to the mix.

Finally, they settled on Donnie Dacus, a musician from Texas who had played with Stephen Stills and recently had had a major role in the movie version of "Hair." One article stated that one point in favor of Dacus was his ability to sing and play "Little One" (from Chicago XI) simultaneously.

Dacus was a talented player and his vocals, while not like Kath's soulful voice, nonetheless were strong. His high range opened up opportunities to harmonize with Peter Cetera, and this was used to good effect on "Alive Again" on the "Hot Streets" album, the first release since the death of Kath.

"Hot Streets" was a strong comeback effort by the band, and Dacus contributed significantly to the success of the album.

Dacus' last album with Chicago was XIII, which featured his song "Must Have Been Crazy." This song was a big contrast to the established Chicago style, even though it was released as a single. Dacus and Chicago would part ways between XIII and XIV.

Enter Chris Pinnick, who was the main guitarist for Chicago XIV. In a published article from that time, Robert Lamm said Pinnick sounded so much like Kath that it was "spooky." Pinnick's approach to rhythm guitar playing was close to that of Kath, and he was a blazing lead player. However, he was neither a singer nor a songwriter.

On the next studio effort, Pinnick was not listed as a band member, but as a contributing musician. Two other guitarists of note also were used on this album: Steve Lukather and Michael Landau. Lukather is well know for his work with the band Toto and also is a very active studio musician. He had taken Landau under his wing, steering recording dates his way. Landau went on to success with his own bands and also as an in-demand studio musician.

Pinnick was listed as a band member on the highly successful Chicago 17 album. Also playing guitar on that project were Landau, Paul Jackson and Mark Goldenberg, who also had played on Chicago XIV. Bill Champlin is listed as playing keyboards and guitars on the album as well.

Paul Jackson is another sought-after studio player, known for his exceptional rhythm guitar playing. He has played on records by Whitney Houston and other top-rank artists. Chicago 17 would become one of many platinum albums to which he added his talents.

Pinnick, who was Chicago's touring guitarist from 1980 to 1985, departed the band prior to the recording of Chicago 18. Landau and Lukather were back to play guitar on this album. Buzz Feiten also is listed as a guitar player, and it is possible that the only song on which he played was "Nothin's Gonna Stop Us Now," which he co-wrote with Jason Scheff, who was making his Chicago album debut.

Liner notes on the post-Kath albums usually did not state who played what instrument on what songs. However, in the case of Chicago 19, a knowledgeable source said that co-producer Chas Sandford played guitar on the songs he produced, with Dann Huff doing the guitar parts on the tracks produced by Ron Nevison. The exception is "I Stand Up," featuring new Chicago guitarist Dawayne Bailey.

Huff is another studio legend. The son of noted Christian music composer/arranger/director Ronn Huff, Dann Huff started out with the Christian rock band Whiteheart. He subsequently was in a rock band called "Giant" along with brother David Huff, a drummer.

Dann Huff conquered the Los Angeles studio scene, then decided to take on Nashville, where also has been a huge success. He is heavily in demand as a guitarist and also produced some songs for Peter Cetera's solo projects. Huff is noted for his catchy lead guitar lines, many of which emerge as the "hook" in hit songs.

Dawayne Bailey joined the band for the Chicago 18 tour. He had played with many different bands since his early teen years.

Among those groups was Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band. Chances are, if you watch television, you've heard Bailey's guitar playing countless times. Bailey played acoustic guitar on the classic song "Like a Rock," which has been featured in Chevrolet advertisements.

Bailey also toured with Seger, rocking arenas around the country.

Just prior to joining Chicago, he led the band "Private Parts" in his native state of Kansas. The group recorded an album called "Dancing The Marmara." (The album is available from Dawayne Bailey's web site. Bailey showed his skills as a vocalist and guitarist on this rare recording.

He also had played in a band with Scheff and drummer John Keane before he and Scheff joined Chicago. (Keane went on to play drums on Chicago 21 and on Scheff's solo project "Chauncy.")

Bailey had gone back to his home state of Kansas and was fronting Private Parts when Chicago invited him to audition. They hired him and he stayed with the band from 1986 to 1995. In addition to being a brilliant guitar player, Bailey possessed a very high vocal range and contributed background vocals and occasional lead vocals in concert. Chicago made extensive use of his background vocal skills in the studio.

He brought an exciting stage presence to Chicago's live shows. His soaring, inventive solos marked one of the high points of Chicago's concert history.

On Chicago 21, Landau was back to do the guitar work. Bailey again contributed muck of the backing vocals.

Bailey emerged as a composer and lead singer during the 1993 recording sessions which resulted in the "Stone of Sisyphus" project. The song "Stone of Sisyphus" was released on the "Overtime" compilation. Bailey and Lee Loughnane are listed as co-writers. Bailey and Lamm sang lead on the song, and Bailey played the guitar parts. Bailey also played guitar on "Bigger than Elvis," another S.O.S. session song that ended up on "Overtime" and "The Very Best of Chicago" European market compilation. Bailey also played guitar on his own composition "Get On This."

Bailey and Chicago parted ways in January of 1995. Since Bailey's departure from Chicago, he has toured with the legendary French vocalist Veronique Sanson. He also has worked with the acclaimed Australian bass player Rebecca Johnson. and continues to compose and release his own music through his official website. He recently released a collection of his recordings entitled "Sketch." It is available at Dawayne Bailey's web site.

The band's next studio effort, "Night and Day," featured studio musician Bruce Gaitsch on guitar. Gaitsch also had played on many of the S.O.S. tracks.

Also on "Night and Day," Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry played lead guitar on "Blues in the Night," performing one of the most sizzling solos heard on a Chicago recording since before Kath's death. Tonino Ballardo of the Gypsy Kings played lead guitar on "Sing, Sing, Sing."

Also in the 1990s, Chicago released the song "Hearts in Trouble" on the soundtrack of the Tom Cruise movie "Days of Thunder." Kevin Dukes played guitar on "Hearts in Trouble" and co-wrote it.

The song originated as a Bill Champlin project. It was done primarily in his home studio, with the Chicago horns added later.

Chicago's current guitarist is Keith Howland, who came on board in 1995, crashing the auditions to do so. He is a long-time Chicago fan and has been described by Scheff as an "encyclopedia" of Chicago music, sometimes even pointing out when old Chicago songs are not being played the same way as the original recording.

He and Bill Champlin have done an "unplugged" duet version of "Look Away" in concert. Chicago has not made a full studio album since Howland joined the band, so he has not had much opportunity to contribute in the studio. Howland has been well received by Chicago fans and carries on the tradition of great Chicago guitarists.

Special mention must be made of Bill Champlin's contributions. Champlin, known mainly for his soulful singing and top-notch keyboard playing, is a fine guitarist who has often teamed with Chicago's lead guitarist in concert. In many ways, he is the true replacement for Kath, for Champlin brought top-notch songwriting and vocals to the band, in addition to his guitar skills.

The album Chicago XXX had numberous gutar guitarists. Howland played in some of the songs, while the bulk of the playing appeared to fall to Tom Bukovac and Dan Huff.

But in truth, no one could ever replace Terry Kath. But many distinguished musicians have carried on the tradition of outstanding musicianship he brought to the band.

Thanks to Dawayne Bailey for coining the term "Chicago Guitar Club" and granting permission to use it.