Cetera et amore

By Ceferino M. Acosta III

IF you grew up listening to 99.5 RT or RJFM 100.3 in the late ?70s and ?80s, then you have to know Chicago. The music of Chicago (which was shortened from the original Chicago Transit Authority after receiving complaints from the real CTA of the city) was a staple in the airwaves at that time and rightly so.

It had its own distinct sound because it was the only rock ?n roll band that had a great classically trained horn section, which, incidentally, was rivaled only by a band from the US west coast called Tower of Power.

Chicago?s popularity can also be attributed to its two great lead singers?Peter Cetera and Terry Kath who were the perfect foil for each other. While Cetera had the blonde surfer dude look with a high tenor voice, Kath had dark hair and was deep voiced. ?Color My World? was one of his songs.

Cetera was recently here for a Valentine?s Day concert where some Chicago fans were left wanting as they were expecting him to do a lot of numbers from the band?he was after all a solo artist and even if no longer a member of Chicago.

Since he went solo in 1986, Cetera is once again touring with a band called Bad Daddies and riding on the crest of a second wind in his career? not surprising for someone with a soothing voice like his that?s perfect for ballads and pop-rock songs.

At his concert at the Araneta Coliseum, Cetera was also backed by the 42-piece FilharmoniKa which, judging by the way he gushed over their playing, he genuinely liked. Cetera even went as far as warning the audience that he will take the FilharmoniKa away for a tour.

Because it was Valentine?s Day, he did not disappoint the couples who went to the concert as a pre- or post-dinner event, playing the syrupy love songs that suited his singing style. Incidentally, he acquired that style of singing with his mouth almost literally half-closed when Chicago went on tour in 1969 just after he got involved in a brawl, broke his jaw and his mouth was wired shut to help it heal. It seems he sounded better that way.

Other sweet syrupy hits he sang that showcased not just his voice but the voices of his backing band as well were: the duets ?The Next Time I Fall? (with Amy Grant originally) and ?After All? (recorded with Cher); ?You?re the Inspiration? (which Cetera said he first offered to Kenny Rogers who, for whatever reasons he had, promptly turned it down), ?Hard for Me to Say I?m Sorry,? and of course, ?Glory of Love? from Karate Kid II.

In introducing ?After All,? he said it came from one of the more obscure films of Cybill Shepherd and Ryan O?Neal called Chances Are. When the audience responded with applause, Cetera was, to say the least, mildly surprised that the film was well-received here.

But, some of the well-received numbers that evening were the Chicago songs like ?Baby What a Big Surprise,? ?If You Leave Me Now,? ?Happy Man,? and ?25 or 6 to 4.?

Personally, the hands-down favorite number (pardon the pun) was ?25 or 6 to 4? which started off as an acoustic number before it segued into its familiar head-banging riff.

All in all, it was a great date concert for Valentine?s Day with all those ballads that Cetera sang.

And what has happened to Kath? Before Cetera left Chicago, Kath had been rumored as contemplating a solo career given that he was recording an album on his own before he accidentally killed himself in 1978.

Kath was going through the gun collection of a friend during a party in Los Angeles when he pulled out a 9mm pistol and confidently told a friend, ?Don?t worry, it?s not loaded,? while showing its empty magazine. He put the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger. There was a bullet in the chamber and the circumstances surrounding this gave Kath the distinction of being one of the first celebrities to be nominated for a Darwin?an award given to those who honor the human species by accidentally removing themselves from its gene pool.