CoronaVinyl Day 99 (Geographic Name): Chicago IX by Chicago

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Before we get to the music, I'll be taking another break from posting tomorrow and this weekend, as I celebrate our nation's 244th birthday.  Today's CoronaVinyl category is "geographic name," and by that, I mean a band or artist whose name contains the name of a specific city, state, country, or continent.  Vinyl-wise, I had plenty to choose from:  Asia, Patti Austin, Boston (who I already featured), Chicago, Perry Como, Creedence Clearwater Revival (who I already featured), Marshall Crenshaw, John Denver, Emerson, Lake & Palmer (who I already featured), Hiroshima, Jackson 5 (who I already featured), Michael Jackson, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, Janis Joplin, Dave Mason, Joni Mitchell, Otis Redding (who I already featured), Sugarhill Gang, James Taylor, USA for Africa, Dinah Washington, Grover Washington, Jr., and Jackie Wilson, among others.

It turns out, however, I only live in one of those places, and that's Chicago.  No American band other than the Beach Boys has had more success on the Billboard singles and albums charts than Chicago. They have sold over 120 million albums worldwide, with 18 platinum albums, five #1 albums, three #1 songs, and 21 Top 10 songs. They were the leading US singles charting group during the 1970s. They released 12 albums in the '70s, five of which hit #1 and ten of which were in the Top 10.  At one point in 1974, all seven of the band's albums were on the Billboard album chart at the same time.  All but one of the 30 singles they released in the '70s charted on the Billboard Top 100, with 22 Top 40 hits, 13 Top 10 hits, and one #1.  And, if memory serves me correctly, they are the only band in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 with a Top 40 hit in four consecutive decades ('60s-'90s).

They were finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.  The year before that, Billboard ranked them as the #15 band/artist of all-time in terms of success on the Hot 100 singles chart and #9 all-time regarding success on the Billboard album chart.

The band was good about naming their albums in sequential order with a Roman numeral.  I have several Chicago albums, but I decided on 1975's Chicago IX, since it's their first greatest hits album.  It topped the album charts in the U.S. and Canada, and it has since gone platinum five times in the U.S. and thrice in Canada.  The only one of the eleven songs on the album that didn't reach the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 is "Wishing You Were Here," which topped out at a meager #11.

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Feelin' Stronger Every Day"
This song just builds and builds.  It starts as kind of soulful, jazzy pop song, then breaks into an uptempo bridge that builds into an all-out frenzied jam at the end.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Make Me Smile"
"Make Me Smile" is another great song.  While most of the band's songs featured bassist Peter Cetera or keyboardist Robert Lamm on lead vocals (or both), this one features some soulful vocals from guitarist Terry Kath.  It was the group's first Top 40 hit in the U.S., rising to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100.