Second only to the Beach Boys, Chicago has earned the title as the most successful American Rock Band of all time.The group began in none other than Chicago, IL, with DePaul University music students Walter Parazaider, Lee Loughnane and James Pankow. Performing in the city's clubs, they came across talents Terry Kath, Robert Lamm, Peter Cetera and Danny Seraphine. Called together in 1967 by Parazaider, the group known as the Big Thing performed covers at local gigs and around the Midwest. Friend James William Guercio saw the versatility of the three lead singers, a baritone, a gruff baritone and an elastic tenor, and financed a trip to LA when they began developing original work.As manager and producer, Guercio's Columbia Records influence convinced the label to sign the newly named Chicago Transit Authority, with a debut double album. The self-titled album, released in 1969, lead to national tours, reached the Top 20 without a hit single, and eventually sold over two million copies.When the real Chicago Transit Authority contacted Guercio, group's name was forced to change to just "Chicago," with the release of their second album, Chicago, in 1970. The next few years saw a spew of gold albums, Top Ten hits and platinum status. By their 12th LP release in 1978, titled Hot Streets, the band fired Guercio and lost Kath, who'd shot himself. It was their first album since 1969 to miss the Top Ten. The following years saw similar disappointment, finalized when Chicago left Columbia in 1981.Under the leadership of David Foster, the group created Chicago 16 in 1982 under Full Moon Records. The band saw a comeback in sight, prefaced by the album's single "Hard to Say I'm Sorry." Thrusting Cetera as the face of the group, he left for a solo career in 1985. Though the band saw several personal changes over the years, their loyal fans kept their albums selling. They established Chicago Records in 1995 where they were able to reissue their Columbia albums, signed to Giant Records and have continued to create new albums into the most recent decades.