YESTERDAY I WOULD NOT
HAVE BELIEVED
THAT TOMORROW
THE SUN WOULD SHINE
THEN ONE DAY
YOU CAME INTO MY LIFE
Hot Streets
is the tenth
studio album
(and twelfth overall album)
by the American
Rock band
released on
October 2, 1978,
by Columbia Records.
This was the band's
first album
with all-new
material released
since their second
that did not have a
numbered title.
It was also
the first album
not to feature
original
guitarist/vocalist
and group founder
who died
from an accidental
self-inflicted
gunshot wound
in
January 1978.
He was
replaced by
Donnie Dacus
on this album.
Background
Having worked with
James William Guercio
since their 1969 debut,
Chicago
decided to part ways
with the producer
following the release of
Chicago XI
in 1977.
Another major change
for the group was
the death of
guitarist/vocalist/group founder
Terry Kath
in January 1978,
who accidentally shot himself
at a roadie's house
while playing with a gun.
The members of the band
were devastated by his death
and considered breaking up.
After the initial shock waned,
the group decided they
still had something to offer
musically and carried on.
Phil Ramone,
who had mixed some
of their earlier albums,
was called upon
to co-produce
their new effort.
But before Chicago
could begin recording,
they had to contend with
the difficult process of
finding a new guitarist.
Accomplished guitarist
Donnie Dacus
was chosen,
bringing his own
distinctive style
to the group's music.
Prior to joining Chicago,
Dacus had worked with
both
Roger McGuinn
and
Stephen Stills.
Recording sessions
took place both in
Miami
and Los Angeles
that spring,
after years of working at
Guercio's Caribou Ranch
in Colorado.
By the end of the sessions,
the band felt as though
they were still in a
strong musical position
even after
the loss of Kath.
Some of the tracks
featured
the Bee Gees
and their keyboardist,
Blue Weaver,
who were recording the album
Spirits Having Flown
next door
at the same
Miami studio.
The Gibb brothers
added vocals to the song
"Little Miss Lovin'"
while Weaver
added synthesized strings
to
"No Tell Lover"
and
"Show Me The Way".
In turn,
Chicago's horn section
played on
Spirits Having Flown,
most notably
on the hit single
"Too Much Heaven".
To mark their
new beginning,
the band broke
with tradition
by giving their album
a title,
rather than a number.
Having chosen the title
Hot Streets,
the album cover
featured a picture
of the band
(shot by photographer Norman Seeff)
rather than just the
group logo.
Because a later
marketing survey
noted that consumers
expected to see
the logo on the cover,
Chicago's logo
returned in the form
of a high-rise building
for the
follow-up album,
Chicago 13.
The album was released in
October 1978,
preceded by a release
of the lead single
"Alive Again".
Hot Streets
was another hit
for the group,
who had been
concerned that the public
might not accept them
without Kath.
Although the album
went platinum,
and Chicago
scored a second
top-twenty hit with
"No Tell Lover",
Hot Streets
was the first
Chicago album
since their debut
that failed to reach
the US Top 10;
fittingly,
the band's
twelfth album
peaked at #12.
Following
the release of
Chicago 13
and at the end
of the
Christmas 1979 tour,
Dacus
would be released
from the group,
bringing his
short tenure
with Chicago
to an abrupt end.
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