Probably the most underrated rock guitarist ever –
26 Comments on When Speaking of Great Guitarists, Why is Terry Kath Overlooked?
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I enjoyed CTA and (as they became) Chicago but never knew the guy’s name.
(or any of their names, come to think of it)
Funny, huh?
mortem tyrannis
izlamo delenda est …
That was the first song I learned to play on acoustic guitar.
Thank you for that memory gift.
Read an interview a couple years back with James Pankow, who said he thought Kath was way too good to be in the band and was going to be the first to leave and go solo. I always thought Kath was brilliant and gifted. A few years back, Kath’s daughter put together a film documenting her dad’s life, “The Terry Kath Experience.” It is worth your while. I saw CTA in concert in 1970. Below from an article by Sam Kemp:
. . . in the late ’60s, Chicago played a few shows with legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Like pretty much everyone who came to see the band perform, Hendrix was mesmerized by Kath’s guitar playing, going so far as to claim that he thought the Chicago guitarist played six strings better than he did, naming Kath the “best guitarist in the universe”. High praise indeed.
I grew up in the guitar era and, while I did not posess any guitar skills, I knew dozens of guys who could shred like Van Halen and play down the angels like Page. None of them ever got past the bar band stage though (sometimes BIG bars but bars withal) because with so much saturation you needed a big personality, a great singer, an incredible song, and/or a hell of a lot of promotion to stand out.
On this guy’s level, yes he’s an amazing talent. But playing behind vocal NyQuil like Pete Cetera on any of the lullabies Chicago was best at was never going to make him Richie Blackmore famous.
I suspect he has a ton of money and no regrets nevertheless. Well played sir.
Literally.
Who?
Overlooked because Chicago’s music sucked. Terry Kath was wasted in that band he was amazing and their music was horrible plus he died way to young. Could have done some incredible work
That was a joke, BTW
But seriously, I dont know why I overlooked the guy, seeing as how I never heard of him
Chicago’s first three albums or so didnt suck. It was the next 20 albums that sounded just like the first three albums that sucked
@ SNS he’s dead but agree, they were not a guitar based band. At the time, I never listened to them with all that horn stuff. Never knew who he was.
Listen to I’m a man from 1969, talk about exciting guitar playing and then Chicago went to crap like If you leave me now. Ugh. No wonder no one knows who he is, what a waste of talent.
Hendrix said Kath was better than he was. So there’s that.
I would pay money to get Chicago and Blood Sweat and Tears off the airwaves forever. Non-narcotic sleep aids, both of them
Great song, but what does 25 or 6 to 4 mean?
I AM TOSK
DECEMBER 15, 2022 AT 8:31 AM
“Great song, but what does 25 or 6 to 4 mean?”
It’s supposed to be part of the formula for LSD.
The rest of the song is his drug experience.
I…have to somewhat agree with VeedonFleece. CTA was raw, but Chicago morphed into a bunch of excellent musicians who wrote songs foe Band Nerds. I liked some of them when I was a high school Band Nerd. And I will never forget coming back from a week-long BOY Scout camping trip, right before I started high school, and finding the “Feeling Stronger Every Day” 45 on my bed. Thanks, mom. I needed that.
But VeedonFleece, “If You Leave Me Now” is great pop with nice chord changes. I bet you hate their collaboration with the Beach Boys, “Wishing You Were Here” lol. Pure 70’s pop gold.
And BTW, I never knew who Terry Kath was, or any of the others, for that matter. They were all anonymous musicians, just like us Band Nerds.
Watch Rick Beato what makes this song great Chicago
Guy had a monster voice
Hendrix said Terry was better than himself on guitar. Wow.
I so his documentary and it’s really good. A great watch. He was about to leave the band for solo work. He wanted a harder sound.
Hedrix also said similar things about Billy Gibbons (who’s birthday is tomorrow) when Billy played with ‘The Moving Sidewalks’. Saw Jimi, ‘The Moving Sidewalks’ and ‘The Soft Machine’ together sometime in ’68 in San Antonio. The first of three times we saw Jimi live.
Kath was a great guitarist in a band that was known for its horn section and rarely featured the guitar. Because of this, and because he died young, he was overlooked when great rock guitarists are discussed.
I met him in July of 1977 before a show and got his autograph on my CTA and Chicago XI album covers. He was a really nice guy. A girlfriend bought me a Telecaster the next year when I told her the story. I still have it. Kath told me that of the Tele, a Strat, a 12 string and a Precision bass he had on stage that the Tele was the only guitar that would stay in tune the show. I have used it in every show I have done since.
To I AM TOSK ^^^
When asked “what time is it?” during an all night drug fueled gathering, 25 or 6 to 4 AM was the reply.
Because he’s dead?
True Story:
Good Morning.
I woke up.
Had a smoke.
Saw this.
Thought this.
I have not bounced cross-legged on a bed like this in many years. Do you feel like I do? Thanks you for feeling that way.
That was a Trip.
Wrong again, SNS:
Lamm (the guy who wrote it)says, “It’s just a reference to the time of day” — as in “waiting for the break of day” at 25 or (2)6 minutes to 4 a.m. (3:35 or 3:34 a.m.).
But blowing one’s own brains out with an “unloaded” gun while drunk kinda destroys credibility.
Carlos the Jackal
DECEMBER 15, 2022 AT 1:54 PM
So it was. My 10th mistake today. I went to HS then and was aware of the song, but I wasn’t in the drug culture or the Chicago culture so all I ever heard was what I related, and it seems from brief research that MANY people at the time thought that, so many that the writer felt he had to clarify it.
So I dont feel bad about putting out a common misconception about an otherwise sucky band.
Yep, I’m wrong about things sometimes. I be hooman and shit.
If that somehow brings you joy, then Merry Christmas.
Was he using a Wah Wah pedal? It looks like one on the floor but I didn’t see his leg moving like he was using it.