Chicago is an American rock band founded in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Transit Authority was formed in 1968, and the name was shortened in 1969. Chicago’s tunes, which they define as a “rock and roll band with horns,” frequently incorporate elements of classical music, jazz, R&B, and pop music.
Chicago was ranked thirteenth on Billboard’s list of the top 100 artists of all time for Hot 100 singles chart success in September 2008, and fifteenth on the same list in October 2015. In October 2015, Billboard rated Chicago ninth on its list of the 100 greatest performers of all time based on Billboard 200 album chart achievement. Chicago is one of the world’s most successful and longest-running rock bands, as well as one of the best-selling ensembles of all time, having sold over 100 million records. Chicago was the first rock band to sell out Carnegie Hall for a week in 1971.
Chicago has sold over 40 million sales in the United States to date, with 23 gold, 18 platinum, and eight multi-platinum albums. They had five straight number-one albums on the Billboard 200 and 20 Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles. The group had seven albums, their complete discography at the time, on the Billboard 200 at the same time in 1974. The trio has received eleven Grammy Award nominations, winning one for the song, “If You Leave Me Now”. Chicago Transport Authority, the group’s first record, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014. Chicago’s original lineup was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. As members of the music group, Peter Cetera, Robert Lamm, and James Pankow were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017. On October 16, 2020, Chicago was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.