By Scott Cronick
Founding Chicago member Lee Loughnane, like most musicians, was urged by his parents – particularly his father – to give up the silly idea of becoming a professional musician and to get a “real job.”
Now, more than five decades later, Loughnane is not only one of the three original members of Chicago remaining, but he’s part of an ensemble that has sold more than 100 million albums, won 10 Grammys, racked up 21 Billboard Top 10 hits at a time when that meant something, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“They wanted me to work 9 to 5 and remember everyone’s name and work your way up into the company, and all of that stuff,” said Loughnane, a tremendous horn player who wrote or co-wrote some of Chicago’s most memorable tunes, including “Call On Me,” “No Tell Lover” and “America.” “Who knew that it would go on this long and I would have this kind of success and outlive many, many, many different companies that were established and huge companies at the time? And here we are still going, and we are not going to stop anytime soon that I can see. The thing that makes me the most happy is that I still get to do it today.”
“I would say I was definitely on something, too,” Loughnane said with a laugh. “The two jobs I had that my father got for me – summertime work between school – didn’t excite me at all. I would come home dog tired and think, ‘I really don’t want to do this for a living.’ A lot of people probably get discouraged by their parents or whoever, and then when they go do whatever it is, it’s immaterial. You make those decisions, and then you lay in the bed you made and do what’s next in life. We chose the things that you are least likely to be successful to succeed at, and here we are. This is beyond hard to believe. This is like the impossible dream, and here I am living it … which is pretty cool.”
What’s particularly cool is that Chicago & Friends will perform at Ocean Casino Resort’s Ovation Hall 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, and 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, as Producer Barry Summers and his company FanTracks resurrects the Decades Rock Live Series in Atlantic City.
What is Decades Rock Live?
For those not old enough to remember – or somehow missed what is likely the greatest concert series in Atlantic City history – Decades Rock Live features some of the greatest music artists of all time that are joined on stage by other stellar musicians to pay tribute to the headliners that inspired them along the way.
Past shows at the former Trump Taj Mahal featured The Doors’ Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek with The Cult’s Ian Astbury with special guests Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction and Macy Gray; Bonnie Raiit with guests Norah Jones, Ben Harper, Allison Krauss and Keb’ Mo; Cyndi Lauper with guests Pat Monahan of Train, Shaggy, Ani DiFranco, The Hooters and the late Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots; Heart with Alice in Chains, Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction, Carrie Underwood, Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan and Pantera’s Phil Anselmo; Elvis Costello with guests Death Cab for Cutie, Fiona Apple and Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong; Lynyrd Skynyrd with 3 Doors Down, Bo Bice and Hank Williams, Jr.; and the last show in 2006, The Pretenders with Incubus, Iggy Pop, Kings of Leon and Garbage’s Shirley Manson.
This weekend, Chicago’s “Friends” will include Grammy nominee R&B vocalist Robin Thicke, rock superstar Chris Daughtry, guitar virtuoso Steve Vai, a cappella quintet VoicePlay, Grammy-winning songstress Judith Hill and – on Friday only – Grammy-winning blues guitarist and vocalist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram.
“This is the eighth one, and all of those other shows bring back good memories,” Summers said of Decades Rock Live, which was born at the Taj and continues at Ocean Casino with entertainment guru Steve Gietka. “The common denominator between all seven special guests we will have is their love for Chicago.”
So, where has Decades Rock Live been for more than 25 years?
“The truth is it’s expensive to produce, Atlantic City has its own challenges, in general, and some other factors,” Summers said. “But in this post-pandemic world we knew this was a very successful series and thought it was the right opportunity and time to bring it back with the right band.”
In the past, Decades Rock Live was recorded for VH1 Classic, and while both nights will be recorded, Summers and FanTracks are raising the bar when it comes to what fans will see after the concerts are long over.
First, FanTracks, a global streaming platform, will have the exclusive premiere for a period that will be announced in December. The concerts will also air in the United States on PBS, and then they will be broadcast globally on AppleTV, Amazon Prime and other digital platforms.
If that wasn’t enough, FanTracks and Chicago are working on a live album – “The Best of Chicago Transit Authroity – Live at 55,” paying tribute the band’s first and arguably most popular album released 55 years ago that will be mixed and mastered by Loughnane in his home studio, and feature greatest hits, too. Finally, the concert – and albums – will be released on pretty much every format you can think of, from vinyl to Blu-Ray to DVD and available by mid-2024.
“Both nights will be filmed with more than 34 4K cameras that we will then produce and edit into a concert film,” Summers said. “So, all of the guests who attend the shows will be part of history in the making with Chicago, plus they will also be something fans will remember for years to come with all of the releases we will have that will feature Chicago hits, but also deep cuts, songs they haven’t performed in many years and unique collaborations never before performed live. This is the most aggressive we have been producing a Decades Rock Live show, by far. This setlist is curated specifically for the two days. You will not see this on a Chicago tour again. And the concert will feature 3D visuals built around the lyrics of more than 30 songs that we have been building for the last eight months and are just finishing up this week. It’s a full multimedia set that will blow everyone’s minds and put Chicago on the next level and introduce them to a whole new generation of fans.”
What to expect?
When Summers approached Chicago and Loughnane initially, the group was unsure if it would all come together. Now, nearly a year later, he’s happy to see it become a reality.
“When we had the second meeting, we started understanding this has a chance of becoming something,” said Loughnane, who will be joined by fellow original members Robert Lamm (vocals, keyboards, guitar) and James Pankow (trombone, keboards, vocals, percussion) along with the huge Chicago band. “We were going to do three guest artists, and now that has grown to seven guest artists, and this is a band that doesn’t let anybody sit in historically. We usually have no one come up and ask if they can sit in with the band. We have had a few over the years, but nothing like this. So, this is unprecedented for us and the artists, and it will be a lot of fun.”
Summers said this is the most guest artists ever featured on a Decades Rock Live show – and when you add the sheer mass of Chicago’s ensemble, it will be quite a production.
“We never had that many guests before, and I think that speaks volumes on the large catalog of music that Chicago performs, and I think the guest connection with Chicago and the songs they are performing makes it extra special because there are various components of vocals from high to soulful and deep,” Summers said. “Trying to use one voice to capture everything – or three – we felt we were running short, so we didn’t want to put a cap on it and let the creativity take precedent and connect the songs with the right guests and let it organically grow on its own instead of doing something contrived, and I think we were able to accomplish that.”
While neither Summers or Loughnane would elaborate on exactly what songs will be performed and by whom, you can get some idea by the format.
The first of four acts will feature the “Chicago Transit Authority” double album that has songs including “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”, “Beginnings,” “Questions 67 and 68” and “I’m a Man.” The second and fourth acts will feature hits, with the third act being an unplugged set mostly featuring VoicePlay.
“And then we will close with a bang,” said Loughnane, who said he is particularly looking forward to hearing Robin Thicke sing Chicago songs. “I think it’s going to be very good for us. I have been working with the artists one on one getting the arrangements to them, knowing what they will sing and having them become comfortable because we will only have two rehearsals for the show. We have to be prepared as much as we can and keep everyone in the loop before rehearsal, so by the time we hit rehearsals, we are hitting the ground running.”
That sounds like a lot of work.
“It IS a lot of work,” Loughnane added. “But that’s what I do for a living … it could be worse.”
Chicago & Friends will be performed 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, and 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, at Ocean Casino Resort’s Ovation Hall. Tickets, starting at $99, can be purchased at TheOceanAC.com.
Scott Cronick is an award-winning journalist who has written about entertainment, food, news and more in South Jersey for nearly three decades. He hosts a daily radio show – “Off The Press with Scott Cronick” – 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays on Newstalk WOND 1400-AM, 92.3-FM, and WONDRadio.com, and he also co-owns Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall in Atlantic City, while working on various projects, including charitable efforts, throughout the area. He can be reached at scronick@comcast.net.
