The Chicago song that topped the year-end chart in 1989
Chicago in the late 1980s was a place that one could barely turn their head away from, even when the reality of the place was less than pretty.
The city’s working-class neighbourhoods were testament to the true power of tenacity that kept powering the people through some of their toughest times. You had hometown heroes like Michael Jordan slam-dunking his way to world acclaim in the process and putting Chicago firmly on the map, but elsewhere, they also needed something more.
Conveniently enough, that sense was found in a band who had no qualms about putting their home city at the heart of everything they did, and even making it the name of their entire existence. You guessed it, that band was, in fact, Chicago, and in 1989, they were truly on a mission of mighty chart power.
They had started out on this adventure long before then, of course, with roots spanning back all the way to 1967 when they came together out of several other disbanded outfits from across the metropolis. They had more than a fair share of hits in that time, too, with the decade-long stint of their ten albums in the 1970s seeming like a never-ending stream of success.
But then the ‘80s beckoned, and it was time for something to change. Chicago’s famed horn section was somewhat relegated from the picture, and instead, their sound gave way to something softer, less blaring, but no less sincere. People never stopped lapping it up, and in 1989, they scored one of their greatest-ever number ones with ‘Look Away’.
How did ‘Look Away’ change things for Chicago?
After years of grafting away from within their own ranks, the end of the ‘80s signalled a time for Chicago to look outwards – not necessarily in terms of their boundaries, but by injecting new life into the bones of the band. As it turned out, that arrived in the form of Diane Warren, who penned the lyrics and submitted a demo to their label.
It was the suggestion of Chicago’s manager, Howard Kaufman, that they branched off in a new direction for a change and see where it took them, according to the drummer, Danny Seraphine. Despite having a bona fide name attached to, though, it still took the rest of the band some convincing to let an outsider in.
Bassist Jason Scheff said afterwards, admittedly with a lot of humility, “The songs that last for me are the ones I don’t get at first. I remember hearing ‘Look Away’ and thinking it’s okay, but not great. Thank God I’m not an A&R man.” And it’s true: thank god he isn’t, because the song became the band’s third and final number one, and ended 1989 in the top position.
Indeed, ‘Look Away’ actually said a lot about a city and a band who could sometimes be a little ignored if they let it. But instead, by taking a risk and starting on a new method of success, Chicago actually opened themselves up to a whole host of new opportunities, of which the number one was only really the cherry on the cake.
