Walter Parazaider, founding member of Chicago, dead at 81
Walter Parazaider, a founding member of the classic rock band Chicago, has died aged 81.
Parazaider was famed as a multi-instrumentalist, but was perhaps best-known as one-third of Chicago’s brass and woodwind section, alongside Lee Loughnane and James Pankow.
The musician passed away on June 17th, according to TMZ, with his wife, JacLyn, confirming the sad news to the publication.
She said he died in the early hours of the morning, in hospice care after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease six years ago.
Parazaider’s wife JacLyn added: “He had put up a good fight with Alzheimer’s and unfortunately it ended tonight. We are going to miss him for sure… We were married for 59 years and we had 59 wonderful years.”
The saxophonist was one of the founding members of the band that would go on to become Chicago, although when they formed as teenagers in 1966, they were named The Big Thing.
The band consisted of Parazaider with his brass and woodwind section, along with bassist Peter Cetera and keyboardist Robert Lamm.
Despite the band going on to have a sustained string of major hits throughout the 1970s and ‘80s, the musician was never known particularly for his songwriting abilities.
Instead, he was probably best remembered in Chicago for performing the flute solo in the song ‘Colour My World’, which was released on the band’s second album, Chicago II, in 1970. His musical aptitudes included playing the saxophone, flute, clarinet, and occasionally guitar.
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