More Peter Cetera

Another song, this one from 1976 - If You Leave Me Now - by Peter Cetera and Chicago. I do like the band, but really, my main interest is in him.

A native of Chicago, he's of Polish and Hungarian descent, and so it's probably not surprising that his first instrument as a teen was an accordion - he won awards for his polka music :)

Later he got a guitar and joined Chicago in 1967, becoming not just their bass player but also one of their main vocalists and songwriters.

In 1969, Cetera had a setback that had an impact on his singing voice and style. He was beaten up by some guys at a baseball game - his jaw was broken in 3 places and had to be wired shut for months. As the band still had commitments, he had to learn how to sing with his mouth almost closed. Even after healing, he kept that style, as opening his mouth too widely would get it stuck 0pen ... How a baseball brawl led to Chicago’s breakthrough hit.

He left Chicago in 1985 to pursue a solo career, and though I'm not a fan of ballads and love songs, I do recognize that many of his later songs were very popular, like the 1986 song Glory of Love ...



I will always appreciate him from his time with Chicago. I'll post more of his songs from then as I find them, though it's hard to find good quality live performances of stuff from the distant past.