(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
Chicago - "If You Leave Me Now"
Hit Number 1: October 23, 1976
Stay at Number 1: 2 Weeks
I often think of Chicago as being one band that was really four other bands. This is because their sound was constantly changing. Just look at the kinds of songs they were making around 1970; they were very horn-heavy, sounding a lot like big band music in the '40s, except a little more rock infused. A big reason why they sounded that way was because of their first "leader," Terry Kath. Kath was the band's lead guitar player, and appeared to be a big fan of that old big band sound. To his credit, the band cranked out several hits during Kath's reign, and some of those songs are total bangers. (The main one I want to highlight is "Make Me Smile," which could be the greatest Chicago song. I didn't give it the proper credit it deserved when it peaked at #9 in 1970. Let's right the wrong. It's a 10) But no one knew at the time that there was a budding star in the group, and one that would end up taking the spotlight away from Kath later on. That was Peter Cetera.
Cetera had been with Chicago ever since they began in 1967, and was the bass player and occasional vocalist for the group. While Kath had a lower, more gritty voice, Cetera had a tenor voice, and could reach those high notes better than Kath could. Because of that, Chicago often used Cetera only as someone to compliment Kath, and he didn't sing lead very often. He could be heard singing lead on a couple obscure Chicago songs on their first album or so, but that was about it. But finally, Chicago began experimenting a little bit more, which is something they'd do a lot of as the years rolled on. Cetera's first big hit that he sang lead on was "25 or 6 to 4," another one of those big bandy songs that were becoming a signature for the group, and shared an album with "Make Me Smile." ("25 or 6 to 4" was even bigger than "Make Me Smile," peaking at #4. It's an 8) Still, Kath was the main star, not Cetera. That would begin to change in 1976 though when "If You Leave Me Now" was released.
By the time "If You Leave Me Now" was released, the band had all but departed their big band sound, and were starting to become more tame, releasing more of that soft rock, "feel good" music. And the thing was, these singles were doing better, with "If You Leave Me Now" making it to the top of the charts, something Chicago had never accomplished before. That's when they began pushing Cetera's ballads out more for single release, and with that, Cetera was becoming the new star of the group, and the new front man. As for Kath, things actually went south for him pretty quickly, and he would die one of the most unusual deaths in music history at the age of only 31 in 1978. More on that later on.
"If You Leave Me Now" is nothing super special, and I think of it as your typical soft love ballad, except this one's about a failing love rather than a strong one. The narrator is tossing his pride out the window, practically begging this girl to stay around. If she leaves him now, she'll take away the biggest part and the very heart of him. The song wouldn't work very well at all if Cetera didn't sell it, but he does a great job at showing us, the listeners, what true heartbreak looks like. Cetera sounds sad, but he also sounds vulnerable, like this is the weakest he's ever felt, and fears that if his love walks out on him, he'd become even weaker. That's the key to a song like "If You Leave Me Now," it's a song about imminent heartbreak and devastation on the narrator's part, and he wonders how it could all end this way. And Cetera knocks that out of that park.
While Cetera is front and center on the song, I also like the instrumentation. The strings are weepy, and the guitar part is mellow and subtle, even on the solo part. They play the role of supporting Cetera greatly, and show even more the problems this narrator is having. I can feel it at least. I can feel this dude crumbling. He knows his life is about to get a lot worse, and him begging this girl to stay is sort of like a last ditch effort. It's a truly somber song, and though these aren't the kinds of songs I seek out in my free time, I can respect a good, non-corny ballad when I hear one. "If You Leave Me Now" is a song I can appreciate and respect.
Anyway, Chicago would continue to make hits and be present on the Hot 100, and we'll hear from them again later on. This would be without Terry Kath, though. Kath died after accidentally shooting himself in the head. He apparently was into target shooting, and carried a gun on him a lot of the time. He'd play around with guns, and was said to spin his .38 revolver on his finger and pretend to shoot himself with the gun unloaded. Even though he was told by others to be more careful, he'd keep doing that same routine until one day he did that same thing, except he'd accidentally do it with the gun loaded, and he died instantly right in front of the band's roadie, Don Johnson. (This is not to be confused with the Miami Vice guy of course) Cetera and the rest of Chicago almost disbanded after Kath's death, but kept going on anyway after Doc Severinsen, the musical director of the Tonight Show, persuaded them to continue. It's a good thing they kept going on, but I can't imagine the trauma of losing one of your more valuable bandmates randomly like that. At least Kath got to see the magic of "If You Leave Me Now" before he died.
GRADE: 7/10
IN POP CULTURE:
Here's an insane cover of "If You Leave Me Now" that the YouTube channel Leonid & Friends published in 2017. It literally sounds just like the Chicago version, so I felt like I had to post that here. Check it out:
コメント