| Terry Kath |
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Terry Alan Kath ( January 31 , 1946 – January 23 , 1978 ), born in Chicago, Illinois , was the original Guitarist , Vocalist , and founding member (along with Walter Parazaider , Danny Seraphine and Lee Loughnane ) of the band Chicago . James Pankow , Peter Cetera and Robert Lamm were also joined by Kath to complete the band's first line-up. He died in 1978 at the age of 31 in an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound. Long considered by many the "heart and soul" of the original Chicago, Kath was an important contributor right from their first album, '' The Chicago Transit Authority '' (1969) with his composition "Introduction". The song displayed many varied musical styles, including Jazz , Blues , Rock , and Pop . His last appearance with Chicago would be on 1977's '' Chicago XI ''. He was entirely self-taught as a musician, and he had little or no music-reading ability (according to interviews, Kath would hum his original compositions to bandmates). The same debut album also included an Experimental guitar piece aptly named "Free Form Guitar", which was inspired by Jimi Hendrix albums from 1967 and 1968. It was presented in the album notes as a deliberate piece of experimentation, complete with a breakdown of the equipment used. However, most sources indicate that Terry was simply playing with equipment in the studio, and the engineer in charge decided to record it on a whim. The hit "Questions 67 & 68" had guitar lines that became staples of the Chicago sound. "Beginnings", another success, was underlined by solid 12-string rhythm guitar playing, probably by Kath, although Peter Cetera was sometimes the rhythm player. The 12-string carried the song in crystal clear rhythm, and was later emulated by dozens of soft rock bands of the 1970s . It was in the songs "Listen", "Poem 58" and "Liberation" that he revealed all his potential as soloist. Fascinated by gadgets, Kath once owned nearly twenty guitars, though his early staples were a Gibson SG and a Fender Stratocaster . He utilized no special tunings or modifications on either. He later famously used a specially decorated Fender Telecaster , and was associated with Pignose amps. He experimented with a wide variety of amplification and distortion devices. Terry Kath's contribution for the band's first eleven albums showed an ever growing musicianship and expanding guitar techniques as can be heard on "The Road", "It Better End Soon" and the beautifully scored strings for his "Memories of Love" and its preambles from the second album '' Chicago '' (1970). "Sing A Mean Tune Kid", the suite "An Hour in the Shower" and others from '' Chicago III '' (1971) were also standouts for Kath, giving complete dimension to the album, which also displayed the more saccharine hits by the other members. By the mid-1970s, the times were changing and Chicago's musical direction diversified, but the original go-for-it approach lived on with Kath's compositions and performances through the years. His "Oh, Thank You Great Spirit" from '' Chicago VIII '' (1975) was incredibly swift and dynamic, with guitar solos not heard for quite a time in a pop album. Kath's singing was also an important feature of Chicago's sound, in a group where the composers of a song often did not sing it. The warmth and passion in "Colour My World" and the exuberant dynamicism in "Make Me Smile" from Chicago were key elements in Chicago's first hits. His screaming in the live version of "Free" from '' Chicago At Carnegie Hall '' (1971) is another example of his passionate vocal style. Terry Kath's contributions to modern guitar have been overlooked over the years, compared to his contemporaries, since Chicago persevered without Kath and reinvented themselves in the 1980s as an Adult Contemporary group (according to James Pankow , Kath--well aware of this, once cursed out the British press). DEATH Kath, who had married Camelia Ortiz in 1974, reportedly had a history of using Alcohol and Drugs , including Cocaine , in his last few years. Chicago bandmates have indicated that he was also increasingly unhappy. Always overweight, he had truly let himself go by 1977, looking bloated and messy. Peter Cetera even went so far as to say that Kath would have been the first to quit Chicago had he lived (and, according to then-producer James William Guercio , Kath was working on a solo album before he died). Around 5 p.m. on the evening of January 23 , 1978 , after a party at roadie Don Johnson's home at 5754 Fallbrook Avenue in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California , Kath — being a gun enthusiast — took a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol and began cleaning it. When Johnson yelled from the kitchen for Terry to be careful, Kath removed the magazine to prove that the gun was not loaded and pointed it into the air and pulled the trigger. However — in his inebriated state — he forgot that a semi-automatic gun has a built-in safety feature that prevents the discharge of a chambered round, if the magazine is removed (this is why the chamber should always be checked visually). Upon reinserting the magazine, Kath put the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger, infamously saying, "Don't worry, it's not loaded", in another attempt to prove that everything was safe. Unfortunately, with the magazine reinserted, the chambered round discharged and killed him — a week shy of his 32nd birthday. Family, friends and members of Chicago were all gutted by Kath's accidental death, and though they would take years to recover from the shock, his bandmates in Chicago would reclaim their fame in the 1980s, but never forgetting his legacy. Terry Kath was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California . Terry and Camelia had a daughter, Michelle, born in 1976. His widow Camelia later married Kiefer Sutherland . Kath's death is mentioned in the Darwin Awards book ''The Darwin Awards II: Unnatural Selection''. Compositions by Terry Kath
A tribute album, ''The Innovative Guitar of Terry Kath'', was compiled by Chicago in 1996 containing songs from the various aforementioned albums. Though it doesn't feature all of Kath's quintessential guitar work, it does feature some of his finest moments. The album is currently out of print. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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