Robert Lamm on Chicago’s New LP ‘Born for This Moment’ and Tour With Brian Wilson
Chicago, the self-described “rock and roll band with horns,” does everything big. Formed in 1967, Chicago celebrates its 55th anniversary this year with the release on July 15 of a new album, Born for This Moment, their first LP of original songs in eight years. Its first single is “If This Is Goodbye,” performed by vocalist and keyboardist Robert Lamm and vocalist Neil Donell.
Chicago’s current lineup, 10 members strong, includes three founding members: Lamm, trombonist James Pankow and trumpeter Lee Loughnane. In June the band kicked off its co-headline summer tour with Brian Wilson, whose band includes Beach Boys Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin. It’s a reunion of sorts; Chicago first toured with the Beach Boys in the 1970s. Chicago’s “Wishing You Were Here” featured vocals by the Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson, Carl Wilson and Al Jardine.
Lamm wrote many of Chicago’s biggest hits, including “Questions 67 & 68,” “Saturday in the Park,” “Beginnings,” “25 or 6 to 4” and “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” We spoke with Lamm mid-tour about Chicago’s resurgence.
After eight years, what jumpstarted the process to get the new album recorded?
Robert Lamm: We were touring the beginning of 2020 and then like everything else, we were…
