"Old Days" is a song written by James Pankow for the group Chicago and recorded for their album Chicago VIII (1975). It was the second single released from that album, with lead vocals by Peter Cetera.[1]
| "Old Days" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Chicago | ||||
| from the album Chicago VIII | ||||
| B-side | "Hideaway" | |||
| Released | April 1975 | |||
| Recorded | 1974 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:31 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | James Pankow | |||
| Producer(s) | James William Guercio | |||
| Chicago singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editPankow has said that the song is a nostalgic piece about his childhood:
- "It touches on key phrases that, although they date me, are pretty right-on in terms of images of my childhood. 'The Howdy Doody Show' on television and collecting baseball cards and comic books."[2]
Pankow told group biographer James William Ruhlmann that the group stopped performing the song live because Cetera refused to sing it, calling the lyrics "corny".[3]
Cash Box praised the "great horn work," "Danny Seraphine's fine drum parts," and Terry Kath's "great guitar licks."[4] Record World said that Chicago's "wall-to-wall sound returns, this time abetted by Pat Williams strings, on a side that's destined to be this year's 'Saturday in the Park.'" "[5]
Chart performance
edit"Old Days" reached #5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the Easy Listening chart.[6]
Weekly chartsedit
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Year-end chartsedit
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Personnel
edit- Peter Cetera - lead vocals, bass
- Robert Lamm - piano, Hammond organ, harpsichord, backing vocals
- Terry Kath - fuzzed wah-wah electric guitars, backing vocals
- Danny Seraphine - drums
- Laudir de Oliveira - percussion
- James Pankow - trombone, backing vocals
- Lee Loughnane - trumpet
- Walter Parazaider - tenor saxophone
- Additional Personnel
- Patrick Williams - string orchestrations
Later uses in popular culture
edit- "Old Days" is featured on the soundtrack of the movie Starsky & Hutch (2004).
- The band also reworked the song in 2009 to serve as the theme for the "Monsters in the Morning" show airing on Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
- "Old Days" is used in an internet meme (introduced in 2018) in which a man reads the Wikipedia entry for cock and ball torture while a distorted recording of the song plays in the background.
References
edit- ^ Chicago VIII liner notes.
- ^ "Chicago official website". Archived from the original on 2007-06-09. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- ^ Ruhlmann, James William (1991). "Group Portrait Essay". Album Liner Notes. p. 7. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. April 12, 1975. p. 22. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. April 12, 1975. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
- ^ "Chicago Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1975-07-05. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1975-06-21. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
- ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1975-07-21. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
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