Call on Me (Chicago song)

"Call on Me"
Single by Chicago
from the album Chicago VII
B-side	"Prelude to Aire"
Released	June 1974
Genre	Soft rock, jazz fusion
Length	4:02
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Lee Loughnane
Producer(s)	James William Guercio
Chicago singles chronology
"(I've Been) Searchin' So Long" (1974) "Call on Me" (1974) "Wishing You Were Here" (1974)

"Call on Me" is a song written by Lee Loughnane for the group Chicago and recorded for their album Chicago VII (1974). Peter Cetera sang lead vocals and the arrangement makes prominent use of conga drums played by Guille Garcia.

Background

"Call on Me" was the first Loughnane composition to be released by the band. It was written with uncredited help from Peter Cetera.^[1] Loughnane was the last original Chicago member to receive a songwriting credit.

According to Cetera, though, he needed some help. "I tried to help Lee Loughnane with a song," Cetera says, "and that song turned out to be 'Call On Me.' Lee had written a song. It wasn't called, 'Call On Me,' it was called something else, and it in fact was terrible. I talked to him at the ranch one day, and he was all bent out of shape. He said that he had played the song for the guys, and they had told him in fact to get the heck out of there with the song. I said, 'Well, come on, let's have a go.' So Lee and I went and re-wrote the lyrics and re-wrote the melody and came up with the song called, 'Call On Me,' which was a big hit for him." Loughnane remembers it a little differently. "Peter changed a couple of the words and the way he sang the melody in order for him to be able to play the bass and sing the melody at the same time because that's the way he felt it." Loughnane added, "I appreciate his efforts, and we did make the song a hit."

Reception

Billboard described "Call on Me" as a "good, summer sounding disk" that sounds a little like Chicago's earlier single "Saturday in the Park."^[2] Record World said that the "light Latin lilt is perfect for summer airwaves."^[3]

Personnel

• Peter Cetera – lead and backing vocals, bass
• Robert Lamm – Fender Rhodes electric piano, backing vocals
• Terry Kath – phased/delayed wah-wah electric guitars, backing vocals
• Danny Seraphine – drums
• Lee Loughnane – trumpet, backing vocals
• James Pankow – trombone, brass arrangement
• Walter Parazaider – tenor saxophone

Additional Personnel

• Guille Garcia – congas
• Laudir de Oliveira – percussion

Chart performance

The second single released from the album, it reached number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Easy Listening chart.^[4]

Weekly charts Chart (1974) Peak position Canada RPM 9 US Billboard Hot 100 6 US Billboard Adult Contemporary[5] 1 US Cash Box Top 100 10

Year-end charts Chart (1974) Rank Canada[6] 100 US Billboard Hot 100[7] 98

See also

• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1974 (U.S.)

References

1. Ruhlmann, William James (1991). Chicago Group Portrait (Box Set) (Media notes). New York City, NY: Columbia Records. p. 7. Archived from the original (CD booklet archived online) on February 13, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
2. "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. June 15, 1974. p. 50. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
3. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. June 15, 1974. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
4. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 54.
5. "Adult Contemporary Chart". Billboard.
6. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
7. "Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-09.