Hard Habit to Break

"Hard Habit to Break"
Single by Chicago
from the album Chicago 17
B-side	"Remember the Feeling"
Released	July 2, 1984 (1984-07-02)
Recorded	1983–1984
Genre	Soft rock[1]
Length	4:43
Label	Full Moon/Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Steve Kipner, John Lewis Parker
Producer(s)	David Foster
Chicago singles chronology
"Stay the Night" (1984) "Hard Habit to Break" (1984) "You're the Inspiration" (1984)

"Hard Habit to Break" is a song written by Steve Kipner and John Lewis Parker, produced and arranged by David Foster and recorded by the group Chicago for their 1984 album Chicago 17, with Bill Champlin and Peter Cetera sharing lead vocals. Released as the second single from the album, it reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100^[2] and was prevented from charting higher by "Caribbean Queen" by Billy Ocean and "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder. "Hard Habit to Break" also peaked at No. 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The lyrics of the song appear to describe a man having a hard time getting over a significant other getting away after he took her for granted and she left him for someone else.^[3][4] Overseas it peaked at No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart.^[5][6]

"Hard Habit to Break" was nominated for four Grammy Awards: Foster and Jeremy Lubbock won the award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s);^[7][8][9] Chicago were nominated for the song in the categories Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal;^[10][11] and Cetera and Foster were nominated for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices.^[8][12][13] Songwriters Kipner and Parker won an ASCAP award in 1986 for most-performed song.^[14]

The song's title was used as the slogan for Demon Dogs, a hot dog stand owned by the band's manager Peter Schivarelli which was located in the area of DePaul University's Lincoln Park campus.^[15][16]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1984) Peak position Canada Top Singles (RPM)[17] 5 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[18] 1 Guatemala (UPI)[19] 9 Ireland (IRMA)[20] 3 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[21] 17 UK Singles (OCC)[22] 8 US Billboard Hot 100[23] 3 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[24] 3

Year-end charts Chart (1984) Position Canada Top Singles (RPM)[25] 52 US Billboard Hot 100[26] 45

Personnel

Chicago

• Peter Cetera – lead and backing vocals
• Bill Champlin – keyboards, lead and backing vocals
• Robert Lamm – backing vocals
• Lee Loughnane – trumpet
• James Pankow – trombone, horn arrangements
• Walter Parazaider – woodwinds
• Danny Seraphine – drums

Additional personnel

• David Foster – keyboards, synth bass, synthesizer programming, rhythm and vocal arrangements
• John Van Tongeren – synthesizer programming
• Erich Bulling – synthesizer programming
• Marcus Ryle – synthesizer programming
• Michael Landau – guitar
• Paul Jackson, Jr. – guitar
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion
• Gary Grant – trumpet
• Greg Adams – trumpet
• David Foster and Jeremy Lubbock – orchestration

Cover versions

Puerto Rican singer Glenn Monroig recorded a Spanish-language cover version entitled "El Vicio Que No Puedo Romper" for his album Apasionado (1986). All-4-One also recorded a cover version on their compilation album Greatest Hits (2004).

References

1. "Explore: Soft Rock | Top Songs | AllMusic". AllMusic. 2011-11-12. Archived from the original on 2011-11-12. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
2. "Hot 100 Singles (October 27, 1984)". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 44. 1984-10-27. p. 64. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
3. "Chicago - Chart history | Billboard Adult Contemporary (p2)". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
4. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 55.
5. "Chicago charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
6. "Chicago 17 Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
7. "27th Annual GRAMMY Awards". Recording Academy Grammy Awards. 2013-01-16. Archived from the original on 2019-03-21. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
8. "David Foster, Man In Motion: Grammy Nominations & Awards" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 30. 1986-07-26. p. D-16. Retrieved 2019-04-12 – via AmericanRadioHistory.com.
9. Grein, Paul (1986-07-26). "With Hit Songs for Steppingstones, Star-Shaper Foster Is Now Writing His Own Script For Total Success". Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 30. p. D-10. Retrieved 2019-04-12 – via Google Books.
10. Hunt, Dennis (1985-01-11). "Grammys May Offer Few Surprises". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California, USA. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
11. "Chicago". GRAMMY.com. Archived from the original on 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
12. "David Foster". GRAMMY.com. 2017-05-14. Archived from the original on 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
13. "Peter Cetera". GRAMMY.com. 2019-02-15. Archived from the original on 2017-10-30. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
14. "ASCAP Awards Ceremony". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 24. 1986-06-14. p. 79. Retrieved 2019-03-06 – via Google Books.
15. A Native's Guide to Chicago. Fourth edition. Chicago, IL: Lake Claremont Press, 2004. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
16. Demon Dogs print advertisement in Friday, April 6, 2001 issue of The DePaulia – DePaul University Library Digital Collections. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
17. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9550." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 1984-11-17. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
18. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 8654." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 1984-11-03. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
19. "Las canciones más populares en Latinoamérica". La Opinión (Los Angeles) (in Spanish). November 19, 1984. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
20. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Hard Habit to Break". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
21. "Chicago – Hard Habit to Break". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
22. "Chicago: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
23. "October 20, 1984". Billboard Hot 100. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
24. "Adult Contemporary chart for September 29, 1984". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
25. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9638." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
26. "Top 100 Hits of 1984/Top 100 Songs of 1984".