Fifty-five years ago, a band called Chicago Transit Authority blew -- literally, thanks to its three-piece horn section -- out of the Windy City with its first album, a two-LP set that began a run that’s been uninterrupted by trends and tastes, membership changes and even death.
“It feels like one long tour -- that’s pretty much it,” says trumpeter Lee Loughnane, one of three founding members still touring with the band, which quickly shortened its name simply to Chicago. “You and I talking now, you mention when it started, the first album, and it’s like ‘Sssssssssshop!, here we are!’ Almost instantaneous.