It was in Walter's apartment on February 15, 1967 that the original 6 members of Chicago sat at a table and made their commitment to each other to form a great rock and roll band with horns. Born in Chicago on March 14, 1945, Walt cut his rock and roll teeth playing in bands like Jimmy Ford and the Executives, and The Missing Links. He received his degree in Orchestral Clarinet from DePaul University. Walter has been referred to as “The other half of the horn section” during band introductions, and has been married for 34 years to his wife JacLynn.

Walt is an Original member of Chicago.

Born August 20, 1947 in St Louis Missouri, James moved with his family to Chicago when he was 8 years old. James has 8 brothers and sisters, including brother John Pankow, who played Cousin Ira on the NBC show “Mad About You”. Because the lines for saxophone and drums were too long, James picked up the trombone in 5th grade and thankfully had a great talent for the instrument.

Playing the trombone isn’t the only talent James has, his true genius lies in his songwriting and brass arranging abilities. James writes the vast majority of all the brass arrangements for Chicago, using the horns as an extra voice. Some of the songs that he has written include : "Make Me Smile," "Colour My World," "Just You and Me," " Feelin Stronger Everyday," " Old Days," " One More Day," among many other great songs.

James is an Original member of Chicago.

Born October 13, 1944, Robert moved to Chicago from Brooklyn New York when he was 15 years old. Robert was already an accomplished musician, fronting the local band Bobby Charles and The Wanderers, using Charles as his last name in honor of the late great Ray Charles.

Robert is responsible for some of Chicago’s greatest music, including “Saturday In The Park”, “Beginnings”, “Dialogue”, and of course “25 or 6 to 4”. He also has released four wonderful solo CD’s, including the most recent "Subtlety and Passion". Robert was also honored to be part of the Beckley, Lamm, Wilson trio, with Gerry Beckley of the group America and the late Carl Wilson, founding member of the Beach Boys. Their CD is currently available at most music stores.

Robert is an Original member of Chicago.

Visit Robert's Website: Official Website of Robert Lamm
Visit Robert's MySpace: The Official MySpace of Robert Lamm

Lee began playing trumpet at age 11, and played in the high school concert band, marching band, and jazz band. Performing in local Chicago groups such as The Shannon Show Band, and Ross and The Majestics, Lee would sometimes sit in with The Missing Links, which at that time included Terry Kath, Danny Seraphine, and Walter Parazaider. Born October 21, 1946 in Elmwood Park, Illinois, his fate was sealed along with the other members of Chicago in February of 1967.

Lee has written many brass arrangements, including many on the Night and Day (Big Band) CD. He also has written some great songs for the band, including Call on Me, and No Tell Lover. Lee has also sang lead vocals on two of his own compositions, "This Time" and "Together Again." He has also sang lead vocals on "Song of The Evergreens" and the fantastic version of "Let It Snow" from Chicago XXV, The Christmas CD.

Lee is an Original member of Chicago.

Chicago and Bill Champlin go back 31 years when the first albums for both were released on the same day in 1969. Chicago’s first of course was CTA. Bills first was with The Sons of Champlin, the legendary band that Bill founded out of the San Francisco Bay area. Ironically, both bands had a guitar player named Terry, and both prominently featured horns. Born May 21, 1947, Bill has one of the most distinctive voices in music, and because of this and his ability to sing such a wide variety of styles, Bill was able to become a legend among studio musicians, singing on hundreds of songs over the years with artists from all over the world. This practice continues to this day. Bill has contributed some amazing work to Chicago over the years, while still being able to do masterful solo material. His CD’s Burn Down The Night, Through It All, and Mayday are all “must haves” for Chicago fans. And a great live CD of The Sons of Champlin lets you re-live some of the special music from his earlier days as well.

Bill truly is a masterful craftsman, which is why he is introduced to audiences the world over as “The Legendary Bill Champlin".

Bill joined Chicago in 1982.

Visit Bill's Website: Bill Champlin's Official Website
Visit Bill's MySpace: The OFFICIAL Bill Champlin MySpace Page
And also: The Sons of Champlin

Born April 16, 1962 in San Diego California, Jason Scheff started playing piano when he was 6 or 7 years old. And if you have seen his “unplugged” version of "What Kind of Man Would I Be," you know this guy can play. But he is most well known for his bass playing, which he is self taught. Jason began playing professionally at the age of 14 when he played with in his Moms’ band. The list of people that Jason has played with reads like a “who’s who” of the music business. A very brief list includes: George Benson, Cher, The Commodores, Neil Diamond, Julio Iglesias, Barry Manilow, Olivia Newton-John, and Melissa Manchester. He released a fantastic solo CD in 1997.

Jason joined Chicago in 1985.

Visit Jason's Website: Jason Scheff's Official Website
Visit Jason's MySpace: The OFFICIAL MySpace Page of Jason Scheff
Visit the Scheff Family's Website: Scheff Diner

Tris has been the driving force behind the drums for Chicago since 1990. His ever present smile and good nature, have made him a favorite with fans the world over. Born July 27, 1951, Tris grew up in sunny Southern California where he became interested in playing drums at the age of 5. Right after high school, Tris joined a band named Honk who continues to have a large following in the Southern California area when they do their reunion shows. In 1977, Tris auditioned for, and got the gig as the drummer for Kenny Loggins. Over the next 12 years he found himself traveling the world with Kenny, and recording 8 LP’s with him. Tris was asked to be the drummer for Chicago in 1990 when he received a phone call from Bill Champlin who had recommended him for the job. On the summer tour of 2000, Tris also showed his talent for playing harmonica when he joined Bill Champlin and Keith Howland for their acoustic rendition of “Look Away”.

Tris has also recorded and toured with some of music's legends including Al Jarreau, David Sanborn, Richard Marx, Chaka Khan, Firefall, The Doobie Brothers and many more.

Tris joined Chicago in 1990.

Visit Tris' Website: Tris Imboden Official Website

Born in Silver Springs Maryland on August 14, 1964, Keith had been a fan of Chicago since he first saw them in 1974. When he heard about Chicago auditioning for a new guitar player, Keith learned many of the guitar parts of the songs in his car in the parking lot of the studio, in the hopes that he could somehow get a chance to audition. Well persistence paid off, and Chicago had their new guitar player in early 1995. Many fans give Keith credit for “bringing Terry Kath back to Chicago”, with his playing that is very reminiscent of Terry’s. Keith had a dream come true when the song "Back To You" was recorded by Chicago and was the first single released off of Chicago 26.

Keith joined Chicago in 1995.

Visit Keith's Website: The Official Site of Keith Howland
Visit Keith's MySpace: The World of Keith Howland's Music

Want to know more history on the band? See A Chicago Story on Chicagotheband.com.

Visit Chicago's MySpace: Chicago

Band member bio's were written by Dave Jepsen.