"Lowdown" is a song written by

Peter Cetera Peter Paul Cetera ( ; born September 13, 1944) is an American retired musician best known for being a lead vocalist and the bassist of the rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985, before launching a successful solo career. His c ...

and

Danny Seraphine Daniel Peter Seraphine (born August 28, 1948) is an American drummer, record producer, theatrical producer and film producer. He is best known as the original drummer and a founding member of the rock band Chicago, a tenure which lasted from F ...

for the rock band

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and recorded for their third album ''

Chicago III ''Chicago III'' is the third studio album by American rock band Chicago and was released in 1971. It was the band's third consecutive double album of new studio material in less than two years. Background In the wake of the enormous worldwid ...

'' (1971). It was the second single released from this album, and peaked at on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Cetera provided lead vocals while guitarist

Terry Kath Terry Alan Kath (January 31, 1946 – January 23, 1978) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He played guitar and sang lead vocals on many of the band's early hit singl ...

used a

fuzzbox Distortion and overdrive are forms of audio signal processing used to alter the sound of amplified electric musical instruments, usually by increasing their gain, producing a "fuzzy", "growling", or "gritty" tone. Distortion is most commonly ...

and

wah-wah pedal A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal, is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The p ...

for his guitar solo and

Robert Lamm Robert William Lamm (born October 13, 1944) is an American keyboardist, guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He wrote many of the band's biggest hits, including " Questions 67 & 68", " Does ...

made prominent use of the

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

Background

This was Cetera's second song-writing effort for the group, after "Where Do We Go From Here" on ''Chicago II'', as well as Seraphine's first co-writing credit. According to group biographer, William James Ruhlmann, Cetera wrote the song with Seraphine despite having been "told" that "Where Do We Go From Here" would probably be his last contribution because "'the group was very happy with the writers they had, thank you, and we didn't need any more contributions.'" According to Cetera's account, Terry Kath was not pleased with his guitar contributions to the song, and told Cetera, " 'Don't you ever tell anybody I ever played guitar on this record’". Cetera argues that Kath's lack of enthusiasm took the heart out of the song. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' said that it is "exceptional in every department." According to a 2016 web review, in "Lowdown" Cetera "ties political issues to emotions", " 'Lowdown' features one of the tightest rhythms ever laid down by Seraphine, Kath and Cetera," and "It’s easily one of the best tracks on ''Chicago III.''" Music critics ranked "Lowdown" number 24 of the 50 best Chicago songs in a 2019 article published by ''Billboard'' magazine. They called "Lowdown" a "bounding tune . . . and one of the most beloved tracks off ''Chicago III''." A Japanese-language version of the song was recorded in 1972 for the Japan market and released as a single. It would be released digitally on the Japan-only compilation CD ''The Heart of Chicago 1967-1971 Volume II Special Edition'' (green cover), which also contains "

Questions 67 and 68 "Questions 67 and 68" is a 1969 song written by Robert Lamm for the rock band Chicago (then known as Chicago Transit Authority) and recorded for their debut album ''Chicago Transit Authority''. It was their first single release. Peter Cetera is th ...

" sung in Japanese. The group performed the song live with the Japanese lyrics during tours of Japan in 1972, documented on the '' Live in Japan'' album.

Chart performance

Personnel

– lead vocals, bass *

– guitar, backing vocals *

– keyboards *

James Pankow James Carter Pankow is an American trombone player, songwriter and brass instrument player, best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. Early life, family and education Born in St. Louis, Missouri of German and Irish descent, Pa ...

– trombone *

Lee Loughnane Lee David Loughnane (pronounced LOCK-nain; born October 21, 1946) is an American trumpeter, flugelhorn player, vocalist, and songwriter, best known for being a founding member of the rock band Chicago. Early life and education Lee David Loughna ...

– trumpet *

Walter Parazaider Walter Parazaider (born March 14, 1945) is an American woodwind musician best known for being a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He plays a wide variety of wind instruments, including saxophone, flute, and clarinet. He also occasionally ...

– tenor saxophone *

– drums, percussion

References

External links

1971 singles Chicago (band) songs Songs written by Peter Cetera Song recordings produced by James William Guercio Columbia Records singles Songs written by Danny Seraphine 1970 songs {{1970s-rock-song-stub