"You're the Inspiration" 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 ...

and

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

for the group

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 fourteenth studio album ''

Chicago 17 ''Chicago 17'' is the fourteenth studio album by American band Chicago, released on May 14, 1984. It was the group's second release for Full Moon/Warner Bros. Records, their second album to be produced by David Foster and their last with foundin ...

'' (1984), with Cetera singing lead vocals. The third single released from that album, it reached on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in January 1985 and also climbed to the top position on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart at the same time. The song won honors for Cetera from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), in 1986 in the most-performed songs category. Peter Cetera re-recorded the song for his 1997 solo album '' You're the Inspiration: A Collection''. That same year he also recorded a single version with the vocal R&B group

Az Yet Az Yet is an American R&B group from Philadelphia, best known for their songs " Last Night" and the cover " Hard to Say I'm Sorry" originally performed by Chicago. Formation Formed in 1989 initially as a duo with Shawn Rivera and Dion Allen, t ...

History

stated in a 2004 interview that "You're the Inspiration" started out as a song for

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

: Cetera then changed some of the words and recorded the song with

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

for their ''

'' album.

Personnel

– lead and

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

, arrangements *

Bill Champlin William Bradford Champlin (born May 21, 1947) is an American singer, musician, arranger, producer, and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the band Chicago from 1981–2009. ...

– guitars, keyboards, background vocals *

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 ...

– keyboards, background vocals *

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 ...

– synth bass *

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 ...

– keyboards *

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 occasionall ...

– guitar *

Chris Pinnick Chris Pinnick is an American guitarist and songwriter, probably best known for his work with the band Chicago from 1980–1985. Pinnick was born on July 23, 1953 in Van Nuys, California and took up the guitar at the age of seven. An early exampl ...

– guitar Additional personnel *

Carlos Vega Carlos Vega (December 7, 1956 – April 7, 1998) was a Cuban-born Los Angeles-based session drummer best known for his performances with James Taylor. As a part of the L.A. studio scene from the late 1970s through the 1990s, Vega contributed to ...

– drums * Michael Landau – guitar * Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar *

Mark Goldenberg Mark Goldenberg (born April 10, 1952) is an American guitarist and songwriter, noted for his session work and composition of successful songs for Linda Ronstadt, the Pointer Sisters, and others. Biography Early career Raised in Chicago, Illin ...

– guitar * Paulinho da Costa – percussion *

– keyboards, synth programming, synth bass ( Moog), additional arrangements * John Van Tongeren – synthesizer programming *Erich Bulling – synthesizer programming *Marcus Ryle – synthesizer programming *Gary Grant – trumpet * Greg Adams – trumpet *Kenny Cetera – background vocals *David Foster and Jeremy Lubbock – orchestration

Music video

The video depicted the band performing intercut with scenes of embracing couples of varying ages ranging from young kids to a couple resembling

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

and Madonna at the time. Lead singer Peter Cetera is seen wearing a T-shirt from the British goth band

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

. During his performance, Cetera is sitting the whole time. It also uses an alternate version of the song without the guitar sting between the second and third choruses.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Peter Cetera feat. Az Yet version

In 1997, Peter Cetera re-recorded "You're the Inspiration" for his 1997 solo album '' You're the Inspiration: A Collection''. Due to Cetera featuring on R&B vocal group

's cover of "

Hard to Say I'm Sorry "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" is a power ballad written by bassist Peter Cetera, who also sang lead on the track, and producer David Foster, for the group Chicago. It was released on May 17, 1982, as the lead single from the album ''Chicago 16''. On S ...

" earlier in the year, they collaborated on a remix of Cetera's solo recording of "You're the Inspiration", which was released as a single. This version reached No. 77 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 29 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Like Az Yet's "Hard to Say I'm Sorry", Cetera and Az Yet's version of "You're the Inspiration" was also produced by

Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

Music video

The music video for Peter Cetera and Az Yet's "You're the Inspiration" was directed by Steven R. Monroe and was filmed at Westward Beach (

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malib ...

Track listings

# "You're the Inspiration" – 4:07 # "

" – 3:13

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1984 songs 1984 singles 1997 singles Chicago (band) songs Peter Cetera songs Az Yet songs Songs written by David Foster Songs written by Peter Cetera Song recordings produced by David Foster Song recordings produced by Babyface (musician) Warner Records singles Full Moon Records singles Rock ballads 1980s ballads

History

Personnel

Music video

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Peter Cetera feat. Az Yet version

Music video

Track listings

Charts

See also

References

External links