"Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon" (sic), also known as "The Ballet" and "Make Me Smile Medley", is a nearly thirteen-minute mini-

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

song cycle A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice ...

/suite from

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

's 1970 album ''

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

'' (also called ''Chicago II''). It was the group's first attempt at a long-format multi-part work. It was composed by

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 ...

, who got the inspiration to write the "Ballet" from his love of long classical music song cycles. According to a May 2018 interview with the ''

Charleston Gazette-Mail The ''Charleston Gazette-Mail'' is the only daily morning newspaper in Charleston, West Virginia. It is the product of a July 2015 merger between ''The Charleston Gazette'' and the '' Charleston Daily Mail''. The paper is one of nine owned by HD ...

'', the songs were written in attempt to win back his ex-fiancee, Terrie Heisler,City celebrates 72nd birthday of Chicago’s legendary trombonist, Jimmy Pankow
/ref> who was at the time attending

West Virginia Wesleyan College West Virginia Wesleyan College is a private college in Buckhannon, West Virginia. It has an enrollment of about 1,400 students from 35 U.S. states and 26 countries. The school was founded in 1890 by the West Virginia Conference of the Methodist E ...

Buckhannon, West Virginia Buckhannon is the only incorporated city in, and the county seat of, Upshur County, West Virginia, United States, and is located along the Buckhannon River. The population was 5,299 at the 2020 census. The city is located 60 miles southwest ...

. "Ballet" takes up three-quarters of side two of ''Chicago'' and consists of seven tracks, three of which are instrumentals: :# " Make Me Smile" ( Lead vocals by

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 ...

) :# "So Much to Say, So Much to Give" (Lead vocals by

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 ...

) :# "Anxiety's Moment" (

Instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

) :# "West Virginia Fantasies" (Instrumental) :# " Colour My World" (

Vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

by Terry Kath) :# "To Be Free" (Instrumental) :# "Now More Than Ever" (Lead vocals by Terry Kath) The final track, "Now More Than Ever," is a single-verse reprise of the suite's opening song, "Make Me Smile." The vocal songs within the suite can be viewed as telling the story of a man searching for a far away lost love and attempting to rekindle the love they had shared. Two of these songs reached the top ten on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100: a single edit of "Make Me Smile (/Now More Than Ever)" (#9, 1970) and "Colour My World" (#7, 1971). The instrumental movement "West Virginia Fantasies" incorporates instrumental counterpoint extensively between the horns, guitar, and keyboards, exemplifying Chicago's skill at composing and arranging complex pieces. The suite was recorded as a single track, titled "The Ballet," on their album '' Chicago XXVI: Live in Concert'' in 1999. The version on the 2005 DVD '' Chicago & Earth, Wind & Fire — Live at the Greek Theatre'' is called "Make Me Smile Medley," named after the suite's opening song. In some live concerts Chicago ended the first set with the "Ballet." The last long chord of "Now More Than Ever" often elicited a standing ovation from the audience.

References

{{authority control 1970 songs Chicago (band) songs Songs written by James Pankow Music medleys Song recordings produced by James William Guercio Rock operas