Terry Kath
Portrait Of A Legend
1946-1978

Terry Kath was one of rock's most underrated greatest guitarist and has been known as singer, prolific songwriter and co-founder of the legendary seminal jazz/rock supegroup Chicago (1967-1978). His trail-blazing soaring guitar work has been influential and has been the "heart and soul" to the band's sound and his soulful baritone vocals (a la Ray Charles) has been known. His best guitar solos are "Free Form Guitar" , "Poem 58", "Mississippi Delta City Blues", "Jenny", "Introduction" and "25 or 6 to 4" and "I'm a Man", he is best known with pioneering the hammer-on harmonic guitar technique that is used by Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Eddie Van Halen (who uses it with his solo on "Eruption", which is similar to Kath's "Free Form Guitar"). He is also worshipped by Jimi Hendrix after watching the band perform at the Whisky A Go Go in 1968.

He is also the soulful voice behind songs as "Introduction", "I'm A Man", "Free", "Make Me Smile", "Colour My World", "Wishin' You Were Here" and others to name a few.

Terence Alan Kath was born on January 31, 1946 in Chicago, Illinois. He is the son of Raymond and Evelyn Kath. In 1956 he began playing the drums and later quit to play his mother's banjo to master his guitar skills. He had no formal training and began to play self-taught by ear with hearing the Ventures. He plays instruments like the guitar, banjo, bass and drums. In a 1971 Guitar Player Magazine Interview Terry recalls how a jazz guitar teacher got to teach Terry some lessons "He just wanted me to play good lead stuff but then I just wanted to play those rock and roll chords".

Terry formed a band with Brian Higgins on rhythm guitar,bassist George Slezak, pianist Mike Pisani and drummer Denny Horan called The Mystics, which is an instrumental band similar to Kath's idols The Ventures. The band done some recordings and played small halls and other small venues. He played bass on Dick Clark's show and he was the star attraction. After graduating from high school, Terry attended De Paul University where he met saxophonist Walt Paradaizer and drummer Danny Seraphine in a band called Jimmy Ford and The Executives in 1964. In 1966, right after their break-up Kath was offered to play in Illinois Speed Express, but later Walt Paradaizer got Terry's attention in forming a new band and Terry contacted Danny to join forces with him and Walt. The three formed the band called The Big Thing.

Walt Paradaizer enlisted trombonist James Pankow, and trumpet player Lee Loughnane, while Terry Kath enlisted keyboardist Robert Lamm and they got together at Walt Paradaizer's home to begin rehearsals on February 15, 1967. The Big Thing was managed by the band's childhood friend James Guercio , who produced Blood Sweat and Tears. They played in clubs around the country and later in December, 1967 the band recruited bassist/singer Peter Cetera to round-out the line-up in having three lead singers Terry, Robert and Peter.

Guercio calls the new band Chicago Transit Authority. The band played at the Whisky A Go Go which the late guitar god Jimi Hendrix became impressed with Terry's soaring guitar work , he would tell Walt Paradaizer "You're guitar player is better than me" and would quote to James Guercio "You know I am pretty good but this cat blows me away".

The band would become a touring act for Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin (both died tragically at age 27 in 1970 from drug overdoses) during 1969 and 1970. The band signed to Columbia Records in 1968 and began recording their debut album which features the songs written by Kath as "Introduction" and the seven minute instrumental "Free Form Guitar" and solos by Kath in "Poem 58" and there are songs like Robert Lamm's "Beginning" and Steve Winwood's "I'm a Man" which shows the versatility by Kath's guitar work. They toured Europe and their album sold 1 million units in France and they became instant superstars in Europe and in Japan as well. The band played with the Doors, and John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band at the Toronto Peace Festival on September 13, 1969.

"I'm A Man" shows Kath, Cetera and Lamm trading their great passionate vocals and with the guitar playing of Kath and Lamm's soaring keyboard work and Cetera's totting bass lines and Seraphine's drum solos there.

"Chicago II" was released in March ,1970, which charted at #4 with songs like Robert Lamm's "25 or 6 to 4" which features Kath playing a three minute solo.

Kath composed sings "Prelude", "In The Country", "Memories Of Love" , "PM Mourning", "AM Mourning" and sings lead on "Make Me Smile" and "Colour My World" composed by James Pankow. "Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?" from their debut album charted at #4.

"Chicago III" released in 1971 charted at #3 and "Chicago IV" charted at #1. Here in an interview by Guitar Player he talks about his songwriting contributions "Actually I just tell the guys what I want. Maybe play different parts then just pick from there" and later explains about the guitars he uses "The Stratocasters have the best vibrato but I have trouble bending the strings without slipping off" he adds "But my hands are pretty strong I guess from playing bass after all these years". Bandmate James Pankow would call him as "the best soloist in the band". The band recorded "Chicago Live In Carnegie Hall" and released in 1971 with charting #1. Terry contributed with "Jenny", and "Mississippi Delta City Blues"

The band released other #1 albums in 1973-77 with "Chicago V", "Chicago VI", "Chicago VII" , "Chicago VIII" , "Chicago IX". Terry Kath was married to a beautiful exotic looking Mexican American young woman Camelia Ortiz in 1974 and two years later they would have a daughter Michelle Ortiz Kath.

He was a gun collector and have been known for doing drugs and living hard.

Kath's widow Camelia would quote about her late husband "He was romantic and generous, but he did had an edge.He had a love for guns where it came from I have no idea, we have a loads of guns in the house. He did live his life fast. Life in the fast lane" she later adds "He did had a premonition that he was going to die young that is why he lived his life so fast".

Robert Lamm says about his late colleague "He was completely self-destructive, he was my hero (laughs)". Terry was torn with success and family. He did a lot of drugs and done alcohol as according to drummer and co-founder Danny Seraphine and he was known to carry guns around him and always gone target practice and hunting while off the road. The band finished their tour in October , 1977 and later the band fired their long-time manager James Guercio

Terry was writing for a solo album and was about to have it produced by Guercio. Terry owns Gibson SG guitar, Gibson Les Paul, Fender Stratocaster from 1968, and Fender Telecasters.

His devices are the bass tone pedal and cry-baby wah-wah pedals and founded the Pignose Amplifiers with creating a new sound. He was nickname as "The monster of the telecaster". On January 23, 1978 at roadie Donnie Johnson's home , in a party , Terry was cleaning up the guns and had two guns one was a .38 pistol and a nine millimeter gun, and Johnson was concern for Kath's well being, but Kath thinking that the gun was not loaded quotes his last words "Don't Worry It's Not Loaded" he pulled the trigger to his head and was killed instantly. Terry Alan Kath died at the age of 32 and LA Police investigated. The body was later carried for an autopsy which the LA coroner ruled in "Accidental Gunshot Wound to the Head Under the Influence of Alcohol and drugs" in Los Angeles, California.

Danny Seraphine was the first to see the dead body as he arrived and bid farewell to his friend and colleague. Many of his friends, family and fans and includes then-Governor Jerry Brown and Doc Severinson. Many of his fans paid tribute to their fallen idol. He was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park on January 28, 1978. The band continued on without Kath but it is not the same band from their glory days and touring as an oldies circuit band. Chicago for many fans died when Terry Kath died. Terry is still influencing many guitarists and with the album "The Innovative Guitar Of Terry Kath" on Chicago Records and VH-1 did a "Behind the Music" special on the band which features a lot of Terry Kath. Now 22 years after his tragic death his music and legacy remains alive and well