Chicago-Forum 2025

Kenny Cetera:

So, I did a thing recently… and nearly 40 years ago!

Back in the mid to late 80s, after my Chicago 17 tenure, I recorded a song demo for Jeff Silverman, producer, arranger and guitarist (Rick Springfield) that he wrote and recorded (with Mark LeVang). Jeff was a staff writer for Motown at the time.
Nothing ever came of it and I always thought it was a beautiful song that never saw its true potential. Until now.
A couple of years ago I was contacted by Puerto Rican producer, arranger and keyboard extraordinaire, Carlos Baez, who was working on a project, with the likes of Bill and Tamara Champlin and Jason Scheff, that would be an ode to 80s music. I believe Bill was the one who referred me to Carlos for the project. Carlos is a huge fan of the David Foster produced Chicago music era, and he asked if I would do lead or backing vocals on some stuff for the project. At the time he didn’t have a specific song in mind. I changed that. I asked if I could send a few tracks Jeff and I recorded right at that time frame that I thought fit the bill precisely. He acquiesced and I sent the tracks along to him.
Carlos got back to me very quickly and said he loved the tunes and wanted to record and reproduce this one song.
I immediately put Carlos in touch with Jeff to go over all the business dealings since I had nothing to do on it but vocals. After many conference calls and conversations with Carlos, Jeff and sometimes Vanessa, Carlos’ interpreter, a deal was hatched and the project was cleared.
Earlier this year (2024), a little over a year since my first contact with Carlos, I went to Nashville to finally re-record the vocals at Jeff’s studio on the new tracks that Carlos produced in Puerto Rico with his studio musicians. And finally the song is getting a chance to prove itself.
If you, too, are a fan of 80s power ballads, I hope you dig it. It will be getting entered in the Grammy’s this year as well. Wish us luck!

https://youtu.be/xqky4wCYhRE?si=dhXU7LqUnW0ycYKs