Died On This Date (January 23, 1978) Terry Kath / Chicago
themusicsover Terry Kath
January 31, 1946 – January 23, 1978
Terry Kath was the founding lead guitarist for the massively popular jazz/rock fusion band, Chicago. Formed while most of the members were in college, the group went on to sell over 120 million albums while charting the most singles of any act during the ’70s. What separated Chicago from other rock groups of the era was their use of a horn section as a lead instrument. And it could only take a guitarist as talented as Kath to shine through. He was such a guitar wizard, that many of his parts, some of which are instantly recognizable, were recorded in one take. Kath can also be heard singing lead on several Chicago songs, most notably, “Colour My World” and “Make Me Smile.” On January 23, 1978, Kath was with one of the crew members after a party. While at the roadie’s home, Kath grabbed an unloaded pistol and jokingly put it to his head and fired several empty shots. He then grabbed a second pistol, thinking it was also unloaded, and fired a bullet into his head, killing him instantly. He was 31 years old.
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