(1946-01-31)January 31, 1946 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died
January 23, 1978(1978-01-23) (aged 31) Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Rock, hard rock, blues rock, jazz rock
Occupation(s)
Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)
guitar
bass
vocals
Years active
1963–1978
Formerly of
Chicago
Spouse(s)
Pamela Robinson
(m. 1970; div. 1975)
Camelia Ortiz
Website
terrykath.com
Musical artist
Terry Alan Kath (January 31, 1946 – January 23, 1978) was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who is best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He played lead guitar and sang lead vocals on many of the band's early hit singles alongside Robert Lamm and Peter Cetera. He has been praised by his bandmates and other musicians for his guitar skills and his Ray Charles–influenced vocal style. Jimi Hendrix cited Terry Kath as one of his favorite guitarists, and considered Kath to be "the best guitarist in the universe".[1][2]
Growing up in a musical family, Kath took up a variety of instruments in his teens, including the drums and banjo. He played bass in a number of bands in the mid-1960s, before settling on the guitar when forming the group that became Chicago. His guitar playing was an important component of the group's sound from the start of their career. He used a number of different guitars, but eventually became identified with a Fender Telecaster fitted with a single neck-position humbucker pickup combined with a bridge position angled single-coil pickup and decorated with numerous stickers.
Kath struggled with health problems and drug abuse towards the end of the 1970s. He died in January 1978 from an unintentional self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The bereavement tempted Chicago to disband, but they ultimately decided to resume as is signified by their memorial song "Alive Again". To commemorate his musicianship, they issued the 1997 album The Innovative Guitar of Terry Kath. In 2016, Kath's daughter Michelle Sinclair released the documentary The Terry Kath Experience, which chronicles his life and Chicago's early years.[3]
^Gress, Jesse (January 30, 2014). "Under Investigation: Terry Kath". Guitar Player. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
^Kachejian, Brian (October 4, 2017). "Why Jimi Hendrix Called Chicago's Terry Kath The Best Guitarist In The Universe". ClassicRockHistory.com. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
^"Chicago's Terry Kath: Inside the Life and Tragic Death of an Unsung Guitar Hero". Rolling Stone. December 11, 2017. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
Terry Alan Kath (January 31, 1946 – January 23, 1978) was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who is best known as a founding member of the rock...
Columbia Records. It was both the last to feature guitarist and vocalist TerryKath prior to his death in a gun accident just over four months later, and...
original band members on the cover before the death of leader and co-founder TerryKath. After having recorded all of Chicago's first five albums in New York...
becoming Chicago in 1969. Initially featuring guitarist and vocalist TerryKath, keyboardist and vocalist Robert Lamm, drummer Danny Seraphine, saxophonist...
songwriting; seven out of its nine tunes are composed solely by him. TerryKath wrote and sang the album's final track "Alma Mater", which showcased his...
She has an older half sister named Michelle Kath (from her mother, Camelia's relationship with TerryKath) who is married to actor Adam Sinclair. As a...
other lead singers in the group, keyboardist Robert Lamm and guitarist TerryKath. The follow-up album, Chicago, vaulted the band to popular status throughout...
Their long hours on the road gave the principal songwriters, Robert Lamm, TerryKath and James Pankow, much food for thought, resulting in more serious subject...
It was also the first album not to feature original guitarist/vocalist TerryKath, who died from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound in January 1978...
American politician Terry Jones (1942–2020), Welsh actor, writer, comedian, screenwriter, film director and Monty Python member TerryKath (1946–1978), American...
tour. The band's official web site labels the cover design "white tile". TerryKath – guitar and vocals Peter Cetera – bass and vocals Robert Lamm – keyboards...
freshman year at DePaul University. Through his friendship with guitarist TerryKath, Loughnane met drummer Danny Seraphine and saxophone/woodwind player Walter...
much that we decided to keep the percussion aspect part of the band. ... TerryKath in particular felt the need for a percussionist to keep the grooves, the...
and recorded for their album Chicago VII (1974), with lead vocals by TerryKath (uncredited on the original album package), while Cetera sang the song's...
features an electric guitar solo using a wah-wah pedal by Chicago guitarist TerryKath, and a lead vocal line in the Aeolian mode. According to the recollections...
lower, baritone, vocal parts originally performed by founding guitarist TerryKath, who had died in 1978. He has won multiple Grammy Awards for songwriting...
"Colour My World" (Lead vocal by TerryKath) "To Be Free" (Instrumental) "Now More Than Ever" (Lead vocal by TerryKath) The final track, "Now More Than...
covered by Canadian singer Charity Brown) and "Hideaway", as well as TerryKath's Hendrix tribute "Oh, Thank You Great Spirit" and James Pankow's hit "Old...
Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Eagles, and The Who. TerryKath (of Chicago) was given one which led to a partnership with the group and...
Dano as Coroner Hawk Wolinski as VW Bus Driver Peter Cetera as Bob Zemko TerryKath as Killer Lee Loughnane as Pig Man Walter Parazaider as Loose Lips Joe...
December 6, 2023. Sutherland was married to Camelia Kath, the widow of Chicago guitarist/singer TerryKath, from 1987 to 1990. They have one daughter, Sarah...
Seraphine remembers how Pinnick, like [Chicago's] original guitarist TerryKath, played "guitar with plenty of fire" and had "similar mannerism". Robert...
of years past.' Chicago Peter Cetera – bass, lead and backing vocals TerryKath – acoustic guitar, guitars (except on "If You Leave Me Now"), lead and...
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