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Terry Alan Kath (January 31, 1946 – January 23, 1978) was the original guitarist and one of the founding members of the rock band Chicago. He died in 1978 at the age of 31 from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Career
A multi instrumentalist who also played banjo, accordion and drums, Kath played bass during the early 1960s in a band called Jimmy and the Gentlemen. Kath brought close friend Parazaider into the band as well. Being a self-taught musician, he had little music-reading ability. According to interviews, Kath would hum his original compositions to bandmates.
Kath was an important contributor to Chicago, beginning with their first album The Chicago Transit Authority released in 1969. The album includes his composition "Introduction" which was described as "Terry's masterpiece" by later Chicago guitarist Dawayne Bailey. The song displays many varied musical styles, including jazz, blues, rock and roll and pop.
The same debut album includes an instrumental guitar piece entitled "Liberation", which is inspired by Jimi Hendrix. The album liner notes indicate that this fourteen minute piece was recorded 'live' in the studio in one take.
The hit "Questions 67 & 68" contains lead guitar techniques that became staples of the Chicago sound. The song "Beginnings" includes 12-string rhythm guitar playing by Kath. Another of Kath's more notable highlights as a recording guitarist is his extended guitar solo in the middle of the Chicago hit song "25 or 6 to 4".
Fascinated by gadgets, Kath once owned nearly twenty guitars, though his early staples were a Gibson SG and a Fender Stratocaster. Kath was also one of the few well-known guitarists to make regular use of the unique 1969 Les Paul "Personal" model. He utilized no special tunings or modifications. He is most associated with a specially decorated Fender Telecaster and was connected with Pignose amps. He experimented with a wide variety of amplification and distortion devices and used a wah-wah pedal frequently.
Kath's singing was also an important feature of Chicago's sound. In a group of many song composers who often let other members of the band do the lead singing on their compositions, Kath's vocal style can be heard in "Colour My World" and "Make Me Smile" , both from Chicago. His screaming in the live version of "Free" from Chicago at Carnegie Hall, released in 1971, is another example of his singing style.
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Death
Kath reportedly had a history of using alcohol and drugs, including cocaine, in his last few years. Chicago bandmates have indicated that he was also increasingly unhappy. Peter Cetera even went so far as to say that Kath would have been the first to quit Chicago had he lived. According to then-producer James William Guercio, Kath was working on a solo album before he died). But despite his personal problems, this was not the cause of his accidental death.
Around 5 p.m. on the evening of January 23, 1978, after a party at roadie Don Johnson's home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, Kath — being a gun enthusiast — took a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol and began cleaning it. When Johnson yelled from the kitchen for Terry to be careful, Kath removed the magazine to 'prove' that the gun was not loaded, pointed the gun in the air and pulled the trigger. However — in his inebriated state — he forgot that some semi-automatic pistols have a built-in safety feature that prevents the discharge of a chambered round when the magazine is removed. When he reinserted the magazine, Kath put the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger, infamously saying, "Do not worry, it's not loaded", in another attempt to prove that everything was safe. Unfortunately, with the magazine reinserted, the chambered round discharged and killed him — a week shy of his 32nd birthday.
Terry Kath was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. Terry and his wife Camelia had one daughter, Michelle, born in 1976. His widow Camelia later married Kiefer Sutherland.
Discography with Chicago
- 1969 The Chicago Transit Authority
- 1970 Chicago (later renamed Chicago II)
- 1971 Chicago III
- 1971 Chicago at Carnegie Hall
- 1972 Chicago V
- 1973 Chicago VI
- 1974 Chicago VII
- 1975 Chicago VIII
- 1975 Chicago IX - Chicago's Greatest Hits
- 1976 Chicago X
- 1977 Chicago XI
A tribute album, The Innovative Guitar of Terry Kath, was compiled by Chicago in 1996 containing songs from various Chicago albums featuring the guitarist.(currently out of print)
References
- Bacon, Tony. 50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul. Backbeat Books. pp. pg. 60. ISBN 0-87930-711-0.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - The history of the Pignose Amplifier company
- Kath's AMG biography by Greg Prato hosted by VH1
External links
- Terry Kath official website