November 19, 2021 —– Chart #118
Hello Musical Friends,
Welcome to Friday, the 118th edition of Chart of the day. “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” is a song by the rock band Chicago. It was included on their 1969 debut album Chicago Transit Authority and released as a single in 1970. The song was written and sung by Robert Lamm. According to Lamm, “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” was the first song recorded for their debut album. The song was not released as a single until two tracks from the band’s second album, “Make Me Smile” and “25 or 6 to 4”, had become hits. It became the band’s third straight Top 10 single, peaking at No. 7 in the U.S. and No. 2 in Canada. Because the song straddled years in its chart run, it is not ranked on the major U.S. year-end charts. However, in Canada, where it charted higher, it is ranked as both the 59th biggest hit of 1970 and the 37th biggest hit of 1971.
Lamm said of the song:
“[It’s] not a complicated song, but it’s certainly a quirky song. But that was my intent. I wanted to write something that wasn’t ordinary, that wasn’t blues-based, that didn’t have ice cream changes, and would allow the horns to shine and give Lee Loughnane a solo. So all that was the intent.”
The original uncut album version opens with a brief free form piano solo performed by Lamm. A spoken verse by Lamm is mixed into the sung final verse of the album version. The single version does not include the free form intro, and was originally mixed and issued in mono. A stereo re-edit (beginning from the point where the free form intro leaves off) was issued on the group’s Only the Beginning greatest hits CD set.
Various versions of the song receive airplay; the promotional single edit is the version played on certain ‘Classic Hits’ stations and 1970s radio shows. For example, radio station KKMJ plays the promo edit version on its ‘Super Songs’ of the 70s weekend, as does Classic Hits KXBT. By contrast, the True Oldies Channel plays the 3:20 single version. An AM radio station in Boston (WJIB 740 which also simulcasts in Maine as WJTO 730) plays the original vinyl Chicago IX edit.
Chicago is an American rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1967. The group was initially billed as The Big Thing before calling themselves the Chicago Transit Authority in 1968, and then shortening the name in 1969. The self-described “rock and roll band with horns” blended elements of classical music, jazz, R&B, and pop music. They produced numerous top-40 hits over two decades, and continue to record and perform live.
Growing out of several Chicago-area bands in the late 1960s, the line-up consisted of Peter Cetera on bass, Terry Kath on guitar, Robert Lamm on keyboards, Lee Loughnane on trumpet, James Pankow on trombone, Walter Parazaider on woodwinds, and Danny Seraphine on drums. Cetera, Kath, and Lamm shared lead vocal duties. Laudir de Oliveira joined the band as a percussionist and second drummer in 1974. Kath died in 1978, and was replaced by several guitarists in succession. Bill Champlin joined in 1981, providing vocals, keyboards, and rhythm guitar. Cetera left the band in 1985 and was replaced by Jason Scheff. Seraphine left in 1990, and was replaced by Tris Imboden. The band’s lineup has been more fluid since 2000, but keyboardist Robert Lamm and the entire horn section of Loughnane, Pankow, and Parazaider have remained constant members.
Original Studio version with piano intro:
Live performance in 1970: https://youtu.be/jgF_ycCmF18
Keep rockin’ my friends,
Stan