1982 Hit, Featuring 3 Members of Toto, Sent Chicago Back to No. 1 44 Years Ago Today

In 1982, one of the most successful rock bands of the 1970s desperately needed a hit.

Chicago had spent the previous decade racking up huge albums and singles, including “25 or 6 to 4,” “Saturday in the Park,” “Just You ‘n’ Me” and the band’s first No. 1 hit, “If You Leave Me Now.”

But after the accidental death of founding guitarist Terry Kath in 1978, everything changed.

The band continued, but the hits became harder to come by. From 1978 through 1980, Chicago couldn’t get a single higher than No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, while five singles failed to make the Top 40, according to music historian Fred Bronson’s “Billboard Book of Number One Hits.”

Then came another blow.

In 1981, Columbia Records dropped Chicago despite the band having generated $160 million in album sales for the label, Bronson writes.

Just one year later, Chicago was back on top.

“Hard to Say I’m Sorry” climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 44 years ago today, giving the band its second chart-topper and its first since “If You Leave Me Now” six years earlier.

And despite carrying the Chicago name, the recording itself featured a rather surprising collection of musicians.

‘Hard to Say I’m Sorry’ Featured 3 Members of Toto

After leaving Columbia, Chicago underwent a significant overhaul. The band signed with Warner Bros. Records, brought in producer David Foster and began moving away from the horn-heavy sound that had helped define its music in the ’70s.

The transformation extended to Chicago’s sound.

As keyboardist Robert Lamm told Bronson, the new approach had an “upfront, immediate feel,” with increased collaboration becoming an important part of both the band’s overall sound and its songwriting.

That new approach was particularly evident on “Hard to Say I’m Sorry,” which Peter Cetera co-wrote with Foster.

Cetera sang lead and played acoustic guitar, while Foster played piano. But the recording also featured three members of Toto: Steve Lukather on electric guitar, with David Paich and Steve Porcaro contributing synthesizers.

In fact, only two members of Chicago actually played on the main portion of “Hard to Say I’m Sorry”: Cetera and drummer Danny Seraphine.

The arrangement was a striking departure for a band famous for making its horn section an essential part of its identity. “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” instead leaned heavily on synthesizers, piano and electric guitar, creating the polished power-ballad sound that would come to define Chicago’s next chapter.

The horns weren’t entirely gone, however. They burst back into the spotlight during “Get Away,” the uptempo second movement attached to the song, which was co-written by longtime Chicago member Robert Lamm.

Related: 1982 Hit Sent ’70s Rock Legends Back to No. 1, Dethroning Chicago for the Second Time in 6 Years

‘Hard to Say I’m Sorry’ Started Chicago’s Second Streak of Hits

Released as the lead single from Chicago 16, “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” didn’t merely end the band’s dry spell. It helped kick off one of rock’s more impressive career resurrections.

The song climbed all the way to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Chicago’s second chart-topper. It spent 12 weeks in the Top 5 and earned the band a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

“Hard to Say I’m Sorry” also appeared in the 1982 movie Summer Lovers, starring Peter Gallagher and Daryl Hannah.

Its parent album proved that Chicago’s comeback extended beyond one song. Chicago 16 reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum.

“The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll” later described what followed as Chicago’s “second-phase streak of hits,” beginning with “Hard to Say I’m Sorry.”

And it was quite a second act.

The band followed with “Hard Habit to Break” and “You’re the Inspiration,” both No. 3 hits in 1984. “Will You Still Love Me?” reached No. 3 in 1987, and Chicago eventually returned to No. 1 yet again with “Look Away” in 1988.

The comeback also brought Chicago a new generation of listeners.

“A lot of our biggest fans these days are 18 to 25 year old,” Lamm told Bronson in 1984. “They’re finding out about us for the first time.”

For a band that had been dropped by its longtime record label just three years earlier, the turnaround was remarkable.

“That’s tremendously gratifying,” Lamm said. “It’s great when what you’re doing sounds fresh and new to people who’ve never heard it before.”

And then came an observation that sounds particularly fitting 44 years after “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” returned Chicago to No. 1: “You get the feeling you’re creating something that lasts.”

Related: 1974 Song, Named One of the Worst of All Time, Was No. 1 for 3 Weeks 52 Years Ago Today