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Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The group first performed as The Big Thing and later became Chicago Transit Authority before shortening its name to Chicago. Its distinctive blend of rock, pop, jazz, soul, and a fully integrated horn section helped create one of the most recognizable sounds in popular music.
Across nearly six decades, Chicago has recorded 38 albums and sold more than 100 million records worldwide. The band has also survived major changes in personnel while retaining founding members Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane, and James Pankow. The musicians below include Chicago’s current lineup, its classic founding lineup, and the longtime members who helped carry the band through later eras.
Current Chicago Band Members
Robert Lamm
Robert Lamm has been a member of Chicago since the band’s formation in 1967. As a keyboardist, vocalist, and composer, he has remained one of the central creative forces in the group. Lamm wrote or co-wrote many Chicago classics, including “25 or 6 to 4,” “Saturday in the Park,” “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?,” “Beginnings,” and “Questions 67 and 68.” He has appeared throughout the band’s recording career and has also released several solo albums.
Lee Loughnane
Lee Loughnane is a founding member of Chicago and has played trumpet and flugelhorn with the group since 1967. His work helped establish the band’s horn-driven identity, and he has also contributed songwriting, lead vocals, and backing vocals. Loughnane has remained part of Chicago through every major phase of its career.
James Pankow
James Pankow is a founding member, trombonist, composer, and the architect of many of Chicago’s signature horn arrangements. He wrote such enduring songs as “Make Me Smile,” “Colour My World,” “Just You ‘n’ Me,” and “(I’ve Been) Searchin’ So Long.” His arrangements gave the horn section a lead role rather than using brass merely as background decoration.
Ray Herrmann
Ray Herrmann plays saxophones, flute, and clarinet for Chicago. He began working with the group as a substitute in 2005 and became a full-time member in 2016 as Walter Parazaider gradually stepped away from touring. Herrmann has appeared on several Chicago releases and has carried forward the woodwind role that has been essential to the band’s sound since 1967.
Walfredo Reyes Jr.
Walfredo Reyes Jr. joined Chicago in 2012 as a percussionist. After Tris Imboden’s departure in 2018, Reyes moved to the drum chair. His background in rock, jazz, Latin music, and world percussion made him a natural fit for a band whose arrangements demand both power and precision.
Ramon “Ray” Yslas
Ramon “Ray” Yslas joined Chicago in 2018 on percussion and congas. His rhythmic work adds another layer to the band’s live arrangements, particularly during the extended instrumental passages that have long been part of Chicago’s concert identity.
Nick Lane
Nick Lane is a veteran trombonist who first filled in for James Pankow in 1999. After a career that included work with Maynard Ferguson, Rod Stewart, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and The Who, Lane became a recurring member of Chicago’s touring organization. He is now listed among the band’s current musicians and continues to perform the demanding trombone parts and horn arrangements associated with Pankow.
Tony Obrohta
Tony Obrohta joined Chicago’s touring lineup in 2021 after initially substituting for Keith Howland. He plays lead guitar and provides backing vocals, handling parts connected to several generations of Chicago guitarists. Do not miss our interview with Tony Obrohta.
Eric Baines
Eric Baines joined Chicago in 2022 on bass and vocals. He stepped into a role previously held by Peter Cetera, Jason Scheff, Jeff Coffey, and Brett Simons, combining the band’s intricate bass lines with the vocal demands of its extensive catalog.
Carlos MurguÃa
Carlos MurguÃa plays keyboards and sings with Chicago. He first filled in with the band in 2023 after being recommended by Ray Yslas and Loren Gold. A veteran session musician and vocalist, MurguÃa has worked across records, films, television, and live productions and is now part of Chicago’s current lineup.
Justin Avery
Justin Avery joined Chicago’s current lineup on keyboards and vocals in 2026. His career has included work as a performer, arranger, and associate music director, and his background in rock, soul, jazz, and rhythm and blues suits the broad musical range required by Chicago’s catalog.
Rudy Cardenas
Rudy Cardenas joined Chicago as lead vocalist in 2026 and made his concert debut with the band on June 10 in San Diego, California. Known for his wide vocal range and classic rock background, Cardenas became the newest singer entrusted with performing songs associated with Terry Kath, Peter Cetera, Bill Champlin, Jason Scheff, and other major voices from Chicago’s history.
Former Chicago Band Members
Terry Kath
Terry Kath was a founding member of Chicago and the defining guitarist of the band’s early years. From 1967 until his death in 1978, he supplied lead and rhythm guitar, bass on selected recordings, and one of the group’s most soulful voices. Kath appeared on every album from Chicago Transit Authority through Chicago XI. His guitar work on recordings such as “Introduction,” “25 or 6 to 4,” and “Liberation” remains central to the sound of early Chicago.
Peter Cetera
Peter Cetera joined the group in late 1967 and remained through 1985, playing bass and serving as one of Chicago’s principal lead vocalists and songwriters. He wrote and sang “If You Leave Me Now,” the band’s first number-one single, and later became the voice of hits including “Hard to Say I’m Sorry,” “Stay the Night,” and “You’re the Inspiration.” After leaving Chicago, Cetera built a successful solo career that included “Glory of Love” and “The Next Time I Fall.”
Danny Seraphine
Danny Seraphine was Chicago’s founding drummer and percussionist from 1967 until 1990. His powerful playing and jazz-influenced approach drove the band’s early recordings, and he also shared songwriting credit on several tracks. Seraphine appeared on Chicago’s studio albums from Chicago Transit Authority through Chicago 19. He later formed California Transit Authority and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Chicago in 2016.
Walter Parazaider
Walter Parazaider was the musician whose vision of a rock band with an integrated horn section helped bring Chicago together. A founding member, he played saxophones, flute, and clarinet and supplied memorable performances including the flute solo on “Colour My World.” Parazaider began stepping away from touring in 2017 and retired in 2018 after more than five decades with the band. He died on June 17, 2026, at the age of 81.
Laudir de Oliveira
Brazilian percussionist Laudir de Oliveira first appeared with Chicago as a guest musician on Chicago VI and Chicago VII. He became a full member in 1974 and remained through 1981. His congas and percussion expanded the band’s rhythmic palette during the second half of the 1970s.
Donnie Dacus
Donnie Dacus joined Chicago after Terry Kath’s death and served from 1978 to 1980. He played lead guitar and contributed lead and backing vocals on Hot Streets and Chicago 13. Dacus also appeared in the film adaptation of Hair.
Chris Pinnick
Chris Pinnick began working with Chicago as a session and touring guitarist in 1980 and remained with the group through 1985. His lead guitar can be heard on Chicago XIV, Chicago 16, and Chicago 17, including prominent work during the band’s commercial resurgence in the early 1980s.
Bill Champlin
Bill Champlin joined Chicago in 1981 and remained until 2009. He contributed keyboards, guitar, songwriting, and both lead and backing vocals. Champlin sang major hits including “Hard Habit to Break,” “I Don’t Wanna Live Without Your Love,” and “Look Away,” and appeared on Chicago releases from Chicago 16 through Chicago XXXII: Stone of Sisyphus.
Jason Scheff
Jason Scheff replaced Peter Cetera in 1985 and remained with Chicago until 2016. He played bass and provided lead and backing vocals, singing on hits including “Will You Still Love Me?” and “What Kind of Man Would I Be?” Scheff appeared throughout the band’s studio and touring work from Chicago 18 into the mid-2010s.
Dawayne Bailey
Dawayne Bailey played lead guitar with Chicago from 1986 to 1994 and also supplied backing and occasional lead vocals. He appeared on Chicago 19, Twenty 1, and the previously shelved Stone of Sisyphus sessions.
Tris Imboden
Tris Imboden replaced Danny Seraphine in 1990 and remained Chicago’s drummer until 2018. He also played percussion and occasional harmonica. His precise, versatile drumming supported the band through nearly three decades of studio recordings and touring.
Bruce Gaitsch
Bruce Gaitsch toured with Chicago as lead guitarist from 1994 to 1995 and appeared on Night & Day: Big Band. He had already worked with the group as a songwriter and session musician during the 1980s, including co-writing “What Kind of Man Would I Be?”
Keith Howland
Keith Howland was Chicago’s lead guitarist from 1995 until 2021. He also provided backing and occasional lead vocals and became one of the longest-serving guitarists in the band’s history. His work appeared on Chicago releases from the late 1990s through Chicago XXXVIII: Born for This Moment.
Drew Hester
Drew Hester worked with Chicago from 2009 to 2012, playing percussion and occasionally substituting on drums. He appeared on Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three.
Lou Pardini
Lou Pardini joined Chicago in 2009 and remained through 2022. He played keyboards and provided lead and backing vocals, taking over many parts associated with Bill Champlin. Pardini appeared on releases from Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three through Chicago XXXVIII: Born for This Moment.
Daniel de los Reyes
Daniel de los Reyes performed percussion with Chicago during 2012 before commitments with the Zac Brown Band limited his availability. His brother, Walfredo Reyes Jr., subsequently assumed the percussion position on a continuing basis.
Jeff Coffey
Jeff Coffey performed with Chicago from 2016 to 2018, playing bass and acoustic guitar while providing lead and backing vocals. He appeared on Chicago II: Live on Soundstage and Greatest Hits Live.
Brett Simons
Brett Simons played bass and supplied backing vocals for Chicago from 2018 to 2022. He appeared on Chicago XXXVII: Chicago Christmas and Chicago XXXVIII: Born for This Moment.
Neil Donell
Neil Donell joined Chicago in 2018 as a lead and backing vocalist and occasional acoustic guitarist. His range allowed him to cover material from several eras of the band’s catalog. Donell appeared on Chicago XXXVII: Chicago Christmas and Chicago XXXVIII: Born for This Moment before leaving the touring lineup in 2026.
Loren Gold
Loren Gold first substituted for Lou Pardini during 2021 and became a touring member in 2022. He played keyboards and provided lead and backing vocals while continuing his extensive work with other major touring artists. Gold remained part of Chicago’s touring organization until 2026.
Updated August 2, 2026.
Complete List Of Chicago Band Members article published on ClassicRockHistory.com © 2026
