How Chicago Wrote '25 or 6 to 4' | The Big Interview 

Terry Kath absolutely shreds on the guitar solo in this song!

This band was so good they named a city after them!

Robert Lamm has to be one of the most talented songwriters of the last 60 years.

I always loved "25 or 6 to 4", but I never knew what it meant. Cool to finally know.

The Chicago 1970 Tanglewood Concert is one of my all-time favorites on RU-vid. Purely great music!

Robert Lamm, you are a very good man. Not to mention one of the most talented pop/rock musicians of the last 55 years.....

You're a fine man Robert, thank you for your music and you being human.

"25 Or 6 To 4" is one of my favorite Chicago songs, that and Beginnings. I saw Chicago in concert in 85 while in college (they played in our town and Basketball arena), and it is still one of the best concerts I've ever seen. They played for over 2 1/2 hours. Still have my Chicago albums (Greatest Hits, Chicago 16, and Chicago 17) from back then. And I can relate to the story about living in Hollywood in LA. I lived in Hermosa Beach for a couple of years and went to the clubs off of Sunset in West Hollywood.

Chicago truly did cross generations, not only forward but back also. In high school in 68 thru 71 they were my favorite group and my Dad loved them too. I was something I shared with my Dad.

They’re right that there is a timeless quality about a lot of their music.

25 or 6 to 4 is my favorite Chicago song ever! Terry Kath’s guitar rift is unforgettable and insanely incredible! And Peter Cetera proved that he can sing rock and roll whether it’s hard rock or soft rock! Shew, what a band! Thank you Robert Lamm for writing this unforgettable song!

25 Or 6 To 4: one of the greatest songs of all time!!! Fun to play too 😊

My first musical memory was when I was about 5. I was in the living room with my dad (who was a huge Chicago fan) & listening to the song FANCY COLORS. It was magical.

"25 Or 6 To 4" is my #1 all time favorite song! A very well composed song!

Far and away my favorite band of the 70s and 80s and still my favorite. The different instruments set this group apart and made music exciting! They had wonderful understanding of what was going on. Would love to see more of what you've got with Chicago 😁!

Much respect for Lamm.

I was never a fan of 25 or 6 to 4 until I heard Jason Scheff and his band play it a few years ago. And then saw the Tanglewood 1970 concert. That song is amazing. Guess I was too young when it first came out to appreciate the greatness.

HI Robert , My name is Eric. I'm from Brooklyn .Sound familiar? You'll probably never see this but it's worth taking a shot. I truly am one of your biggest fans ever on this earth. For my 21st birthday in 1980.. my girlfriend at the time gave me my 1st yankee hat.. And a black and white poster of you live onstage taken from a program.n I saw you in Sept.'80 at the Dick Clark Theater in Westchester the night before the Fall '80 semester started and I could not believe that I was in the same building in eyesight of Chicago's Bobby Lamm. You're a fabulous musician. You and your band mates brought alot of happiness to alot of people. PS: "Beginnings" is my favorite all-time Chicago song. The music you guys made will live forever..isn't that amazing.? Be well and G-d bless.

What a great little interview! I hope there is more to come!

Chicago is one of the greatest bands from the 60's-70's-80's... Long after their members have all passed away, their music will carry on with "cover bands" (there's one out of Russia that has done a fantastic recreation of their albums) and karaoke and "oldies" radio stations. "Dialogue" will always reflect what each generation is going through. Back in the 60's-70's it was about mistrust for the government and the older generation, with some college students revolting while others were not paying attention to world events, just wanted to graduate and get on with their life. Today is slightly different. We have twice the size of government with ten times the errors and we should have more mistrust. We have the young generation chanting "trust the government", "trust the science (which is run by the government)", and they still don't trust the older generation. Which is IRONIC, because all those who protested government and the old people in the 60's are now old people working for the government. The key to the song though is you have to have communication and learn to listen to the other side. Shouting people down or beating people up because you don't agree with what they say will tear us all apart as a nation. Open the "Dialogue".

I agree with Lee. The lyrics of "Dialogue" are still relevant today. I had always thought of the first voice as being a liberal and the second voice as being a conservative viewpoint. I have so much respect and admiration for you guys' talent. For years your music has improved the quality of my life. Back in 1974, the first 8-track tape I ever listened to with headphones was Chicago VI. I was blown away!

A very good interview and Chicago is one of my favorite bands of all-time and you couldn't turn on a radio in the 1970s and not hear a great song by the band!👍

Street Player is still an awsum, monstrous song. The beat, the horn arrangements, everything. I would love to see how Terry would do his solo in this masterpiece.

Amazing. Simply amazing. Thanks for the music, and thanks Dan Rather for doing interviews with musicians.

Dear Mr. Robert Lamm! I really appreciate your work within your band Chicago, which is for me the best American rock band of all time. Let me just suggest something to you, which on the one hand might do your reputation a lot of good and on the other hand could smooth over any remaining rifts between you and your ex-colleagues. Please send the Grammy trophy in the category "Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus", which you received in 1977 for "If You Leave Me Now", directly to Peter Cetera, preferably by registered post. He wrote the piece and sang it in its entirety. So, this award practically belongs to him. Thank you for your attention.

Timeless music--great to hear the backstories!

Chicago was a truly an amazing band. They have their own style including some of the most sophisticated music in the history of pop/rock music.

The part about "25 or 6 to 4" always makes me chuckle! Back in the day, some people claimed the title to be a code for a specific drug or dosage!! 😀😀😀

dan gives such a great interview…you can see how much passion he has after all these years ..

Teri Kath was rhe heart and soul of the band. He was incendiary on 25 or 6 to 4. Check out the live version at Tanglewood. What a senseless and tragic loss.

Lamm was an excellent vocalist, but when you also have pete cetera and the amazing terry kath, well, you do what he did, pitched in when he could. My favorite stuff from them was from the Terry Kath era. Does it get any better than Stronger Every Day, Color My World, Beginnings? So many great tunes. If they put out only one or two, that would be enough for a lifetime, but they gifted us with so much and so good. Jimmi Hendrix said Terry was the best guitar player in the universe. I think he was right.

I remember playing 25 or 26 to 4 in high school band for half time show. We had a great tuba [part

I guess I am alone in this but we really loved the remix of 25 or 6 to 4. It was so hip.

Dialogue is an awesome song…with lyrics which resonate today! 😊

....love these guys.

Best damn band!!

They also re-recorded 25 or 6 to 4 for the Chicago 18 album. Would have liked to have heard the reasoning/logic behind that.

There's a great documentary about them, I've watched it a bunch of times.

When the place holder lyrics become final because they work 2:54 Sometimes your song writes itself and you're merely a spectator to the process.

I watched Chicago on the PBS "Fourth of July" special....a great performance with a incredible fireworks display!

Street player is actually a great song, and one of my favorite Chicago songs. It features none other than trumpet legend Maynard Ferguson and the song that later sampled it that Robert was referring to is You Know I Want You by Pitbull. You can hear the unmistakable Street Player trumpet riff several times in that song.

back in south africa a guitarist named Alister Coakely played this number at a school show and his solo was amazing. still love this song after 50 years..

Outstanding interview!

Some say nothing good ever happens after 2 am , they were wrong. Terry, " Wishing You Were Here. ☮️ & ❤️

Thank you AXS for the link. I know this is from 2019 but it's very cool you can go to your page and all the interviews are right there linked up to choose from almost all of Dan's Big interviews in full are right there and you can pull them right up and watch them from your website very nice 👍🏼🤠

That's funny. Growing up in Ohio, I had a friend who, if you asked him what time it was, would say, "Oh it's 10 or 11 to one. I always thought that was an odd way of stating the time, so I always wondered if the title of this song was another example of that.

Our high school band would play this at our football games. Love it.

Good music is good music.

What fantastic musicians and fine members of society

Finally at 68 I get it thank you!!!

Totally solidifies what that song means to me after all these decades ❤❤

Damn great song!

Street player one of my faves!!!!!! Play it over and over!#!!

I never cared for the music Chicago created but I know this song. One thing is they seem like genuine solid guys

Listening to "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" is how Chicago wrote 25 or 6 to 4.

Long live Chicago!

Peter Cetera sang his butt off on 25 or 6 to 4 and Kath’s guitar solo was the icing on the cake.

It was very moving to see him get a little emotional during part of the discussion...Standup guy...There's a live video of them doing "25 or 6 to 4" back in the day that it was very popular as a subject of reaction videos. And every reactor is blown away by it...

The song remembers when.

I actually loved "Street Player" - it's kinda disco, but, with that band it's really on an entirely different level.

In the mid 90s i sat cross legged on the floor at 25 or 6 to 4 wondering if i should do some more. That's about the time you decide if you're gonna watch the sun come up or not

I had never understood what the title even meant before, so this interview was helpful. I guess I would've better understood if it were 25 or 26 to 4, but that probably didn't fit within the song's meter.

Lol I was told that the song was about drugs. Lol I like it even more that it was about writing the song itself 😂

Woah, my aunt told me the story about the time on the clock years ago. She met them at a gig they had done in Atlantic City with the guy she was dating at the time. I thought she made it up.

First saw them in concert at Temple’s McGonigle Hall in March 1970. Loved their first two albums but thought subsequent albums were too commercial for my taste.

Terry's wife said 25 or 6 to 4 was about sitting around smoking pot at 4 in the morning lol

I’ve always liked Street Player even with its disco beat! The entire Chicago 13 album has great music, and in my opinion is highly underrated. Also: two other Chicago tunes are as politically accurate today as they were 50 years ago: Harry Truman and Vote For Me. The latter references Russians and alternate energy for automobiles.

What song are they talking about during the first minute? I just looked at the lyrics of “25 or 6 to 4” and there’s nothing to do about one person into politics & one not knowing politics.

I was preset close, to guessing the song title meaning, (for the past 50 years) “25” to 4am/pm, the big hand would be on the “#7”, but if you have bad eyesight, (like I did), it would be “close enough” to being on the “#6” Hence “25” or “6” to “4”

He didn't even mention hearing Zepplin's "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You." Which he stolen the melody from.

Regarding the song Street Player, Lamm purposely avoids mention that founding drummer Danny Seraphine co wrote that tune with David Hawk Wolinski. Bad blood towards one of the greatest drummers EVER!

This song has been explained by other members, but not this way...

Interesting to finally find out what "25 or 6 to 4" means. Essentially, nothing. But then, looking back on most of the old songs, most of them have very little if any meaning behind them. There was a presumption it was conveying some deep insight, but seems the song writers were only interested in whatever fit into the song in a nice-sounding way.

In present companionship, is the limit.

Basically not realizing you're just playing While My Guitar Gently Weeps on piano.

The song is about contemplating snorting more cocaine. “ is it 25 or 26 to 4 in the morning. They lived it.

When I first heard the song, I thought it was about drugs. Probably tripping late at night and then into the morning. "Spinning room is sinking deep", "should I try to do some more?" and 25 from LSD25. Later, I heard the explanation and it makes sense. But a lot of songs back then were interpreted to be about drugs.

Leave it to Dan blathers; ruining an interview by bringing up some social issue. Typical

Let’s Not Forget Peter Cetera’s Bass Line and Lead Vocals on 25 or 6 to 4 Yes In Those Days L25 was LSD and You Took It Favorably From 6:00 pm and The Trip Lasted Too 4:00 am Hence 25 or 6 to 4 Hey It was a Long Time Ago and I Would Like To See More Bands and Artist Use Some Of Their Abilities To Bring Us Closer Together Than What The Orange Julius Jesus Has Done To Separate Us Just My Take 😊

Obviously, sirthinksalot is referencing the lyric "should i try to do some more?" which is a thinly veiled reference to american imperialistic designs on northwest asia and a subsequent planned invasion of botswana that failed to materialize after the smothers brothers show was unceremonially canceled. Pretty self explanatory, really. Now tell us how swiss cheese really got is holes. Welcome to nowhere and may god bless us, everyone.

Nonsense. 25 or 624 were forms of LSD popular in the 70s. Colored lights against the sky, sitting cross-legged on the floor, should I try to do some more? Yeah, tell me that's about a grandfather clock.

The song is very clearly about tripping on acid.

So us old hippies thinking that the song was about dropping acid were misled.

25 or 6 to 4' I think of Batman in the flash now

Spooky you tube. I just watched the fantastic cover by Leonard and friends and I was wondering what the title meant

So "25 or 26 to 4" means it's 3:35 or 3:34

I heard a different version on how the name came about.

I knows its all midwesterner, faced have's, that's certained looked on their's faced when i first visited the states, of illinois, twns, or cities, of chicago's, and their's accents, its... differences too also its so colder there's m... legs, and hands, hurts that's becuz. A situationals i born with crippling bones, diseases, arthritics, i could'nt barely moved m... joints. Its... so stiffness, so i stayed for a whiles n... this cities, chicagos, michigans, av, over crossed the streets, union, stations, on other's sides the stations i hiked fives too sixth blk, too grey hounds stations, 2008s yrs, enjoyed traveling also i will revisited this cities, agained but not able too hog on any trained subways, longer becuz... afraid and n...up falling off platforms, too .

Does anyone really know what time it is ...

Interviewing the remaining horn section of Chicago about the great Terry Kath is unfair.

Does Tom Brokow have a lisp or is his teeth slipping?

This explanation has been around for some time ...

♥

I not corrected all the time's i thoughts one's of the artisited name's david foster, never extisited okay,

25 or 6 to 4 was written on piano?

Seemed to have forgotten the most important part. He was tripping on acid....should I try and do some more...25 or 6 to four.

No Terry Kath No Chicago ….tragic loss…..

The first four bars….

When you get old and have kids you can't tell the truth...to imply that it's not about acid shows what getting old does...clowns

Lee and Robert seem like good guys. Pankow does not come across in interviews like a good guy.