One good thing about Bill Champlin is he just says it the way he sees it. Vince1961, I think you are making a BIG assumption that Bill has never had much respect for who (Chicago) was prior to his arrival. I think after 25 years the man has a right to change gears a little, namely after made a very good living. Bill always has been more than kind to his fans. I find that commendable. He is a throwback of sorts to the musician industry... can write, play, sing & can change things up, stylistical.
I saw Chicago in 2008 at the Western Idaho Fair after waiting 24 years to see them. The one thing I did notice during the performance was Bill. It looked like he was just going through the motions, and he confirms it in this interview. It was a great show though!
Tune out as soon as he says enough about chicago. I know he thinks his sons of champlin were a force but they weren't and I like the guy and appreciate his talent. I recognize full of himself ego because I have the same thing
Bill Champlin was wright to leave Chicago, I consider Him a legendary member, In later years Chicago were treating Him like some hired gun & in My opinion they blew it & on top of that stopped playing Look Away a number 1 hit, The Man in My opinion has shown integrity leaving the steady paycheck, be cool if He & Cetera did a project & tour together, I i'll only see Chicago live if Champlin, Cetera & Seraphine reunite with the band
Listening to Bill minimize his participation in Chicago is actually sad. He's such a giant in his own right, but has never had much respect for who they were prior to his arrival. Two questions I'd love to hear him answer - "Bill, how did you get the Chicago gig in the first place?" and..."Bill, what role did you play leading up to Danny Seraphine's dismissal from the group?" Asking him those back-to-back might result in some stuttering during the 2nd answer.
I honestly dont know.. what Role DID he have in Dannys dismiss? Lets face it, Bill's a freakin genuis.. IMHO anything he touches turns to gold ... Chicago was OVER at that point anyway. Great band, Players, etc but Bill is the SONS! Love those guys ... all of them!
Can't blame him for not trashing them...I'm in a band, and I want to do my own (covers) stuff, but the others wanna do their fav(covers)...and that's just a garage band!
Thank you Bill Champlin for what you did during your time with Chicago. He brought a great vocal dynamic to the band. It wasn't the classic feel of the great Terry Kath but did a great job and fit well into the band in its second wave of popularity in the 80's. I am happy Chicago was finally elected to the RRHOF, but as far as I know, Bill was not listed to be inducted. The RRHOF can't get anything right!
I agree, plus no offense against Bill, but I love Lou Pardini, his voice and personality is amazing, I didn't care for the way Bill wanted to change the original style of the band, and anyone that has followed Chicago since day one knows Terry and Robert were the band along with the horn section.
Saw C with Kath. Saw C with Champlin. Both awesome in their own way. Bill always more at home with the Sons. But to say he wasn’t instrumental in the band is ludicrous. The Chicago horn should be arrested for loitering behind instruments. No wonder he was bored D
Bill needed to leave Chicago. He had done all he could with the band and they were not willing to move forward. He was right about his last 10 years with Chicago, they only released one album of original material. He seems happier now!
I think one thing to be learned from Bill's answer about Chicago is that being a musician isn't all what it's cracked up to be. It seems like his passion were outside Chicago and he had a franchise that offered him "steady work" which was boring and monotonous. It sounds like he experienced the band when they had cetera who was the star which must have been exciting. But once the 80s ended, so did the music industry and Chicago was sort of just a nostalgia band. So my point is, maybe being a musician is a tough job, not that glamorous and a grind like so many other professions.
At the very beginning (only just the start) of the interview, his wife had an expression on her face like Bill farted big time and she was handcuffed to the chair and had no avenue of escape and had to ride out the storm.... ...at 5:20 Bill's got a look on his face like "I was a rock star and this is how it all turns out?" It seems like Bill is a nice guy, good luck to him.
