25 or 6 to 4
| "25 or 6 to 4" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Where Do We Go From Here" |
"25 or 6 to 4", also written as "Twenty-Five or Six to Four", is a song written by the American musician Robert Lamm, one of the founding members of the rock/jazz fusion band Chicago. It was recorded for their second album, Chicago in 1970, with Peter Cetera on lead vocals. The song was edited and released as a single in June that year, climbing to number 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart[1] and number seven on the UK Singles Chart. This recording features an electric guitar solo using a wah-wah pedal by Chicago guitarist Terry Kath, and has been included in numerous Chicago compilation albums.
An updated version of "25 or 6 to 4" was recorded for the 1986 album Chicago 18 with James Pankow listed as co-writer. With the new band member Jason Scheff on lead vocals, the single reached number 48 on the U.S. chart. This version was also used as the B-side for the band's next single in 1986, "Will You Still Love Me?".
The song appears as an on-disc track in the video game Rock Band 3 and has been made available as a download for the game/learning software Rocksmith 2014.
Lyrics
Speculation that the song's lyrics are drug related has been largely dismissed. Lamm himself says that the title is "just a reference to the time of day" and that "the song is about writing a song. It's not mystical." The title serves as an answer to a concurrent Chicago song: "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" The answer is 25 or 26 minutes to 4 o'clock.[2]
Chart performance
Weekly singles charts
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Year-end charts
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Cover versions
The song has been covered by several artists, including Straitjacket; Local H; Intruder; Bruce Foxton; The Moog Cookbook; Earth, Wind & Fire; Paul Gilbert; Pacifika; Vince Neil; and Umphrey's McGee. It was also covered by Nick Ingman on Soft Rock Invention.
In 2005, Jonathan Coulton made "When I'm 25 or 64", a mashup of "25 or 6 to 4" with "When I'm Sixty-Four" by The Beatles.[9] For the results night performance of the finale of the ninth season of American Idol, Lee DeWyze performed "25 or 6 to 4" with the band. Constantine Maroulis released his version of the song as a single in 2011.[10]
Personnel
- Peter Cetera – lead vocals, fuzz bass
- Terry Kath – backing vocals, fuzzed wah-wah electric guitar (plus solo), unamplified electric guitar
- Robert Lamm – backing vocals, Hohner Pianet electric piano
- Danny Seraphine – double-tracked drums
- Jimmy Pankow – trombone
- Lee Loughnane – trumpet
- Walt Parazaider – tenor saxophone
References
- ^ "Chicago Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
- ^ "What does the Chicago lyric "25 or 6 to 4" mean?". The Straight Dope. October 18, 2000. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
- ^ http://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=35092
- ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
- ^ http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/13861/chicago-transit-authority/
- ^ http://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=35092
- ^ "Top 100 1970 – UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
- ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1970/Top 100 Songs of 1970". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
- ^ Jonathan Coulton Blog Archive
- ^ Chicago Admin. "Constantine Maroulis releases his version of Chicago classic: 25 Or 6 To 4". Chicago The Band Music Community. Archived from the original on April 22, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2011.
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