Iconic '70s Rock Star Behind 3 No. 1 Hits Turns 81

Walter Parazaider is best known for co-founding the legendary rock group Chicago alongside Peter Cetera, Terry Kath, and several other rock icons. The musician turned 81 yesterday, on March 14.

Chicago are best known for hits such as "Hard to Say I'm Sorry", "If You Leave Me Now", and "Look Away". To this day, they remain one of the best-selling rock bands of all time, with over 100 million physical and digital sales to their name.

In 2008, the band was named by Billboard as No. 13 on a ranking of the most successful bands of all time based on Hot 100 Singles success. They were also ranked at No. 9 on a ranking of Hot 200 Albums success.

Parazaider was born on March 14, 1945 in Chicago, Illinois, where he trained in music and attended DePaul University. It was this classical education that informed the band's sharp, polished horn arrangements throughout the '70s.

Chicago was formed in 1967 and released their debut studio album, The Chicago Transit Authority, in 1969. It wasn't until the early '70s that the band found international success, but they quickly became one of the rock genre's defining voices.

The band released several hits that immediately climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, but perhaps more impressively, they also sent multiple full-length albums to No. 1 and have been certified platinum an incredible eighteen times.

Chicago was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, just one year before Parazaider officially stepped back from the band due to ongoing health conditions. In 2021, he announced that he'd been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

At 81 years old, Parazaider remains one of the defining voices of '70s rock—and a talented musician without whom the genre would be in a very different place today.