Walter Parasider, co-founder, saxophonist and flutist of the Chicago rock band, has died after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease, the band confirmed Wednesday. He was 81 years old.
“Chicago is heartbroken by the sad news of Walter Parasider’s passing this morning,” the band said in a statement on Wednesday. “Our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends and countless Chicago fans who are all mourning his loss today. It was Walt’s idea for a rock ‘n’ roll band with horns. He put the band together and they rehearsed in the basement of his mother’s house. He’s also the one who did the hard work of booking shows for the young, little-known band, performing Top 40 hits in local bars in and around Chicago.”
Parazaider first helped form the group in 1967, when the band was first named The Big Thing. He played on twenty albums in Chicago from 1967 until 2014, and also performed live with the band until his retirement due to health issues in 2018.
As the band suggests, Parazaider was an essential part of the group’s sound, and the Chicago jazz horn section was arguably its defining feature. Parazaider’s playing is on full display on the band’s biggest hits including “Saturday in the Park” and “25 or 6 to 4.”
With Parazaider, Chicago became one of the most distinctive and prolific bands of their era, signing with Columbia Records and dropping 10 albums in the 1970s alone. They received early critical acclaim as Chicago Transit Authority, and the group’s eponymous debut album would later go double platinum. They changed their name again for their sophomore effort chicago, Which received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.
The group had their first number-one hit in 1976 with “If You Leave Me Now,” which also won the group its first Grammy Award, for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The band remained active for decades, achieving huge commercial success in the early 1980s with the single “You’re The Inspiration”.
The group was officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.
Parazaider’s daughter, Felicia Parazaider, posted an emotional tribute to her father on Facebook on Wednesday as well, saying she couldn’t be there when her father officially died but that he “gone peacefully.”
“Thank you for loving my dad, even if you didn’t know him personally,” she wrote. “I know so many of you loved him. I’m in shock and disbelief, and yet I didn’t love him at all. This has been the worst six years. The hardest season of my life. And I’m so grateful that my father doesn’t suffer anymore. I love you, Poppy, my friend. You color our world. God bless you, my dear soul.”
“We are forever grateful for his contributions,” the band wrote on Wednesday. “Perhaps his greatest gift was bringing people together. This incredible music may never have been heard without Walt’s vision.”
