"25 or 6 to 4" is a song written by the American musician Robert Lamm, one of the founding members of the band Chicago. It was recorded in 1969 for their second album, Chicago, with Peter Cetera on lead vocals. The album was released in January 1970 and the song was edited and released as a single in June of that same year, climbing to No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and number seven on the UK Singles Chart. It was the band's first song to reach the top five in the U.S. It 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 No. 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?".
Through the 2010s, "25 or 6 to 4" continued to be a staple in Chicago's live concert set list, and in Peter Cetera's solo concert set list. In 2016, former drummer, Danny Seraphine, reunited on stage with Chicago to perform "25 or 6 to 4" and two other songs at their induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Video 25 or 6 to 4
Meaning
According to composer Robert Lamm, the song is about trying to write a song in the middle of the night. The song's title is the time at which the song is set: 25 or 26 minutes before 4 AM. Because of the unique phrasing of the song's title, "25 or 6 to 4" has been incorrectly speculated to be a veiled reference to drug quantities, or a mystical allusion. The 1986 music video for the song references the correct meaning at its beginning. The song was banned in Singapore in 1970 and again in 1986 because of its "alleged allusions to drugs." In 1993, the ban on this song was lifted, along with long-time bans on songs by other artists such as the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Creedence Clearwater Revival.
In what may be a coincidence, the song's writer, Robert Lamm, had recently written and sung another Chicago hit, "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?", for which this song's title can be seen to serve as an answer.
Maps 25 or 6 to 4
Composition
The original recording features an electric guitar solo using a wah-wah pedal by Chicago guitarist Terry Kath, and a lead vocal line in Aeolian mode.
The song's opening guitar riff has been compared to chord progressions and riffs in other songs. In the opinion of writer Melissa Locker:
...the opening guitar riff from Green Day's 'Brain Stew' bears a striking similarity to the opening stanza of Chicago's '25 or 6 to 4.'
LA Weekly's music editor, Andy Hermann, names it "The Riff" and describes it as follows:
It's a descending five-chord pattern, typically played as power chords over four bars, with the last two chords sharing the last bar. The most common variant of it goes from A minor to G to F sharp to F to E, although it can also be played as Am-G-D-F-E or even Am-G-D9-F#-F-E...
Hermann details the riff's similarity to the chord progression in Led Zeppelin's song, "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", which came out a year before "25 or 6 to 4", and the similarity of that chord progression to one in George Harrison's song, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", which came out even earlier. He labels "Brain Stew", released in 1996, as "derivative" by comparison to "25 or 6 to 4".
Music video
The music video for the 1986 remake won an American Video Award, in the category "Best Cinematography," for Bobby Byrnes.
Chart performance
Covers and parodies
The song has been covered by various artists, including Leonid & Friends, Straitjacket, Local H, Intruder, Bruce Foxton, The Moog Cookbook, Earth, Wind & Fire, Paul Gilbert, Pacifika, former Mötley Crüe lead singer Vince Neil, Umphrey's McGee, Nick Ingman, and as an instrumental on the Dave Koz collaboration album Summer Horns. Constantine Maroulis released his version of the song as a single in 2011.
For the results night performance of the finale of the ninth season of American Idol, Lee DeWyze performed "25 or 6 to 4" with Chicago.
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.
Use in popular culture
- 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.
- It has been featured on the animated TV series King of the Hill's season 11 episode, Luanne Gets Lucky.
- The song was used in the 2017 film I, Tonya, directed by Craig Gillespie and starring Margot Robbie and Sebastian Stan.
Influence
Jason Newsted, former bassist of Metallica, says that this song has the first rock or metal riff he ever learned to play.
Paul Gilbert, former guitarist of Racer X and Mr. Big, says that a "really primitive version" of "25 or 6 to 4" was one of the first songs he taught himself to play on the guitar, using one string.
Personnel
- Peter Cetera - lead vocals, bass
- Terry Kath - guitar, backing vocals
- Robert Lamm - piano, backing vocals
- Danny Seraphine - drums
- Jimmy Pankow - trombone
- Lee Loughnane - trumpet
- Walt Parazaider - tenor saxophone
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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