Baby What a Big Surprise - Chicago (1976) 12/28/21

In 1977, Chicago released its 11th album, appropriately titled "Chicago XI."

The very first single from the album, "Baby What a Big Surprise" became--NOT surprisingly--a "Great Song of the '70s."

While researching the song, I came across a few bits of trivia I didn't know about, and I thought I'd pass them along--just in case you didn't know about them either. :-)

#1: The song was written and sung by Peter Cetera, with background vocals by his brother Tim (who was not a member of the group), and Beach Boy Carl Wilson.

#2: Chicago saxophonist Walt Parazaider switched instruments to play the opening flute solo, and trumpeter Lee Loughnane played the piccolo trumpet throughout.

#3: It was the last Chicago hit featuring guitarist Terry Kath before his untimely death by accidental gunshot.

"Baby What a Big Surprise" charted in 11 countries, reaching the Top 10 in 4. In the US, it reached #4 on the Hot 100 and #8 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. In Canada, the matching numbers were slightly higher at #3 and #7, respectively.

In 1977, Chicago was one of the hottest groups around, so it was really NOT a "big surprise that "Baby What a Big Surprise" turned out to be a "Great Song of the '70s.

It's good stuff!