We've just heard from Chi-Lites co-founder and remaining group member Marshall Thompson that the legendary Chicago group will be the subject of a future episode of TV One's wonderful biography series, Unsung, to air in February. Long one of the most beloved but underrated groups, the Chi-Lites have left an incredible legacy of brilliant music.
We've just heard from Chi-Lites co-founder and remaining group member Marshall Thompson that the legendary Chicago group will be the subject of a future episode of TV One's wonderful biography series, Unsung, to air in February. Long one of the most beloved but underrated groups, the Chi-Lites have left an incredible legacy of brilliant music.
Like many popular soul groups of the 60s and 70s, the Chi-Lites found each other as teens, singing together and apart in various groups in their native Chicago until joining together as the Hi-Lites in the mid 60s. By the time they signed with the local Brunswick label in the late 60s, they had added a "C" and become the Chi-Lites. The Chi-Lites marriage with Brunswick bore fruit quickly, as they had their first R&B hit in 1968 with the sweet ballad, "Give It Away."
While their early Brunswick songs were typical of the Smokey-influenced soul group sound of the late 60s, over time the Chi-Lites developed their own unique sound around the writing and production of lead singer Eugene Record. An immense talent, Record distinguished the Chi-Lites from other silky soul groups like the Stylistics and Blue Magic by balancing sweet soul ballads about loneliness and vulnerability with funky thumpers about race relations and social justice. In retrospect, how could an album boast the then-radical "Give More Power to the People" alongside the almost saccharine love song, "I Want to Pay You Back"?
The Chi-Lites moved from "soul superstars" to simply superstars in 1972, as two group ballads rocketed to the top of the charts and became among the most memorable songs of the decade. "Have You Seen Her," with its sad opening monologue, took the pop world by storm, only to be topped by the forlorn harmonica lead and impeccable harmonies of the group's greatest song, "Oh Girl"... Read our full biography of the Chi-Lites
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