Along Comes a Woman

1985 single by Chicago

"Along Comes a Woman"

Single by Chicago

from the album Chicago 17

B-side

"We Can Stop the Hurtin'"^[2]

Released

February 11, 1985^[1]

Genre

Pop rock

Length

4:14 (album version)^[3]
3:47 (single version)^[4]

Label

Full Moon/Warner Bros.^[4]

Songwriter(s)

Peter Cetera
Mark Goldenberg^[4]

Producer(s)

David Foster^[4]

Chicago singles chronology

"You're the Inspiration"
(1984)

"Along Comes a Woman"
(1985)

"25 or 6 to 4"
(1986)

"Along Comes a Woman" is a song written by Peter Cetera and Mark Goldenberg^[5] for the group Chicago and recorded for their album Chicago 17 (1984), with Cetera singing lead vocals. The fourth single released from that album,^[6] it is the last Chicago single released with original singer/bassist Cetera, who left the band in the summer of 1985.^[7]^[8]

Upon its release in 1985, Billboard magazine highlighted the single in its "Singles: Pop: Picks" section, as a "new release with the greatest chart potential," and called it a "hard rocker."^[4] At the end of the year, Billboard magazine music critic, Linda Moleski, listed the single among her top ten highlights of the year as, “An excellent funk-pop sound that’s reflective of 1985.”^[9]

The original album version was 4:14 in length.^[3] It was remixed to a more high-tech mid-80's sound for the single release which runs 3:47 in length.^[4]

Music video

The music video, shot in black and white, combined themes from the films Raiders of the Lost Ark and Casablanca^[10]^[11] and featured Peter Cetera, the lead vocalist on the song, in the Indiana Jones/Rick Blaine-type role.^[7] It was produced by Jon Small of Picture Vision, Inc., and was directed by Jay Dubin,^[10] who also directed the syndicated TV series The Wombles in the 1980s.^[12]^[13] The video was released in 1985, during what some call the "golden era" of MTV.^[14]

Personnel

Peter Cetera – lead and backing vocals
Bill Champlin – keyboards, guitars, backing vocals
Robert Lamm – keyboards, backing vocals
Lee Loughnane – trumpet
James Pankow – trombone, horn arrangements
Walter Parazaider – woodwinds
Danny Seraphine – drums
Chris Pinnick — guitars

Additional personnel

David Foster – keyboards, synth bass, synthesizer programming, rhythm and vocal arrangements
John Van Tongeren – synthesizer programming
Erich Bulling – synthesizer programming
Marcus Ryle – synthesizer programming
Michael Landau – guitars
Paul Jackson, Jr. – guitars
Mark Goldenberg – guitars, additional arrangements
Paulinho da Costa – percussion
Gary Grant – trumpet
Greg Adams – trumpet
Kenny Cetera – backing vocals

Chart performance

"Along Comes a Woman" reached a peak of No. 14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart^[15] and No. 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart.^[16]

References

^ "FMQB" (PDF). p. 26.
^ "Chicago - Along Comes A Woman". 45cat. 45cat website. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
^ ^a ^b Chicago (1984). Chicago 17 (vinyl LP record). U.S.A.: Warner Bros. Records, Inc. 25060-1.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Singles: Pop: Picks". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 9. USA: Billboard Publications, Inc. March 2, 1985. p. 75. Retrieved July 27, 2017 – via Google Books.
^ Pollock, Bruce (1986). Popular music: an annotated index of American popular songs, Volume 10. Gale Research Co. p. 24. ISBN 9781810308494. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
^ Grein, Paul (February 23, 1985). "Chart Beat: Fast Facts". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 8. USA: Billboard Publications, Inc. p. 6. Retrieved July 27, 2017 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b Pell, Nicholas (December 8, 2015). "Unpopular Opinion: Chicago, the Kings of Soft Rock, Are Awesome". L.A. Weekly. LA Weekly, LP. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
^ Wink, Roger (June 8, 2017). "Review: "The Very Best of Peter Cetera"". VVN Music. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
^ "The Critics' Choice: Top 10 Disks, Videos, Shows". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 52. USA: Billboard Publications, Inc. December 28, 1985. p. T34, T48. Retrieved July 27, 2017 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b Dupler, Steven (April 6, 1985). "Video Track: New York". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 14. USA: Billboard Publications, Inc. p. 40. Retrieved July 27, 2017 – via Google Books.
^ Burns, Gary (1994-12-01). "Formula and distinctiveness in movie‐based music videos". Popular Music and Society. 18 (4): 7–17. doi:10.1080/03007769408591569. ISSN 0300-7766.
^ Zuckerman, Faye (January 26, 1985). "Video Track: New York". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 4. USA: Billboard Publications, Inc. p. 40. Retrieved July 27, 2017 – via Google Books.
^ Dupler, Steve (December 21, 1985). "Dubin Speaks His Mind on Industry Woes". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 51. USA: Billboard Publications, Inc. pp. 23, 24. Retrieved July 27, 2017 – via Google Books.
^ Chiu, David (May 2, 2013). "MTV's original VJs reminisce about the network's golden era". CBS News. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
^ "Chicago 17 - Chicago". billboard.com. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
^ "Chicago Chart History: Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Retrieved October 27, 2017.