“If You Leave Me Now” – Chicago [I Like This Song]
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9_d-sFhmRM]
On this day in 1976, this song began a three-week run at #1 on the UK singles chart. It was also a big hit internationally, charting in the Top 5 in over a dozen other countries.
In the US, “If You Leave Me Now” made it to # 1 on the singles chart in Oct. 1976. The song had reached the top spot on the Easy Listening chart a month earlier. In 1977, it won Chicago their first Grammy Award (Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus) in addition to a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year.
“If You Leave Me Now” has the distinction of being one of only five non-disco songs to hit #1 in the US over a nine-month period in 1976 and it got considerable airplay at the time. As one reviewer noted: "The song was so pervasive on radio upon its release that, reportedly, those tuning in in New York could hear the song playing on four different stations, each with varying formats, simultaneously."
Beginning in 2010, Chicago has raised money for the American Cancer Society by allowing fans the opportunity to bid on a chance to sing “If You Leave Me Now” with the band at live concerts. All proceeds raised from the bidding go directly to the health organization’s efforts against breast cancer.
On this day in 1976, this song began a three-week run at #1 on the UK singles chart. It was also a big hit internationally, charting in the Top 5 in over a dozen other countries.
In the US, “If You Leave Me Now” made it to # 1 on the singles chart in Oct. 1976. The song had reached the top spot on the Easy Listening chart a month earlier. In 1977, it won Chicago their first Grammy Award (Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus) in addition to a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year.
“If You Leave Me Now” has the distinction of being one of only five non-disco songs to hit #1 in the US over a nine-month period in 1976 and it got considerable airplay at the time. As one reviewer noted: "The song was so pervasive on radio upon its release that, reportedly, those tuning in in New York could hear the song playing on four different stations, each with varying formats, simultaneously."
Beginning in 2010, Chicago has raised money for the American Cancer Society by allowing fans the opportunity to bid on a chance to sing “If You Leave Me Now” with the band at live concerts. All proceeds raised from the bidding go directly to the health organization’s efforts against breast cancer.
