If You Leave Me Now

Recorded during the 1975 and 1976 sessions for Chicago X at Caribou Ranch in Colorado. Peter Cetera sang lead and played bass, with the band joined by a string section arranged by Jimmie Haskell under producer James William Guercio. Released in 1976, the ballad became Chicago's first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 and also topped the UK Singles Chart. It won Grammy Awards for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus and Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists. The song became one of Chicago's signature recordings and established Peter Cetera as the band's principal ballad singer. Its international success helped define the softer direction that became central to Chicago's later commercial identity.