Even though this song didn't hit #1 on the charts, this is THE SIGNATURE SONG of classic Chicago! It is frequently the closing encore in their live shows. Terry Kath OWNED this song with that solo. The heart of Chicago died when Terry died. Songwriter Robert Lamm was sitting in his room struggling with writing a song ABOUT writing a song, he looked at his watch and it was either 25 minutes or 26 minutes to 4 AM. He looked out the window as he was writing it and saw the flashing neon lights of signs in Hollywood. Again, the Tanglewood 1970 concert performance of "25 OR 6 To 4" has Terry ripping a solo that will leave your jaws hurting from smacking the floor. Watch him on his Strat. That guitar had to give birth to a litter of baby Strats afterwards!

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Absolutely their signature song! Will def check out a live version when we get a chance

@henryhernandez7281

Жыл бұрын

@craig w I got a lump in my throat reading "The heart of Chicago died when Terry died." I agree that Chicago lost part of its soul and the compass that guided it. I don't want to take anything away from the other band members, but even watching them in concert, it was clear how much influence Terry had on them. I truly miss him and his musicality.

@MrZlathan3

Жыл бұрын

*THANK YOU!* I never knew what the hell he was talking about.

Terry Kath's solo is a top 10 all-time.

@whenisdinner2137

2 жыл бұрын

His lives were better

@henryhernandez7281

Жыл бұрын

Easily top ten guitar solo!

Terry Kath was definitely one of the most underrated rock guitarists. When Jimi Hendrix saw them play live on the Sunset Strip (when they still Chicago Transit Authority), he told the sax player, Walter Parazaider, that they sounded great and "you're guitarist is better than me". Apparently, he wanted to record an album with them, but unfortunately Jimi died before they could get together.

@craigw1911

2 жыл бұрын

Chicago's founding trombone player James Pankow tells that story in an interview for the Musicians Hall Of Fame & Museum. Starting at a minute 49 seconds in the clip he tells about Hendrix meeting them at the Whisky A Go Go where they were playing and telling them "your guitar player is better than me!" kzread.info/dash/bejne/qpN1mpqtprSuoaw.html

Terry Kath(RIP)was a beast on guitar.My favourite Chicago song.🎶🌴

Back around 1973-1974 our high school pep band used to play an instrumental version of this song while the basketball team was doing it's layup lines, it was quite an effect, everyone got pumped up. Dan was right, the song is about the time on the clock, 3:35 or 3:36 am The first line of the song is "Waiting for the break of day."

@cr16219

2 жыл бұрын

Same with my high school during the same time! Just during big rivalry games, though. Except our team didn't do layups during warmups like other schools. They formed three tightly packed, alternating direction rings (inner to outer), and would 'pass' the ball gently amongst themselves while rotating around. After that they laid on the floor and did long leg stretches, while the other team would be doing a shoot around after layups. Years ahead of their time, my school was.

The crowning achievement. It has the best of what this band has to offer.

@1bigrowdy

2 жыл бұрын

"Introduction" gives you insight as to what's to come.

@craigw1911

2 жыл бұрын

@@1bigrowdy Terry Kath set the tone of the band when he wrote and sang that. 1st album, 1st record, 1st side, 1st track. From that song to "Little One" closing out Chicago XI was the REAL Chicago.

@1bigrowdy

2 жыл бұрын

@@craigw1911 The Terry Kath Experience on yt really shows the range of his talent beyond just being a guitar slinger

@craigw1911

2 жыл бұрын

@@1bigrowdy Terry Kath was an amazing guitar player, soulful singer and songwriter. One of his songs I really love is his ballad "Byblos", a hidden gem on Chicago VII. It's a beautiful contrast to his hard rocking on "Make Me Smile", "Introduction" and the incredible "Poem 58". He could belt out hard rock vocals and serenade with "Colour My World", "Byblos" and the Danny Seraphine written "Little One". And to think he taught himself to play guitar and Hendrix said Kath was better than Jimi himself!

Have you ever seen this song live at Tanglewood? It's awesome!

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Haven’t seen it! Thanks Alfred!

@frankpentangeli7945

2 жыл бұрын

It's hilarious, Kath starts playing the song and the drummer is still setting up his kit. Concerts were looser and more organic then. Love it!

@craigedwards2940

2 жыл бұрын

The whole show was fantastic at Tanglewood in 1970

The story goes that Robert Lamm wrote this classic to deal with writer's block - the results say he dealt with it well. By the way, if you think Guitarist Terry Kath shredded it on this studio version, you should check out the group's live performance at Tanglewood. On that night, he practically gave a two-minute clinic on how to play guitar in a rock-n-roll band.

It’s the time that Robert Lamm noticed when he was struggling to finish a song.

Make me Smile, Feeling Stronger Every Day, Saturday in the Park, I’ve Been Searching So Long, Wishing You Were Here, to name a few that are a must listen! Yes, it’s 25 or 26 minutes till 4:00!

My folks brought this debut album home when I was 13. Blew us all away.,

Dan got it right... It was when the first digital clocks came out .... blurred vision, up late writing this tune and that's how the title came to be. Definitely a defining piece for Chicago, along with Colour My World and Beginnings. Have to say that they were seminal to my musical experience (live concert 1971 for 16th birthday ) .

How can anything be so polished and raw at the same time?

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

It’s a hard line to walk for sure!

Yeah, Sifa looks like she hates it🤣. Although when I first started watching you guys I found her reactions to be kinda deceiving as she looked so disinterested and then would rattle off the most insightful and articulate opinions. Love you guys!!

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Love you too! Thanks for watching!

YES!! YOU GOT IT!! ITS A SONG ABOUT WRITING A SONG IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!!

There is a live version of this song with a guitar solo that is insane! one of the best

Dude was right on with the title and meaning of the song.

Have a great time in the beautiful city of Chicago!

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

I used to think this song was about greeting the dawn after a full night of trippin'. I guess that's filed under viewing the world through your own lens XD As great as this song is, it's another one where the Tanglewood performance video puts it on another level.

The ultimate Chicago, song for me, had it all , just perfection, always love both your reactions, was listening to them in school, that was it, been a fan of the early albums.

@SightAfterDark

Жыл бұрын

We’re glad you enjoyed!

The time...25 min or 26 min to 4am...thus 25 or 6 to 4!! That was Robert Lamm writing a song at Zero Dark Thirty!!

YES YOU GOT IT! A SONG 🎵 ABOUT WRITING A 🎵 🎶 🎵 SONG!!

you're spot on, it's 25 or 26 minutes to four in the morning

Chicago's "Make Me Smile" is almost as good... You got it! This song is about trying to write a song and the time is 25 or 26 to 4am

I'd say the ballads are the most well know IE "If You Leave Me Now", "Hard to Say I'm Sorry", and "You're the Inspiration" but as far as "real" kickin' ass Chicago this is the one that shines brightest among the masses

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Yeahhhh

@stpnwlf9

2 жыл бұрын

The ballads are best known if you didn't start listening to Chicago until after 1980. For those of us seniors who heard them from the start, that was when we STOPPED listening and consigned them to the world of elevator music.

@Chicago_Podcast_Authority

2 жыл бұрын

@@stpnwlf9 I'm barely 40 and I didn't become a huge fan until 2008 but even before deep diving I knew those ballads from pop culture. I'd say the more years there are since the 80s as opposed to that 13 year window before Chicago 16 became massive is where the majority stand

@stpnwlf9

2 жыл бұрын

@@Chicago_Podcast_Authority I really can't guess how the majority of people see them now. I'm just saying for those of us of a certain age, we remember Chicago as a rock band with one of the greatest guitarists ever instead of the pop ballad group they've become. Those first five albums were better than anything they've produced since Terry Kath died.

@Chicago_Podcast_Authority

2 жыл бұрын

@@stpnwlf9 Amen. Don't forget to add VII for good measure

Terry Kath. Legend.

I played drums in my middle school Jazz Band and we played this track along with make me smile. My Teacher had good taste and I had a blast.

It is about time, he was trying to finish a song.

It’s a song about the frustrations of writing a song

The song is about an acid trip and looking at the clock and can’t tell what time it is.

SO GLAD you picked the studio version, thank you. Live one is great too but this IS Chicago man ,at it's best . JMHO !

It is the time. 25 or (twenty) 6 to 4. And yeah, he was trying to write a song.

I heard Robert Lamm explain title about 50 years ago in a radio interview. He said it was early in the morning and he looked at an old analog clock and he thought it was either 20 minutes to 5 or ( if the clock is upside down) it is 6 minutes to 4 in the morning. If you look at an analog clock both ways it makes perfect sense. Hey! I am old and 50 years is a long time but it still always made sense to me. Thanks. Tanglewood live version has one of the best rock guitar solos of all time by the great Terry Kath. RIP. Jimi Hendrix loved Terry Kath and often said he was as good or better guitarist than him.

@andrewhoran7088

2 жыл бұрын

You are tripping

So glad you guys played the album version and not the single version. the single version really cuts up this song but the album is the best! Awesome song and awesome review! El Duderino Really enjoyed it :)

CHICAGO , "25, OR 6,TOO 4. EXACTLY RIGHT THE SONG WAS WRITTEN AT TIME THIS OF MORNING. 25 OR 6 ARE THE MINUTES BEFORE 4 A.M., MORE "DOES ANYBODY KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?", "SATURDAY IN THE PARK", "MAKE ME SMILE", "BEGINNINGS", "DIALOGUE PART 1 & 2", "QUESTIONS 67, and 68"...

25 or 6 to 4 - yes it's time, think analog clock - that's how we used to say time.

Bob Lamm interviewed said he had stayed up writing because they needed material to fill the new album. Yeah, he is talking about the time.

Terry Kathy one of the GOATs

As Ihave said soofren, you should hear the live version!

Classic. When I think of Chicago the group, this comes to mind first.

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Absolutely!

Yes, you are right. It's reference to writing this song blurry eyed wondering if it was 25 minutes or 26 minutes to 4 in the morning.

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Nice!

TERRY KATHS MONSTER 🎸 GUITAR!!

It's like 25 minutes until or 26 minutes until 4 AM

A classic 1960s/1970s track, and iconic Rock guitar track. I'm actually surprised this one wasn't requested earlier on this channel.

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Haha this track has been reacted to on a lot of channels. People like giving us the deep cuts because we like doing then, so a lot of big songs (like this) end up not being requested

Dan, you nailed the meaning. Robert Lamm (I think), sitting up late trying to write a song and getting stuck. Looking at the clock and seeing that it's 25 to 4 in the morning - or maybe 26 to 4, hard to tell on those analog clocks.

You pretty much hit the nail on the head about the songs meaning

The saxophonist, Walt Parazaider, told me that it was the time reference. They had been writing all night and someone asked the time and that was the answer. He also told me that Jimi Hendrix called Terry Kath a better guitar player than him.

Terry Kath Free-form Guitar is killer. Jimmy Hendrix was being interviewed and asked how it felt to be the best guitarist in the world "I just hope to be as good as Terry Kath someday"

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Shout out to Jimi and Terry!

25 or 6 to 4 was a reference to the time.

@garymilligan4662

Жыл бұрын

I am 66 years old and a trumpet player. This song changed my life for the better. Thank you for reacting to it.

Them. Horns.

This song and Steely Dan's Do It Again were the two songs I had on every mix tape I made so long ago...

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Classics!

Good call Dan. We all thought he was trying to figure out a drug dose.;)

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Lol!

I relate to the lyrics (NOW)... about writing & work deadlines, got it! But back when it first dropped, I'd NO IDEA what it was about. "25 or 6 to 4?" WTF? Still, band-wise, as far as the sheer tightness of their musicianship, Chicago was/is no joke! Yo! I saw both of your heads nodding (even if grudgingly)... so the vibe was definitely felt!

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Definitely not Grudgingly!

@moanman1776

2 жыл бұрын

@@SightAfterDark Cool. lol.

It is about the time - 25, or 6, to 4 in the morning - the writer said that, some time. (Maybe the beat sounds like a train..)

You need to hear the live from Tanglewood version.terry goes off on his guitar!!

Good Stuff! I had this and a few other Chicago 45s back in the day... Check out Chase, especially their album Pure Music, for another '70s horn band~

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

You love it Sida! I mean... IT'S PETER!

😆 LOL!!

You guys need to check out Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/mKCOs6Wcgc_FfJs.html ;)

good 1

Can't believe that you haven't heard this before

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Lol we thought we made it pretty clear that we did

You obviously know this song. Love your air guitar

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Lol yeah one of the few Chicago songs we knew before we started doing reactions

After many years of listening, I have concluded that it's about being up late, trying to keep a mood, vibe or trip going and not being sure what time it is. It must be about trying to capture a weird feeling and a strange moment, because no-one would ever answer "25 or 6 to 4" if you asked them the time.

@davidmcqueen3405

2 жыл бұрын

25 or 26 minutes to 4:00 in the morning

@cazgerald9471

2 жыл бұрын

Out of context as a song title it's a bit bemusing, but as an answer to what time it is back when this song was written, when all clocks were analog, that answer would not have been out of the ordinary or strange in any way.

I'd love to see someone react to a cover of this song by the norwegian(?) band Pacifica. Completely different take on the song, but still really good.

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Interesting

Total means 25 or 26 till 4 am. Trying to write a song

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Nice

Does Anybody really know what time it is, great tune.

That's exactly what the title means but as a little girl, I couldn't piece it together on my own. My big brother , known as CHICAGO, because of his love of this band, explained it to me, I think. Then again, I kinda hear Robert Lamm's voice in my head explaining the title. Saturday In The Park is another of their well known tunes. Doesn't come close to the greatness of this one though!!

One of their very best though just as good live with an early video showing off Terry Kath, Who Jimmy Hendricks said was the best guitar player ever!

I've never known anyone who heard this song and didn't like it. lol

If you haven't already you got to check out Leonid & Friends, a tribute band from, of all places, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus. Without ever having seen Chicago in concert or even their sheet music to refer to they meticulously learned every note and nuance of songs from Chicago, Earth Wind and Fire, and Tower of Power. They are simply amazing and even at least one Chicago band member has raved about Leonid & Friends. kzread.info/dash/bejne/a5Oo0dSIhK6bocY.html

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Mark!

I can’t believe you two hated this!!

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

😂😂😂 you know we love it!

They have so many good songs but my favorite album of their's would have to " Chicago Transit Authority" check that one out👍

There are two "Doobies"..before and after Johnson........................CSN vs CSNY (with Neil ).....and Chicago Brass vs Ballads.....I like the brass and guitar over the love ballads,but that's just me.

gotta do the live at tanglewood version.......youll never see a better guitar solo!!

Please do MAKE ME SMILE by Chicago ,more Terry Kath!!

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for watching Stanley! All of our reactions are suggested by our patrons; check out our link below: www.patreon.com/sightafterdark

@lindaloe

Жыл бұрын

MAKE ME SMILE IS MY Favorite Song 🎵 SUNG BY TERRY!!

I have heard this great tune since it came out but never til now listening with headphones did I realize ....those drums are over dubbed! maybe that's been obvious to most, but first time for me I ever heard that, two parts playing together at certain parts of song, not whole tune. Interesting find, Thanks. Have fun in Chi Town, say hey to my friend Chinami!

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

😮

Yeah I think they were tripping on acid see if they were up all night I just hope when I come down

I think Saturday in the Park is a big hit too. Not sure which is the top selling single.

Dan nailed it. It’s being too tired to tell the time.

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

Yeahhhhh

LSD trip

👍❤️❤️❤️😁👈🕊️

Pretty sure If You Leave Me Now is Chicago's biggest and most well known song. Big song world wide. #1 US, UK, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, South Africa #2 Belgium, Sweden, New Zealand 273 all-time Billboard charts 1958-2018 But we don't need to listen to it. Beautiful song though. lol

A no brainer.

@SightAfterDark

2 жыл бұрын

For real!

What an UTTER piece of CRAP!! 😂😂😂😂 Been kneeling before the rocking majesty of this tune since it came out! 🙏🙏🙏✌😘🎤🎸🎺🎷🔥💞 Nearly forgot: 1. Used to play 'Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?'* 2. Deep dish 🍕. 😂😂 * 1977, a fraught, tumultuous and just busy time in my life. ps..."should I try to do some more"...always thought it was a recreational substance related query...now, not so much. Still, 25 or 6 to 4, kinda temporally/chronologically adrift or misplaced..?

My father had no real interest in music and rather poor taste when it came to rock. Amongst the LPs I inherited from him are this (which he bought for this song, obviously), a handful of great Beatles records (they all are of course, this coming from a Stonesy dude) but no Rubber Soul nor White Album (sign o the times) and In the court of the Crimson King. Didn't like it either.