Posted on 06/17/2026 1:19:25 PM PDT by fidelis
Walter Parazaider, a co-founding member of Chicago who was with the band from its start in 1967 through his retirement in 2017, died Wednesday, family members announced. He had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for six years.
Parazaider played reed instruments in the band for that 50-year run, and may be most easily recognized for his flute solo in “Colour My World,” though he was more often found on the saxophone. In the band’s earliest conception, he was the only horn player, and he is often credited as the one whose idea it was to bring an entire horn section in as full members of a rock band, a radical idea when Chicago Transit Authority was being founded in ’67, and still a rare concept to this day.
Parazaider had retired from the band in 2017, not long after the group celebrated its induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. At the time, he was said to be dealing with heart issues.
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Parazaider had revealed his most debilitating condition in a statement on the group’s website 2021. “Five months ago, I was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease,” he wrote then. “Needless to say, my wife, daughters and myself were shocked and devastated. It has taken a while to process this news and the fact is, we still are. The good news is we have a wonderful medical facility here and I have a very good doctor. I am working hard and not going to give up. With new treatments and therapy, along with my family’s love and support, I feel very positive about the future. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. I wish you and your families all the best in 2021 and always.”
(Excerpt) Read more at variety.com ...
Rest in peace, Walter, and thanks for all the great memories.
My garage band in high school was inspired by Chicago, complete with trumpet, sax, organ (me), drums, and guitar. We called ourselves Congress, with a drawing of the Capitol on the drumhead, and beginning each performance with, “Congress is now in session!” (in terms of success we went nowhere, of course)
Walter was an inspiration for many, and if it is time for him to rest, let it be in peace.
Walter was the only guy in the band that stayed married to his first wife. No mean feat when considering their many decades on the road touring.
Seems like just yesterday I ran out to get that new Chicago Transit Authority album with paper route money.
A similar trajectory as Blood, Sweat, and Tears - seem those were the only two "white" bands to pull it off.
(Plenty of jazz and funk bands made it work, though).
We played a lot of Chicago in High School band.
Up to Chicago VII, they were arguably the best band going.
Chicago At Tanglewood (1970)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oAoSZ2y1cw
Say ‘Hi’ to Terry, Walter.
Isn’t “flutist” supposed to be “flautist”? I’d like reporters to learn the English language.
The article author breezes over the differences between playing reed instruments and horns, but asserts the musician played both. I'm not sure if that's correct, but it is unsupported in the article.
Watch #7, you can see he does play both.
SO much great and timeless music from this band.
I am sorry to hear of Walter’s illness and passing.
God bless his family.
There were several things that instilled my love of music when I was very young.
My older sister had a Chicago album, maybe the chocolate bar one? The other older sister had a 45 of Color My World.
Both vinyls ended up in my possession.
The way Chicago played ALL those instruments together
fascinated my ears.
Thus, another Band and Orchestra Geek was born.
Started on the drums, added double bass, and finally cello.
Even though i wasn’t able to make a career out of it I still love Chicago and play them often.
Thank you, Walter.
Rock In Perpetuity
,,, Chicago, Blood Sweat and Tears and Tower of Power - and probably Ides of March. I was talking with two friends the other day and I said “we got the golden years.” Part of our moving through the decades was the soundtrack accompanying it all. Chicago was up there. Not only did they have a kick arse sound, look at their prolific album releases. We were lucky to have them. RIP and thanks Walter.
They are both correct and largely a matter of preference.
“According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first written record of flutist was in 1603, whilst flautist was not recorded until 1860 in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Marble Faun (also known as Transformation).”
https://flutesandflutists.com/articles/240223-flutist-or-flautist
Makes me not smile. RIP.
Saw Chicago back in the early 70s. Got to meet the band when security routed me back stage going for a beer by mistake. They were awesome. I was about 18 and highly impressed at the time. Stayed about 15 minutes and said thanks and left.... girl friend was pissed..shxt happens!!
>>beginning each performance with, “Congress is now in session!
Great story! What wonderful memories.
Yeah
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