In STREET PLAYER: My Chicago Story (Wiley; October 2010; $24.95), legendary drummer DANNY SERAPHINE, a founding member of the iconic band CHICAGO who went on to sell over 122 million albums, tells the dramatic story of his rise from the very mean streets of Chicago to the pinnacle of rock fame and fortune in the 1960s, a watershed period in music history. In this riveting book, Seraphine offers vivid portraits of his fellow band members and reveals how Chicago differs from all other bands and why they have captured the hearts of millions of fans worldwide.
This lively inside story is filled with fascinating and colorful tales from Seraphine's time on the road. He reveals behind-the-scenes anecdotes about Chicago’s beginnings as the house band at Los Angeles's legendary Whisky A Go Go, where they were discovered by music icons Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, and personal insights about the group’s many comebacks and reinventions over the years.
Intimate stories shared for the first time include:
How first meeting with Janis Joplin nearly turned into a fist fight and how she sweetly apologized afterward
Why Jimi Hendrix invited Chicago to tour with him, and how Hendrix, a former paratrooper, calmly reassured Seraphine during a very turbulent flight
Riveting tales and rare photographs from tours with icons such as Dennis and Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Bruce Springsteen
The many rumors about Chicago, including Mafia ties, accounting and payola scandals, and major drug abuse
Seraphine shares moving and heartfelt stories of his life. For example, in the winter of 1965, as a high school dropout, he stood alone in his mother's kitchen wondering what had happened to his dream. He had thought he would be a professional drummer by then, basking in the roar of applause and well on his way to a brilliant career. Instead, he could hear only echoes of the shotgun blast that nearly took his life the night before. He imagined a pointless future of street fights and felonies in which the best he could hope for was a low-level position in the Chicago Mafia. Knowing there was no way out, he was close to despair. Then the phone rang; the rest is music history.
And in this book, for the first time, Seraphine tells the painful story, from the heart, of close friend and cofounder Terry Kath's death and of Seraphine's traumatic 1990 firing from the band and the pain that he has only recently overcome.
Complete with dozens of photos from Chicago's early years, STREET PLAYER is an uncommonly powerful rock memoir that is easy to pick up and very hard to put down.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel Peter "Danny" Seraphine (born August 28, 1948 in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.) is an American drummer, record producer, theatrical producer and film producer, best known for being the original drummer and founding member of the rock group Chicago, a tenure which lasted from February 1967 to May 1990. He currently records and tours with his new band, the California Transit Authority.
For more information visit www.CTATheBand.com
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