Jason Scheff says his entrance into Chicago, just as Peter Cetera left, involved a moment of good luck when a tape of one of his songs found its way to the band. After that, things moved quickly.
Scheff ended up playing bass and taking over lead vocal duties on all three singles from his first Chicago album, 1986’s David Foster-produced 18. “Will You Still Love Me” went to No. 3, “If Should Would Have Been Faithful” hit No. 17, and a remake of “25 or 6 to 4” went to No. 48.
Still, even today, he’s considered the new guy: “I’m just a conduit,” Jason Scheff says in a talk with FBPO’s Jon Liebman. “I’m brand new. I’ve only been here 27 years.”
And despite that longevity, and that success, questions persist about a reunion with Cetera. Scheff, for his part, says, he’s got a great relationship with his predecessor.
“I’m the biggest Peter Cetera fan in the world,” Jason Scheff says. “We’ve sat down and had coffee. That was the greatest hour, hour and a half with him. He was very respectful, and told me how much he loved what I was doing. It’s just the ultimate way to come into a band like this, to have someone like that turn into a peer — rather than this scary monster.”
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