Almost no information exists about “Live It Up,” a bonus track on the Rhino re-release of 1980’s Chicago XIV. We know it was written by James Pankow, and Peter Cetera sings, but we don’t know when it was written or recorded, or who’s playing on the song.
So, some speculation: Sometime between February 1978 and when Columbia Records dropped Chicago, Pankow was thinking about Terry Kath’s premature death and remembered that old adage “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we may die.” He also happened to be listening to his old listening to his old Average White Band albums around the same time.
Pankow then wrote and scored a music track heavily inspired by Average White Band’s “Cut the Cake,” recorded rhythm and horn tracks, gave Peter Cetera some guide lyrics, and let him improvise over the instrumental backing.
The resulting demo became “Live It Up” and, for reasons nobody knows, it was thrown back into the vaults while other songs went onto the albums. It’s a shame, because Chicago has a funky groove going, especially whoever is playing rhythm guitar (Donnie Dacus? Chris Pinnick? Nile Rodgers?).
Finalize the lyrics, give Cetera another take, and you’ve got a fun, hidden gem with a timely message, delivered by a band that was much more than average.
