Walt Parazaider, the co-founding reed player and saxophonist of the multi-platinum American rock band Chicago, has died at the age of 81 following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease, per ultimateclassicrock.com.
His death was confirmed on June 17 by his daughter, Felicia Parazaider, and former Chicago guitarist Dawayne Bailey. Parazaider had publicly revealed his diagnosis in 2021, noting that the condition had devastated his family.
Parazaider had previously stepped back from touring with the group in 2017 due to a heart condition. His health challenges severely limited his studio contributions in his final years; he performed on only three tracks for 2014’s Chicago XXXVI: Now and was entirely absent from their 2022 album, Chicago XXXVIII: Born for This Moment. Following the retirements of bandmates Robert Lamm and James Pankow, horn player Lee Loughnane remains the sole active original member of the band.
Born on March 14, 1945, Parazaider began his musical journey as a jazz clarinetist before incorporating rock music into his repertoire via the saxophone. While studying classical clarinet performance at DePaul University, he formed a campus band called the Missing Links alongside future Chicago members Terry Kath and Danny Seraphine. The project eventually evolved into the Next Big Thing after recruiting Loughnane, Pankow, Lamm and Peter Cetera.
It was Parazaider who championed the group’s pivotal stylistic shift toward integrating a prominent horn section into rock music. Renamed the Chicago Transit Authority, and later simply Chicago, the band relocated to Los Angeles. Despite initial financial hardships during their early club circuits, Parazaider’s vision proved commercially historic. Their self-titled 1969 debut album achieved double-platinum status, initiating a streak where every subsequent album through 1978’s Hot Streets sold over one million copies in the US.
The band survived severe disruptions, including the accidental death of guitarist Terry Kath in 1978 and subsequent personnel departures such as Cetera and Seraphine. Under the stewardship of its enduring horn section, Chicago successfully transitioned into a pop-focused era during the 1980s. This resurgence generated nearly 20 Top 10 US hits and multi-platinum albums spanning Chicago 16 through Chicago 19. The band topped the charts with major singles like “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” in 1982 and “Look Away” in 1988, introducing their catalogue to a new generation of fans.
Parazaider’s extensive career and structural impact on American rock music culminated in 2016, when Chicago was officially inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Before his retirement, his partnership with Loughnane and Pankow was celebrated as one of the longest-running unchanged horn sections in popular music history.
•Featured image: Walt Parazaider/Jerry T. Lai/Getty Images
