Look Away

"Look Away" is a 1988 power ballad by American rock band Chicago. Written by Diane Warren, produced by Ron Nevison, and with Bill Champlin on lead vocals, it is the second single from the band's album Chicago 19. "Look Away" is Chicago's largest selling single of all, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in December 1988, matching the chart success of the group's "If You Leave Me Now" (1976) and "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" (1982). "Look Away" is Chicago's seventh song to have peaked at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart as well as the No. 1 song on the 1989 year-end Billboard Hot 100 chart, even though it never held the No. 1 spot at all in 1989.

This article is about the Chicago song. For other uses, see Look Away (disambiguation).
"Look Away"
Single by Chicago
from the album Chicago 19
B-side"Come in from the Night"
ReleasedSeptember 9, 1988[1]
GenreRock
Length4:02
LabelFull Moon/Reprise
Songwriter(s)Diane Warren
Producer(s)Ron Nevison
Chicago singles chronology
"I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love"
(1988)		 "Look Away"
(1988)		 "You're Not Alone"
(1989)

The song, unlike hits from early in Chicago's career, does not prominently feature horns. It is also the band's only No. 1 single following the 1985 departure of Peter Cetera.

Production

According to drummer Danny Seraphine, Chicago's manager Howard Kaufman suggested that the band bring in outside songwriting help. Kaufman recommended Diane Warren, who also composed the band's single "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love," and producer Ron Nevison, who had worked with Heart on the number one hits "These Dreams" and "Alone."[2]

Warren wrote "Look Away" from the man's perspective and submitted a demo to Chicago's management company. "Diane's demos always sound really good," Nevison said. "Her demos are always very simple, but they always have great vocal performances."[3] Bassist Jason Scheff remarked, "The songs that last for me are the ones I don't get at first," and added, "I remember hearing 'Look Away' and thinking it's okay, but not great. Thank God I'm not an A&R man."[3]

Before being submitted to Chicago, the song was one of two ballads offered by Epic Records to Cheap Trick, who chose "The Flame" instead.[4]

The song featured Bill Champlin on lead vocals and furthered Chicago's shift towards de-emphasizing the band's brass section compared to their earlier years.[5] Scheff noted that with Peter Cetera having left the group and "making his own records, it was good for us to release some songs with a different sound (like) Bill's voice. Then we wouldn't be saturating radio with Chicago-sounding songs."[3]

Reception

"Look Away" entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in September 1988 and reached No. 1, where it spent two weeks, in December.[3][5] Champlin said he was unaware of the feat at the time. "Everybody said, 'I hear your song every day,'" he recalled. "I go, 'What song?' I was kind of oblivious to the whole thing, busy working on new stuff. That's what happens. As everybody else gets aware of what you're doing, you're usually about five or six tunes past it."[6] The single was certified gold in January and ranked No. 1 on the 1989 Billboard Year-End singles chart.[1][7] It also reached No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[8]

Outside the U.S., "Look Away" peaked at No. 1 in Canada, No. 10 in the Netherlands, No. 15 in Sweden, and No. 20 in Belgium.[9][10]

A British man now claims he is the author of the song and has launched legal proceedings.[11]

Track listing
7" Vinyl; Cassette
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Look Away"Diane Warren3:59
2."Come in from the Night"Bill Champlin, Bruce Gaitsch4:39

Charts and certifications

See also

List of Hot Adult Contemporary number ones of 1988

References
  1. "RIAA searchable database: Chicago". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  2. Seraphine, Danny (2010). Street Player: My Chicago Story. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. pp. 242–3. ISBN 978-0470416839.
  3. Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th ed.). New York: Billboard Books. p. 716. ISBN 978-0823076772.
  4. Galipault, Garry (11 May 1998). "Cheap Trick Wants You to Want Them Again | Pause & Play CD and Music Site". Pause and Play. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  5. Hogan, Ed. "'Look Away' - Song Review". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  6. Pickle, Betsy (21 February 1989). "Chicago keeps churning out hits". The Telegraph. Scripps. p. 23.
  7. "1999: The Year in Music". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 111 (52): YE-42. 25 December 1999. ISSN 0006-2510.
  8. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 54.
  9. "RPM 100". RPM. RPM Music Publications Ltd. 49 (10). 24 December 1988. ISSN 0315-5994.
  10. "Ultratop - 'Look Away'". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  11. Burgess, Sanya (6 June 2018). "Yorkshire man sues for $20m over 30-year-old US rock song". Sky News. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  12. "Ultratop.be – Chicago – Look Away" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  13. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 10, 1990" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Chicago – Look Away" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  15. "Swedishcharts.com – Chicago – Look Away". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  16. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  17. "Chicago Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  18. "Chicago Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  19. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1990". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  20. "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
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