ROBERT LAMM

'Robert William Lamm' (born October 13, 1944 in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.) is an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter best known for being a founding member of the rock band Chicago.

Contents

Early life

Tenure with Chicago

Solo career

Private life

External links

Early life

Lamm's early musical experiences included membership in the Brooklyn Heights Choir in New York. After his parents divorced, he moved to the city of Chicago at age 15 with his mother after she remarried.
Lamm played in various bands throughout high school, and studied music theory and composition at Roosevelt University.

Tenure with Chicago

Lamm was invited to join a band called The Big Thing in 1967, which would eventually become Chicago.
Lamm penned many of Chicago's early hits including "Beginnings", "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?", "25 or 6 to 4", and "Saturday in the Park."
His contributions to the band were his baritone voice and keyboard skills. Fans of Chicago also recognize Lamm for being the voice of the group's social conscience, pointing to a number of his songs ("Free", "All the Years", "State of the Union", "Dialogue", etc.) that espouse political-social themes.
In the early 1980s, Chicago's bass guitar player and co-lead singer Peter Cetera began to shift Chicago's musical style into a more commercial pop-ballad oriented direction, while Lamm's role in the band diminished.
Recent interviews find him still committed to Chicago, but somewhat critical of the musical direction the band has pursued over the years.

Solo career

Lamm has released several solo albums over the years, with his solo projects considered the prime outlets for his musical creativity and penchant for other musical genres, including Brazilian music and a longstanding love of jazz.
He has also collaborated on projects with other musicians such as America's Gerry Beckley and The Beach Boys' Carl Wilson.

Private life

Lamm keeps his private life close but has been married 4 times and has several children. Information about his relationships is hard to come by.
His 1st wife was the late C-list actress Barbara Karen Perk Sullivan, whom he married December 12, 1970 in California. Her minor credits as Karen Lamm [1], include the film ''Thunderbolt and Lightfoot''. After their divorce at an unknown date, she later married Beach Boy Dennis Wilson - twice. She died in 2001 of heart failure after years spent fighting addiction, a weakness she shared with Wilson.
Lamm's 2nd wife was Julie Nini, born 1952 in Texas, whom he had dated as early as 1972 (they appeared together in an anti-drug public service announcement that year) and they wed in 1976. They had a daughter, Sacha, in 1977; Lamm publishes songs under the banner "Sacha Songs." Julie Nini's sister Diane dated Peter Cetera at the same time and was married to Cetera from 1981 to 1991.
In interviews, Lamm has hinted that his song "Sleeping in the Middle of the Bed Again" (released on his solo album "In My Head") was written in reaction to yet another divorce (possibly from his 3rd wife, actress Alex Donnelley, whom he married in 1985).
He is currently married to artist Joy Lamm, who has assisted him with his recent musical projects, and resides in New York City.

External links

★ Robert Lamm official website