CHICAGO: Robert Lamm talks about his most influential songwriters
After learning he'd been named to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Chicago's Robert Lamm named the other tunesmiths who most influenced him.
He tells Chicago's Sun-Times, "John Lennon and Paul McCartney gave rockers permission to write songs that were not blues-based and have some interesting lyric content."
Then, it's Burt Bacharach. Lamm said he "heard of him originally because I would always read the labels on 45s to see who wrote the song. He was doing those Brill Building songs that went way beyond what doo-wop was at the time. And what he did with [lyricist] Hal David -- beautiful music matched with beautiful lyrics."
Finally, Brazilian legend Antonio Carlos Jobim "taught us that the harmonic progressions don’t have to fall within a specific format; it can be a very long harmonic and melodic statement that still captures an era of Brazilian music if not jazz. His music taught me sophistication and to think outside the box."
Lamm and fellow Chicago tunesmiths James Pankow and Peter Cetera will be among those inducted into the Songwriters Hall on June 15th.
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