Chicago - If You Leave Me Now (1976) HQ

"If You Leave Me Now" is a ballad by the American rock group Chicago, from their album Chicago X (affectionately called "the Chocolate Album" by fans). It was written and sung by bass player Peter Cetera and released as a single on July 30, 1976. It is also the title of a Chicago compilation album released by Columbia Records in 1983. James William Guercio played the lead and rhythm acoustic guitars on the track. The late Vince DeRosa and the late David Duke played the French horns. The single topped the Billboard Hot 100 on October 23, 1976, and stayed there for two weeks, making it the first #1 hit for the group. It also hit #1 on the Easy Listening chart and the Cash Box Top 100. The song was also Chicago's biggest hit internationally, topping the charts in other countries such as the UK, Australia, Ireland, Canada, and Netherlands. In the UK, it maintained the #1 position for three weeks. It was one of five "non-disco" songs to make it to #1 in the US in a nine-month period of 1976. The song won Grammy Awards for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) (strings) for arranger Jimmie Haskell and producer James William Guercio and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus, the first Grammy Award won by the group. It also received a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year. In addition, by August 1978 it had sold 1.4 million copies in the United States alone.