Jim Guercio Biography
Jim Guercio (1945 - ) is an American music producer, musician, songwriter and director, born in Chicago in 1945. He is best known for helping to discover and launch famous artists such as The Buckinghams, Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago. His work with the Buckinghams in his native Chicago produced seven Billboard hits in the mid-1960s, including "Kind Of A Drag," "Don't You Care," "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song )" and "Susan". His collaboration a few years later with Blood, Sweat & Tears on their breakthrough album produced the timeless hits "You've Made Me So Very Happy", "Spinning Wheel" and "And When I Die", work that introduced complex horn arrangements and a sonically gritty production style for the world. Guercio is best known for his seminal work with the band Chicago, writing, arranging and producing a decade of recorded music in the 1970s, a prolific period during which the famed rock band released eleven albums and recorded twenty-four Top 10 hits. 40, including "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is", "Colour My World", "Saturday In The Park", "25 Or 6 To 4", "Make Me Smile", "Just You 'N' Me" , “(I’ve Been) Searchin’ So Long,” “If You Leave Me Now,” and “Baby What A Big Surprise.” Tensions then arose between Guercio and the Chicagos, so much so that they decided to part ways. Guercio continued producing and recording at Caribou Studios, a popular and successful recording studio in the Colorado Rockies that he had built in 1972.
