"Hard Habit to Break"
Single by Chicago
from the album Chicago 17
B-side"Remember the Feeling"
ReleasedJuly 2, 1984 (1984-07-02)
Recorded1983–1984
GenreSoft rock[1]
Length4:43
LabelFull Moon/Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Steve Kipner, John Lewis Parker
Producer(s)David Foster
Chicago singles chronology
"Stay the Night"
(1984)		 "Hard Habit to Break"
(1984)		 "You're the Inspiration"
(1984)

"Hard Habit to Break" is a song written by Steve Kipner and John Lewis Parker, produced and arranged by David Foster and recorded by the group Chicago for their 1984 album Chicago 17, with Bill Champlin and Peter Cetera sharing lead vocals. Released as the second single from the album, it reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100[2] and was prevented from charting higher by "Caribbean Queen" by Billy Ocean and "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder. "Hard Habit to Break" also peaked at No. 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The lyrics of the song appear to describe a man having a hard time getting over a significant other getting away after he took her for granted and she left him for someone else. [3][4] Overseas it peaked at No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart.[5][6]

"Hard Habit to Break" was nominated for four Grammy Awards: Foster and Jeremy Lubbock won the award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s);[7][8][9] Chicago were nominated for the song in the categories Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal;[10][11] and Cetera and Foster were nominated for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices.[8][12][13] Songwriters Kipner and Parker won an ASCAP award in 1986 for most-performed song.[14]

The song's title was used as the slogan for Demon Dogs, a hot dog stand owned by the band's manager Peter Schivarelli which was located in the area of DePaul University's Lincoln Park campus.[15][16]

Critical reception

In 2020, music reviewer Perplexio on the website Something Else! labeled "Hard Habit to Break" a "pop masterpiece" and gave it a rating of a "perfect 10", calling the pairing of the voices of Cetera and Champlin "lightning-in-a-bottle vocal chemistry."[17]

Charts

Year-end chart (1984)Rank
UK Singles (Gallup)[18] 85
US Billboard Hot 100 3
US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[19] 45

Personnel

Chicago

Additional personnel

Cover versions

Puerto Rican singer Glenn Monroig recorded a Spanish-language cover version entitled "El Vicio Que No Puedo Romper" for his album Apasionado (1986). All-4-One also recorded a cover version on their compilation album Greatest Hits (2004).

References

  1. ↑ "Explore: Soft Rock | Top Songs | AllMusic". AllMusic. 2011-11-12. Archived from the original on 2011-11-12. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  2. ↑ "Hot 100 Singles (October 27, 1984)". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 44. 1984-10-27. p. 64. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  3. ↑ "Chicago - Chart history | Billboard Adult Contemporary (p2)". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
  4. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 55.
  5. ↑ "Chicago charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  6. ↑ "Chicago 17 Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  7. ↑ "27th Annual GRAMMY Awards". Recording Academy Grammy Awards. 2013-01-16. Archived from the original on 2019-03-21. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
  8. 1 2 "David Foster, Man In Motion: Grammy Nominations & Awards" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 30. 1986-07-26. p. D-16. Retrieved 2019-04-12 – via AmericanRadioHistory.com.
  9. ↑ Grein, Paul (1986-07-26). "With Hit Songs for Steppingstones, Star-Shaper Foster Is Now Writing His Own Script For Total Success". Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 30. p. D-10. Retrieved 2019-04-12 – via Google Books.
  10. ↑ Hunt, Dennis (1985-01-11). "Grammys May Offer Few Surprises". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California, USA. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  11. ↑ "Chicago". GRAMMY.com. Archived from the original on 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  12. ↑ "David Foster". GRAMMY.com. 2017-05-14. Archived from the original on 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  13. ↑ "Peter Cetera". GRAMMY.com. 2019-02-15. Archived from the original on 2017-10-30. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  14. ↑ "ASCAP Awards Ceremony". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 24. 1986-06-14. p. 79. Retrieved 2019-03-06 – via Google Books.
  15. ↑ A Native's Guide to Chicago. Fourth edition. Chicago, IL: Lake Claremont Press, 2004. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  16. ↑ Demon Dogs print advertisement in Friday, April 6, 2001 issue of The DePaulia – DePaul University Library Digital Collections. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  17. ↑ Perplexio (January 18, 2020). "Chicago, "Hard Habit to Break" from 'Chicago 17' (1984): Saturdays in the Park". Something Else!. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Top 100 Singles 1984" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Talent Almanac 1985: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 51. December 22, 1984. p. TA-19.
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