MUSICIAN

Terry Kath

1946 - 1978

Photo of Terry Kath

Icon of person Terry Kath

Terry Alan Kath (January 31, 1946 – January 23, 1978) was an American guitarist and singer who is best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He played lead guitar and sang lead vocals on many of the band's early hit singles alongside Robert Lamm and Peter Cetera. He has been praised by his bandmates and other musicians for his guitar skills and his Ray Charles–influenced vocal style. Jimi Hendrix cited Terry Kath as one of his favorite guitarists, and considered Kath to be "the best guitarist in the universe." Growing up in a musical family, Kath took up a variety of instruments in his teens, including the drums and banjo. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in 16 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 15 in 2024). Terry Kath is the 1,758th most popular musician (up from 1,829th in 2024), the 9,282nd most popular biography from United States (down from 9,280th in 2019) and the 670th most popular American Musician.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Terry Kath by language

Loading...

Among MUSICIANS

Among musicians, Terry Kath ranks 1,757 out of 3,175Before him are Christoph Brüx, Luca Turilli, Richard Davis, Steve Swallow, and Jimmy Dorsey. After him are Zak Starkey, Warren Zevon, Jim Capaldi, Simon Barere, Brain, Lee Ranaldo, and Nobuko Imai.

Most Popular Musicians in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1946, Terry Kath ranks 637Before him are Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata, Mordehai Milgrom, Franz Xaver Kroetz, Aruna Irani, Igor Starygin, and Eduard Novák. After him are Richard Blumenthal, Dean Cundey, Michel Chossudovsky, Marcial Pina, Wiesław Rudkowski, and Shirley Ann Jackson. Among people deceased in 1978, Terry Kath ranks 229Before him are Blossom Rock, Theo Helfrich, Jorge de Sena, Geoffrey Unsworth, Francisco Mendes, and Károly Levitzky. After him are Mauk Weber, George Moscone, Prvoslav Mihajlović, Vera Maretskaya, Valerian Gracias, and Edgar Bergen.

Others Born in 1946

Go to all Rankings

Others Deceased in 1978

Go to all Rankings

In United States

Among people born in United States, Terry Kath ranks 9,282 out of 20,380Before him are Aida Turturro (1962), Midori (1968), Sterling Price (1809), and William J. Casey (1913). After him are Dick Barnett (1936), Michael Paul Chan (1950), Ben Burtt (1948), Lisa Marie (1968), Paul A. Rothchild (1935), Mike Miller (1980), Saundra Santiago (1957), and Wade Dominguez (1966).

Among MUSICIANS In United States

Among musicians born in United States, Terry Kath ranks 669Before him are Larry Van Kriedt (1954), Richie Ramone (1957), Richard Davis (1930), Steve Swallow (1940), and Jimmy Dorsey (1904). After him are Warren Zevon (1947), Brain (1963), Lee Ranaldo (1956), Shelly Manne (1920), Mike Mills (1958), Chuck Mangione (1940), and Camilla Wicks (1928).