Terry Alan Kath January 31 1946 January 23 1978 was an American musician and songwriter best known a founding member of the rock band Chicago He played guitar and sang lead vocals on many of the bands early hit singles He has been praised by the band for his guitar skills and Ray Charlesinfluenced vocal style Growing up in a musical family Kath took up a variety of instruments in his teens including the drums and banjo He played bass in a number of bands in the mid1960s before settling on the guitar when forming the group that became Chicago His guitar playing was an important component of the groups sound from the start of their career and he sang lead on several of the groups singles He used a number of different guitars but eventually became identified with the Fender Telecaster fitted with a humbucker pickup and decorated with numerous stickers Kath was also said to be Jimi Hendrixs favorite guitarist Kath struggled with health issues and drug abuse towards the end of the 1970s He died in January 1978 from an accidental gunshot wound to the head The bereavement tempted Chicago to consider disbanding but they ultimately decided to resume as is signified by their memorial song Alive Again To commemorate his musicianship they issued the 1997 album The Innovative Guitar of Terry Kath
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