Terry's story started on January 31, 1946, born to Ray and Evelyn Kath. He was a founding member of Chicago, and added his own personal style to every song the band played. His unique guitar riffs mixed with his soulful voice was his signiture sound that was often featured on early Chicago albums.

Kath's life ended all too short on January 23, 1978. His death was an accident involving a gun. Kath enjoyed guns and practicing his shooting skills with targets. The story goes that while at a party on the fateful night, he was cleaning one of his guns. Some were becoming unconfortable, and had asked him to put the gun away. He then put the gun to his head and said something along the lines that the gun wasn't loaded. He then pulled the trigger...it was in fact loaded beyond his knowledge. He died instantly.

Following Kath's death, Chicago still carried on. The band has featured many lead guitarist since Terry's death, including Donnie Dacus, Chris Pinnick, Dawayne Bailey, and the current Keith Howland. Many fans will say that the group was never the same after Kath's freak departure.

Even though Kath is no longer with us, his memory and spirit lives on in the hearts and minds of numerous die-hard Chicago fans and guitarist around the world. His soulful voice and skilled playing gave him a spot amongst the legends. This is my tribute to Terry Kath...he will forever be missed and never be forgotten.