In the wake of the enormous worldwide success of their second album, Chicago spent almost all of 1970 on the road, an exhausting undertaking. Former drummer Danny Seraphine, described the members of the band as "fatigued and road-weary" when they went into the studio to record the album. Released in January 1971, initially on Columbia Records, Chicago III — the band's first album to sport a Roman numeral in its title — sold well upon its release and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America a month later. It provided Chicago with its highest charting disc yet in the US, going to No. 2 on the Billboard 200. "Free", written by Robert Lamm, made it into the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and "Lowdown", co-written by Peter Cetera and Danny Seraphine, reached the top 40. Chicago III marked a dwindling in UK fortunes in comparison to the band's first two albums, Chicago Transit Authority and Chicago, reaching No. 9 in a brief chart run. In 1974, jazz bandleader Stan Kenton added a suite of songs from the album to his band's repertoire, releasing it on the album Stan Kenton Plays Chicago.
The band had used up its storehouse of original material on its first two albums. It needed new material for Chicago III, and the songwriters worked "nonstop" Danny Seraphine said the band "took the opportunity to experiment with instrumentals and showcase our skills as musicians." Their long hours on the road gave the principal songwriters, Robert Lamm, Terry Kath and James Pankow, much food for thought, resulting in more serious subject matter, which contrasted with the positivity of their first two sets. In his retrospective review of the album, Jeff Giles writes that Lamm's "Travel Suite" was "inspired by the boredom, loneliness, and beauty of the road," and characterizes Pankow's "Elegy" suite is an "ecologically minded composition",. While Kath's multi-part "An Hour in the Shower" provides a reprieve from the sobering explorations elsewhere, Chicago III was undeniably the result of a band who had seen the flip side of the world over the last several months. "Lowdown", co-written by Peter Cetera and Danny Seraphine, was Seraphine's first co-writing credit, and he was appreciative of the support Cetera gave him during the writing process. Chicago III incorporates a variety of musical styles, with the band relying slightly less on their trademark horns. "Sing a Mean Tune Kid" features the influence of funk, "What Else Can I Say" and "Flight 602" have a country feel, while abstract qualities are found in "Free Country" and "Progress?"
Recording, production
The album was produced by James William Guercio, who was Chicago's producer for its first eleven albums. This album was mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic. In 2002, Chicago III was remastered and reissued on one CD by Rhino Records.
Artwork, packaging
The album cover design is titled "Tattered Flag" on the band's web site. Included with the album was a poster of the band dressed in the uniforms of America's wars, standing in front of a field of crosses, representing those who had died in the still ongoing Vietnam War. It also gave the number of casualties from each war up until the time of the album's release.
Charts
Chicago III reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in the US during a chart stay of 63 weeks. It also peaked at No. 9 in the UK.
