From rock and blues to rap and jazz, here are the best songs written about Chicago: It’s a popular Chicago Blues anthem and has several versions, but the original is credited to Robert Johnson. My Kind of Town praises Chicago and its institutions. The lyrics tell the story of a fictional shoot-out between the Chicago police and Al Capone’s thugs. Hempel; arranger: Jos. "She Shook Him in Chicago" – (Madame Sherry 1909) – composer: Karl L. Hoschna; lyricist: "The Sheik of Chicago (Mustafa)", 1960 – adaptor & lyricist: Bob Merrill; recorded by the Four Lads and Archie Bleyer, "So Long Toots" – Cherry Poppin' Daddies from, "State Street Blues" – Synco Jazz Band (featuring, "Stony Island Band" - Stony Island Band (from, "Take Me Back to Chicago", 1985 – title track on, "Talkin' Baseball (Baseball And The Cubs)" –, "There's No Lights On The Christmas Tree Mother They're Burning Big Louis Tonight" –, "Ticket to Chicago" – Terry Garthwaite (once of, "The Trianon March", 1934 – dedicated to the Chicago Association of Dancing Masters; composer: R. Alexander Campbell, "The University Quickstep", 1865 – inscribed to the President and Friends of the Chicago University; composer: E. M. Shaw, "Underneath the Streetlights of Chicago", 2019; Riley Smith, "The Viking March – Captain Andersen's Viking Ship from Norway to the World's Fair", 1893 – composer: H. C. Verner, "We're Gonna Go to Chicago" – from the musical, "Welcome 2 Chicago", 2001 – Abstract Mindstate featuring, "Welcome to Chicago" - Gene Farris (British chart hit in 2003), "Wheels a-Rolling", 1948 – official song of the, "When the Wind Blows in Chicago" – writers: Scott Turner, Audie Murphy; performed by both, "Windy City Blues" - Ernie Hawks And The Soul Investigators, "Windy City Boogie Woogie", c. 1941–1943 –, "Windy City Blues" - Ernie Hawks & The Soul Investigators, "The World's Fair or A Voyage to Chicago", 1893 – composer & lyricist: Leonard Gautier, "You Haven't Seen The U.S.A. Until You've Seen Chicago!"
The groove starts as romantic but then the horn section breaks in for the chorus and that’s when you realize that this worthy number by an iconic rock group. This song about experiencing hard-luck and wishing for a better life is all too familiar in urban centers like Chicago. H. Northrup, "Ferris Wheel March", 1893 – composer: Geo. The singer alludes to his mother’s anxiety as she waited for his father, a policeman, to come home. Polka Humoristic", 1880 – composer: Geo. Common has been writing lyrics for and about Chicago for a while, but this collaboration with Kanye West is our favorite. "Chicago Bound Blues", 1923 – composer & lyricist: "The Chicago Cyclist March", 1896 – composer: Hans Liné, "The Chicago Express (March Two-Step)", 1905 – composer: Percy Wenrich, "Chicago Fog Lift" - Chunky, Novi & Ernie (featuring, "The Chicago Girls' March or Two-Step Dance", 1895 – composer: J.W. Chicago requests self-quarantines for travelers coming from at-risk states. This song is about the Fireside Bowl, a bowling alley in Chicago that was made famous for hosting punk shows. – composer & lyricist: Mrs. Emily M. (Blakeslee) Boyden, "The Ballad Of Jesse James" - various versions - see, "The Belle of Chicago Barn Dance" – composer: Theo. It happens. It would be criminal not to put this song on a list of songs about Chicago — it probably has the most references to the city on this list. The songs (which are included in the list below) are both an ode to Chicago.