The Very Best Songs About Chicago, Illinois
Discover the very best songs about Chicago, Illinois. Whether you’re traveling there tomorrow or call the Windy City home, we have your back. From Frank Sinatra to Aretha Franklin, from Steve Goodman to The Blues Brothers, from Sufjan Stevens to Common, we’ve gathered the very best songs about Chicago, Illinois in one place. Start with our top ten songs about Chicago, and then explore by genre – including blues and jazz, rock, alternative, standards and soundtracks, folk and singer/songwriters, hip hop, pop, and even some holiday tunes. There are definitely a couple of references to Al Capone and fast living. You’ll find all the best songs about Chicago, Illinois right here.
Top 10 Songs About Chicago, Illinois
- The Night Chicago Died – Paper Lace (iTunes | Amazon) This 1974 fictional account of a Capone-era shootout by a British rock band in was briefly a #1 hit in the US
- My Kind Of Town – Frank Sinatra (iTunes | Amazon) Ol’ Blue Eyes sings the praises of the Windy City in this 1964 classic that’s come to symbolize not only Chicago, but Sinatra himself
- Sweet Home Chicago – The Blues Brothers (iTunes | Amazon) Jake and Elwood Blues cover the classic 1937 Chicago-leaning blues song from the (classic itself) movie The Blue Brothers
- Back To Chicago – Styx (iTunes | Amazon) Big ’70s and 80s rock band haiing from Chicago sang about a return to the city of their roots in 1994
- Chicago At Night – Spoon (iTunes | Amazon) “But Then She’d Never Been To Chicago At Night Before The Fall” sings Spoon in this 2001 pop-rock track
- Take Me Back To Chicago – Chicago (iTunes | Amazon) This 1977 rock track from Chicago’s 11th album yearns for better days in the nostalgic Windy City
- Chi-City – Common (iTunes | Amazon) Hip-hop master Common waxes eloquent about his experiences in his home town
- Chicago – Sufjan Stevens (iTunes | Amazon) Stephens’ signature song from the album “Illinoise” tells a semi-autobiographical tale of him on a road trip along with his youthful idealism
- Sidewalks Of Chicago – Merle Haggard (iTunes | Amazon) Country legend Haggard sings “Now I’m walkin’ on the sidewalks of Chicago. If I buy the bread I can’t afford the wine”
- Shy-Town – Gorillaz (iTunes | Amazon) This alternative Chicago shout out from the infamous virtual British rock band was recorded on the road in 2010 on founder Damon Albam’s iPad
Want more of the best songs about Chicago, Illinois? Check our list below for more favorites, standbys, classics, and a few oddball selections. No matter your musical taste, you can find a sound you like among the best songs about Chicago. Like us on Facebook or check out more top 10 songs for other great cities and destinations.
More Songs About Chicago
BLUES & JAZZ SONGS ABOUT CHICAGO
- Born In Chicago – The Paul Butterfield Blues Band (iTunes | Amazon) Bluesly track “I was born in Chicago in 19 and 41, and my father told me, you had better get a gun”
- Think – Aretha Franklin (iTunes | Amazon) “Think (THINK!) Think about what you’re trying to do me”
- Minnie The Moocher – Cab Calloway (iTunes | Amazon) Classic Calloway track from The Blues Brothers illustrated just how engaged a Chicago audience gets in its blues
- On the South Side of Chicago – Freddy Cole (iTunes | Amazon) Cole’s smooth chops recall an Chicago of days gone by in this nostalgic blues track
- Going To Chicago Blues – The Count Basie Orchestra (iTunes | Amazon)
- Chicago Song – David Sanborn (iTunes | Amazon) American saxophonist Sanborn plays the hell out of his instrumental tribute to Chicago
- Little Joe From Chicago – Nat King Cole (iTunes | Amazon)
ROCK SONGS ABOUT CHICAGO
- Chicago – The Doobie Brothers (iTunes | Amazon) “I’m headed for bright lights, big city Chicago” wails this folksy blues track from 1971
- Jesus Just Left Chicago – ZZ Top (iTunes | Amazon) Well now, Jesus just left Chicago and he’s bound for New Orleans
- Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night – The Hold Steady (iTunes | Amazon) “Chicago seemed tired last nite. They had cigarettes where there were supposed to be eyes. Hey William Butler Yeats, the Irish seemed wired last nite”
- Dear Chicago – Ryan Adams (iTunes | Amazon)
- Far, Far Away – Wilco (iTunes | Amazon)
- Tonight Will Last Forever – Mest (iTunes | Amazon)
- Windy City – Phish (iTunes)
- Chicago – Dan Potthast (iTunes | Amazon)
ALTERNATIVE SONGS ABOUT CHICAGO
- Casimir Pulaski Day – Sufjan Stevens (iTunes | Amazon) This track interweaves an account of star-crossed lovers from Stephens’ youth with local holiday Casimir Pulaski Day
- The Seer’s Tower – Sufjan Stevens (iTunes | Amazon) Of course, the Sears Tower is the Willis Tower now, but anyone who’s spent significant time in Chicago know it as Sears
- Come On! Feel The Illinoise! – Sufjan Stevens (iTunes | Amazon) Making reference to 1893’s World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, this track also includes a uses a saxophone part from “Close to Me” by The Cure
- A Guided Tour of Chicago – The Lawrence Arms (iTunes | Amazon) Punk rock stylings tell a tale of some of Chicago’s sketchier elements
- Best Wishes To Your Black Lung – Less Than Jake (iTunes | Amazon) Band sings a tribute kissing off bandmember and trombone player Pete Anna who quit the band to move to Chicago to be a firefighter
- Chi-Town – The Cribs (iTunes | Amazon) The Cribs rock back to their roots with “Meet me down in Chi-Town, in Logan Square underground”
- Chicago Is So Two Years Ago – Fall Out Boy (iTunes | Amazon) “But there’s a light on in Chicago, and I know I should be home. All the colors of the street signs”
- Chicago Is Not Chicago – Soul Coughing (iTunes | Amazon) One rumor has it that frontman Mike Doughty was feeling good and was pointing at various things sayin, “Is Chicago!” and would then point to himself and say “Is not Chicago!”
- Lake Michigan – Rogue Wave (iTunes | Amazon)
- Chicago X 12 – Rogue Wave (iTunes | Amazon)
- LAX to OHare – The Academy Is… (iTunes | Amazon)
- Leaving Chicago – Knockout (iTunes | Amazon)
- Somewhere On Fullerton – Allister (iTunes | Amazon)
- Star Witness – Neko Case (iTunes | Amazon)
- Tonight, Tonight – Smashing Pumpkins (iTunes | Amazon)
- The Luck You Got – The High Strung (iTunes | Amazon) Theme song to Showtime series Shameless about a scrappy family in Canaryville, a neighborhood in Chicago’s South Side
STANDARDS & SOUNDTRACK SONGS ABOUT CHICAGO
- Tea in Chicago – Eartha Kitt (iTunes | Amazon)
- Nowadays (Roxie) – Renee Zellweger & Taye Diggs (iTunes | Amazon) Chicago’s Roxie Carmichael sings about the options present in 1920s Chicago in this 2003 movie soundtrack
- Cell Block Tango – Catherine Zeta-Jones, Susan Misner, Deidre Goodwin, Denise Faye, Ekaterina Chtchelkanova, Mya Harrison & Taye Diggs (iTunes | Amazon) “Pop! Six! Squish! Uh uh, Cicero, Lipschitz!” sing the six merry murderesses of the Cook County jail in the 2003 movie musical
- Cell Block Tango / He Had It Comin’ – Queen Latifah, Lil’ Kim & Macy Gray (iTunes | Amazon) Lady hip hop take on the beloved Chicago song, from the 2003 movie soundtrack
- Just Blew In From The Windy City – Doris Day (iTunes | Amazon) Day belts out this showstopper on the 1953 soundtrack to the musical Calamity Jane
FOLK & SINGER/SONGWRITER SONGS ABOUT CHICAGO
- A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request – Steve Goodman (iTunes | Amazon) American folk star projects his diehard love and fanaticism for the Cubs in this 1983 track
- Go Cubs Go – Steve Goodman (iTunes | Amazon) Goodman wrote this gung-ho foll0w-up to “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request” out of spite after the Cub’s GM complained that the original song was too depressing
- Lincoln Park Pirates – Steve Goodman (iTunes | Amazon)
- When the Cubs Go Marching In – Steve Goodman (iTunes)
- Baseball Dreams – Ralph’s World (Amazon) Clever and catchy song by kid-friendly songwriter about his childhood plans to play Wrigley Field
- Lake Shore Drive – Ailotta Haynes Jeremiah (iTunes | Amazon) Easy going 1971 rock track evokes a Chicago lost to the ages
- Chicago (We Can Change The World) – Graham Nash (iTunes | Amazon) Number 35 on 1971’s Billboard Top 40, Nash’s song contained his outrage at both the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the infamous trial of the Chicago Eight
- South Side Irish – Arranmore (iTunes | Amazon) Celtic meets barbershop in this tune about Chicago’s self-proclaimed South Side Irish
- Sunshine In Chicago – Sun Kil Moon (iTunes | Amazon)
HIP HOP SONGS ABOUT CHICAGO
- Go Go Gadget Flow – Lupe Fiasco (iTunes | Amazon)
- Dennehy – Serengeti (iTunes | Amazon)
- Happy Summertime – R. Kelly (iTunes | Amazon)
- Southside – Common feat. Kanye West (iTunes | Amazon)
POP SONGS ABOUT CHICAGO
- Love Is A Crime – Anastacia (iTunes | Amazon) A song from the American soundtrack to the film Chicago, this track was the only single from the album
- Lake Shore Driving – Duran Duran (iTunes | Amazon) Instrumental track is a companion piece to the band’s “Edge of America” and curiously features a hard stop due to the tape running out during the recording session. Band went with it
- The Eggplant That Ate Chicago – Norman Greenbaum (iTunes | Amazon)
- Living In Chicago – The Bee Gees (iTunes | Amazon)
- Slow Down Chicago – Canasta (iTunes | Amazon)
- This City – Patrick Stump feat. Lupe Fiasco (iTunes)
COUNTRY SONGS ABOUT CHICAGO
CHRISTMAS & HOLIDAY SONGS ABOUT CHICAGO
- Christmas in Chicago – Leon Russell (iTunes | Amazon)
- Gift from Chicago – Devon Allen Johnson (iTunes)
- Christmas in Chicago – Gary Fry (iTunes | Amazon)
- Christmas, Chicago Time – Tom Goss (iTunes)
- Windy City Christmas – Ray Dahrouge (iTunes | Amazon)
Suggest Songs about Chicago, Illinois
Is there a great, good, or not half-bad song about Chicago or that takes place in Chicago that we missed? Drop us a line or like us on Facebook and let us know your favorite songs about Chicago, Illinois.
