Song · Chicago
“Make Me Smile” by Chicago
From the album Chicago (1970)
“Make Me Smile” by Chicago appears on 7 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 2014 and 2026. It was first released in 1970 on the album Chicago. Its best result is #162 on the WMGK Philly 500 (2022). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #6,289 indie & aaa song of all time.
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Video from YouTube (Chicago - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Make Me Smile" comes from Chicago's second album, the 1970 set simply called Chicago, where it serves as Part 1 of James Pankow's seven-part "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon". Pankow wrote it, but it's guitarist Terry Kath who sings it, and his rough, soulful holler gives the whole thing its kick. James William Guercio produced.
For radio it got chopped into shape, with a new introduction, a shorter guitar solo and a piece of the suite's reprise, "Now More Than Ever", tacked on the end to round it out. That edit, released in March 1970, gave the band its first Top 10 record, reaching number nine on the Billboard Hot 100.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 629 | Big 100 | BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) | 1000 |
| 2020 | 1353 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2022 | 162 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2022) | 500 |
| 2023 | 247 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2023) | 500 |
| 2024 | 397 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2024) | 500 |
| 2025 | 223 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2025) | 500 |
| 2026 | 383 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2026) | 500 |
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