"Look Away" is a 1988 power ballad by American rock bandChicago. Written by Diane Warren, produced by Ron Nevison, and with Bill Champlin on lead vocals, it is the second single from the band's album Chicago 19. "Look Away" is Chicago's largest selling single of all, topping the BillboardHot 100 for two weeks in December 1988, matching the chart success of the group's "If You Leave Me Now" and "Hard to Say I'm Sorry". "Look Away" is Chicago's seventh song to have peaked at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart as well as the No. 1 song on the 1989 year-end Billboard Hot 100 chart, even though it never held the No. 1 spot at all in 1989. The song, unlike hits from early in Chicago's career, does not prominently feature horns. It is also the band's only No. 1 single following the 1985 departure of Peter Cetera.
Production
According to drummer Danny Seraphine, Chicago's manager Howard Kaufman suggested that the bandbring in outside songwriting help. Kaufman recommended Diane Warren, who also composed the band's single "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love," and producer Ron Nevison, who had worked with Heart on the number one hits "These Dreams" and "Alone." Warren wrote "Look Away" from the man's perspective and submitted a demo to Chicago's management company. "Diane's demos always sound really good," Nevison said. "Her demos are always very simple, but they always have great vocal performances." Bassist Jason Scheff remarked, "The songs that last for me are the ones I don't get at first," and added, "I remember hearing 'Look Away' and thinking it's okay, but not great. Thank God I'm not an A&R man." Before being submitted to Chicago, the song was one of two ballads offered by Epic Records to Cheap Trick, who chose "The Flame" instead. The song featured Bill Champlin on lead vocals and furthered Chicago's shift towards de-emphasizing the band's brass section compared to their earlier years. Scheff noted that with Peter Cetera having left the group and "making his own records, it was good for us to release some songs with a different sound Bill's voice. Then we wouldn't be saturating radio with Chicago-sounding songs."
Reception
"Look Away" entered the U.S. BillboardHot 100 singles chartin September 1988 and reached No. 1, where it spent two weeks, in December. Champlin said he was unaware of the feat at the time. "Everybody said, 'I hear your song every day,'" he recalled. "I go, 'What song?' I was kind of oblivious to the whole thing, busy working on new stuff. That's what happens. As everybody elsegets aware of what you're doing, you're usually about five or six tunes past it." The single was certified gold in January and ranked No. 1 on the 1989 Billboard Year-Endsingles chart. It also reached No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Outside the U.S., "Look Away" peaked at No. 1 in Canada, No. 10 in the Netherlands, No. 15 in Sweden, and No. 20 in Belgium. A British man now claims he is the author of the song and has launched legal proceedings.
