Hard to Say I'm Sorry

Hard to Say I'm Sorry is a power ballad performed by rock group Chicago, written by bandmate Peter Cetera off the album Chicago 16, in 1982. The song hit #1 on the Billboard Charts that year.

The song, as well as the album it is featured on, is a marked departure from Chicago's classic soft-rock, horns-driven sound, taking on a highly polished, modernized feel. Indeed, there were no horns used on the track, insted being traded for layered synthesizers and heavier distorted electric guitars in a more updated (for the time) 80's fashion. This was done to revitalize the band that was nearly extinct at the time. It was this song that most foreshadowed Cetera's later solo work, and Chicago would adopt this sound for the album in question all the way up to their Chicago 19 album, albeit with some minor changes internally.