| "The Night Chicago Died" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Belgian sleeve | ||||
| Single by Paper Lace | ||||
| from the album And Other Bits of Material, Paper Lace (US Version) | ||||
| B-side | "Can You Get It When You Want It" | |||
| Released | 15 June 1974 | |||
| Recorded | 1974 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 3:30 | |||
| Label | Bus Stop (UK), Philips (Europe), Polydor (Canada), Mercury (US), Phonogram (Japan), EMI (Australia/New Zealand) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Peter Callander, Mitch Murray | |||
| Producer(s) | Peter Callander, Mitch Murray | |||
| Paper Lace singles chronology | ||||
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"The Night Chicago Died" is a song by the British group Paper Lace, written by Peter Callander and Mitch Murray. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week in 1974, reached number 3 in the UK charts, and number 2 in Canada. It is about a fictional shoot-out between the Chicago Police and members of the Al Capone Syndicate. The narrator retells his mother's anguish while awaiting news of the fate of her husband, a Chicago policeman. This song begins with an electronic synthesizer sound impersonating a police siren. The first four lines in the Intro are spoken by the group. It also features the sound of a ticking clock, heard in the third verse.