With more than 3,300 performances in its initial Broadway run, Grease is one of the most successful musicals of all time. And the film version, from 1978, is the highest-grossing live-action movie musical of all time. It’s also been presented by countless high schools and regional theater groups, and has been revived for a national tour.

But did you know that it started in Chicago, and that Rydell High is really Taft High School? That’s because the co-writer of the book, music, and lyrics is Chicagoan Jim Jacobs. He stopped by our studios yesterday to talk about the birth of Grease, and growing up on the Northwest Side.