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The Buckinghams are an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top selling acts of 1967. The band dissolved in 1970 but reformed in 1980 and still tours as part of "oldies" shows in America.
HistoryIn 1965, guitarist Carl Giammarese and bassist Nick Fortuna were invited to join a band called The Centuries. They, along with keyboardist Dennis Miccolis, later became members of another band, The Pulsations, whose members included drummer John Poulos and vocalists George LeGros and Dennis Tufano. By early 1966 LeGros was forced to leave after he was drafted. After winning a local battle of the bands competition, The Pulsations secured a job as the house band on WGN-TV's variety show called All-Time Hits in 1966. The show's producers suggested they adopt a name reflective of the British invasion, which was popular at the time, and the band adopted the name The Buckinghams, which was suggested by a security guard at the station.
In early 1966 the band signed their first record contract with local label USA Records and recorded twelve songs that year. Several were released as singles, including "I'll Go Crazy", a song originally recorded by James Brown & The Famous Flames and The Beatles' "I Call Your Name". However, it was their number one single, "Kind of a Drag", that provided them with national exposure. "Kind of a Drag" was written by Chicago-based songwriter Jim Holvay, who had been performing with a group called The Mob, and spent two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1967
. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.
In late 1966 keyboardist Miccolis was replaced by Larry Nestor, who only stayed in the band a short time and was, in turn, replaced by Marty Grebb in early 1967. Around this time the band members were introduced to James William Guercio, formerly the bassist and road manager for Chad & Jeremy, who then signed them to a management contract with Ebbins-Guercio Associates. The Buckinghams were courted by several record labels before deciding on promotion specialist Jim Scully, who quickly got them a new contract with Columbia (CBS) Records. Guercio, who became the group's producer, continued the group's "brass-rock" approach, and the band produced four more Top-20 hits in 1967: "Don't You Care" (#6), "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" (#5), "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)" (#12) and "Susan" (#11), (three of which were written by Jim Holvay and Gary Beisber). The same year, The Buckinghams were named by Billboard magazine as "The Most Listened to Band in America."
By mid-1968 The Buckinghams had parted company with Guercio and Columbia Records assigned staff producer Jim Wisner to work with the group on their third album, In One Ear and Gone Tomorrow. The album featured material written by Grebb, Giammarese and Tufano, Despite the release of a new single, Back in Love Again, they were unable to duplicate their 1967 success without Guercio, who had gone on to explore the "brass rock" concept further with Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago. By late 1968 Marty Grebb and Nick Fortuna had left and were replaced by keyboardist John Turner and bassist Curtis Bachman, a former member of The Centuries along with Giammarese. Bachman had also been a member of The Pulsations briefly before leaving to join the band Saturday's Child. There were no more hits, though, and band dissolved in early 1970, and a greatest hits record was released in 1975 by Columbia called "Made in Chicago". After the break-up, Tufano and Giammarese formed the duo Tufano & Giammarese and recorded three albums for Lou Adler's record label, Ode Records, forming a touring band in time for their second album. Drummer John Poulos, who had secured the Ode Records recording contract for the duo, became a manager of several rock bands, including The Boyzz from Illinoizz. Poulos died of drug-related heart failure on March 26, 1980.
ReformationLater in 1980, Chicago's WLS radio programming executive, John Gehron, called Carl Giammarese with an invitation to reunite The Buckinghams for Mayor Jane Byrne's ChicagoFest event. Giammarese, Fortuna, and Tufano appeared with drummer Tom Osfar and keyboardist John Cammelot on the Navy Pier rooftop stage. Marty Grebb declined the opportunity to join them as he was touring with the group Chicago at the time. For the next two years the trio of original members performed at selected concerts in Chicago. When Tufano decided to return to California to resume a career in film voice work in early 1983, Giammarese and Fortuna committed to tour full-time as The Buckinghams.
The 1983 Buckinghams featured an expanded group that included Giammarese, Fortuna, John Duich (guitar), Tom Taylor (keyboards), Tom Scheckel (drums, percussion), and two female singers: Laurie Beebe (aka Laurie K. Lewis [1]) (vocals, keyboards), and Barbara Unger (keyboards, backing vocals).
In 1984, Duich, Taylor, and Unger were dropped and Giammarese, now doing lead vocal duties, went back to playing guitar and John Cammelot rejoined on keyboards. The following year The Buckinghams were part of the Happy Together 85 Tour, along with The Turtles, The Grass Roots, and Gary Lewis and the Playboys. By early 1986 both Beebe and Cammelot left to be replaced by Bob Abrams (guitar, vocals) and Bruce Soboroff (keyboards, vocals). Scheckel and Abrams left the backing musician lineup in May, 2010.
The Buckinghams were one of the first groups to initiate "Meet and Greets" after concerts where Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna meet the fans and sign autographs after each show. That quickly caught on with other classic rock bands, who also started staying to meet the fans after shows.
In 1991, Sony/Legacy (formerly Columbia) released a compilation greatest hits CD, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy. In 1996, The Buckinghams celebrated the band's 30th anniversary with a concert at The Vic Theatre in Chicago. The show was filmed and released as a video entitled "Off Their Rocker" and included Dick Biondi and John "Records" Landecker as hosts.
21st Century Buckinghams Music Performances and New Studio and Live RecordingsIn 2001, The Buckinghams were part of the Solid Gold 60s Tour along with Tommy James, The Turtles, Gary Puckett, and The Grass Roots. PBS featured The Buckinghams on "The Sixties Pop Rock Reunion" in 2004.
In January 2005, The Buckinghams performed at the Twilight on the Prairie Ball for one of President George W. Bush's Inaugural Balls in Washington, DC. In 2007, The Buckinghams signed with national label Fuel Records to release their studio CD Reaching Back, which includes eight new original songs written by Carl Giammarese and new recordings of five of their top hits. A second CD, Standing Room Only (previously released as Live and Well), was also released on the Fuel Label. XM Radio recorded The Buckinghams in concert for their XM Performance Series on the "60s on 6" channel. The Buckinghams' music from yesterday and today remains in regular rotation on classic rock stations in U.S. formats as well as satellite radio and streaming Internet radio stations.
The Buckinghams released their first Christmas album on the BML label, The Joy of Christmas, in November 2008. In December 2008, The Buckinghams debuted the single "Have a Little Faith" on WGN-TV in Chicago.
In 2009, The Buckinghams performed at the Bipartisan Illinois Agricultural Ball for the inauguration of President Barack Obama. That same year, Sony reissued The Buckinghams' first three albums for sale as digital downloads as part of their Legacy Music Series. The Buckinghams were inducted into the 2009 class of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
The Buckinghams still perform regularly to festival audiences, and have played sold-out shows such as the Westbury Music Fair, Ram's Head, the Star Plaza and others. They re
Former singer Dennis Tufano still makes appearances in a Bobby Darin Show he created, ''As Long as I'm Singing, and also sings their classic hits. Former keyboards/vocals/songwriter Marty Grebb has played with The Fabulous Rhinestones, Chicago, Bonnie Raitt, and Dave Mason and has also produced CDs for independent musicians, including Peach.
On February 9, 2010, The Buckinghams released a new DVD/CD box set Up Close showing The Buckinghams in concert at the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, Indiana.[title=It's About Music.com]
On May 20, Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna are featured in the 25th Anniversary Happy Together Tour, joining The Turtles, The Grass Roots, Micky Dolenz, and Mark Lindsay in a 20+-city tour from California to New York, celebrating the silver anniversary of the original Happy Together Tour in 1985.
DiscographyAlbums- Kind of a Drag (1967, USA Records)
- Time and Charges (1967, Columbia)
- Portraits (1967, Columbia)
- In One Ear and Gone Tomorrow (1968, Columbia)
- A Matter Of Time (1985, Red Label Records)
- Terra Firma (1998, Nation Records)
- Live and Well (2006, BML Records)
- Reaching Back (2007, Fuel Records)
- Standing Room Only (2008, Fuel Records)
- The Joy of Christmas (2008, BML Records)
- Up Close: CD and digital downloads (2010, itsaboutmusic.com Records)
Compilation albums- Greatest Hits (1969, Columbia)
- Mercy, Mercy, Mercy: A Collection (1991, Columbia/Legacy)
- Up Close: The Buckinghams in Concert DVD/CD box set (2010, itsaboutmusic.com Records)
U.S. chart singles- "Kind of a Drag" (1967, #1)
- "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" (1967, #41)
- "Don't You Care" (1967, #6)
- "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" (1967, #5)
- "Hey Baby, They're Playing Our Song" (1967, #12)
- "Susan" (1968, #11)
- "Back in Love Again" (1968, #57)
Copyright Citations
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