The LuLac Edition #3675, December 23rd, 2017

THE BUCKINGHAMS @ 50

(Photo: Columbia Records).

1967 featured the first hint of the anti war movement becoming a permanent part of American culture. The Beatles Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club band came out with the Fab Four riding high. Various groups popped up and down on the charts. But the group that dominated for one year was a band of musical talents called The Buckingham. Today we look back at that spectacular string of hits in just one short year.
The Buckingham are an American Sunshine pop band from Chicago, Illinois, United States. They formed in 1966, and went on to become one of the top selling acts of 1967, charting their only five Top 40 hits in the U.S. that year. The band dissolved in 1970, but re-formed in 1980 and as of 2017 they continue to tour throughout the United States.
After winning a local battle of the bands competition in late 1965, the Pulsations secured a job as the house band on WGN-TV's variety show called All-Time Hits. 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 named John Opager at the station. The band liked the name because of its similarity to a hometown landmark Buckingham Fountain[.
The band then 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. The co-producers of "Kind of a Drag" were the band's first personal manager, Carl Bonafede, and big band leader Dan Belloc, owner of the Holiday Ballroom in Chicago.
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 Beisbier). The same year, The Buckinghams were named by Billboard magazine as "The Most Listened to Band in America." Severe differences occurred between the Buckinghams and Guercio, particularly the producer's decision to add a psychedelic section to the song "Susan". The song included a short portion of Charles Ives' "Central Park in the Dark" and sounded very similar to the Beatles' song "A Day in the Life", with an orchestral crescendo. Many radio stations omitted this section, since it changed the song's tempo and veered radically from the melody But the producer had the last word, and the released version kept the psychedelic section intact. The group currently does not include the psychedelic portion in their performances.
In 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.
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.
On May 20, 2010 Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna were 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. In July 2011 concerts began for the second Happy Together Reunion Tour that included the Buckinghams, the Turtles, the Grass Roots, Mark Lindsay, and the Association. Later in 2011, it was announced that Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna would join the 2012 Happy Together Tour alongside the Turtles, Micky Dolenz, the Grass Roots, and Gary Puckett.
In 2011 Carl Giammarese completed his solo CD, Journey, the companion to his biography, "Reinventing The Buckinghams: My Journey".
On October 16, 2015 The Buckinghams took part in the filming of Cornerstones of Rock : American Garage which aired multiple times on WTTW Chicago. Cornerstones of Rock was created to be a nostalgic celebration of the Chicago-area “garage bands” that rose to national prominence in the 1960s and 1970s. Jim Peterik and The Ides of March served as the house band for the evening, as many original members of these popular bands returned to the concert stage to play their greatest hits. In addition to The Buckinghams, the Cornerstones line-up included The Ides of March, The Cryan' Shames, The New Colony Six, The Shadows of Knight, The McCoys, and The American Breed. This special was such a huge success that it spawned a live concert tour which is still continuing. Cornerstones of Rock : American Garage continues to sell out concert venues across the Midwest to the delight of fans. The majority of Cornerstones performances are held at the Arcada Theatre (Saint Charles, IL), but as fan demand has grown the tour has branched out to other venues in the Midwest.
Still rocking after 50 years. (The Buckinghams. (wikipedia, Billboard, LuLac).