1967 was quite the year in Pop music history. Elvis and Priscilla were married. Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and The Doors all released their debut albums. The Aretha Franklin anthem, “RESPECT” hit the airwaves. And The Buckinghams charted their five top 40 hits that to this day remain fan favorites.
The band felt heated British Invasion tension, so they broke up in 1970. But they re-formed in the early eighties, the time when I first got into the game of putting on live concerts with national acts. Because The Buckinghams were local Chicago boys, they were the first national act I hired. And since then, we have shared a brotherhood for forty years.
Chicago in the 1960s was quite the music-mecca. Stemming from pioneers including Louis Armstrong and Muddy Waters, Delta Blues and Bossa Nova Jazz was prevalent especially in the Bronzeville and Old Town neighborhoods.
Whether it was the live shows at the Empire Room in the Palmer House, Franz Benteler and his Royal Strings at the Continental Plaza Hotel, or the Country-Folk sounds of the great John Prine, Chicago had it all-musically- in the mid-60s.
Another music form brewing at the time was a Midwest-based genre of “Sunshine Pop” that came to be known as Garage Rock. Named for the garages and basements high school-aged bands rehearsed in, groups including The Ides Of March, The Shadows of Knight, The Lemon Drops, The Flock, The Mauds, New Colony Six and the Cryan’ Shames, to name a few, all began as sixteen-year-old budding rock stars just trying to get noticed by girls.
One of those bands began as a combination of two local groups, the Centuries and the Pulsations. The year was 1965, the place, Chicago, Illinois. Carl Giammarese, Nick Fortuna, Dennis Tufano, and John Poulos put the band together, (adding keyboardist Marty Grebb in 1966). The guys entered a local competition to become the house band on a new WGN-TV variety show called, “All-Time Hits”. They got the gig and their popularity grew in the Midwest during the thirteen-week contract.
But before they hit the living rooms on television, the producers of the show suggested that the band change its name as an answer to the British Invasion craze happening at the time. A random security guard at WGN offered an option, and it stuck. The band changed its name to something more “British sounding,” and “The Buckinghams” were born. The band particularly warmed up to the name as it had a subtle salute to Chicago’s Buckingham Fountain. Sixty years later, they are still Rockin’ and Rollin’ to the delight of loyal fans of all ages.
Just like other “Garage Rock” bands, the guys rehearsed in each other’s garages and basements, until the respective parents got fed up with the “crazy Rock and Roll” noise. Then, they would move to the next guy’s basement.
“We were rehearsing “Kind Of A Drag” in my basement,” and my mother came down to tell us that we had a hit on our hands. She called it something special-the only song she would say that about. That’s how I knew it would be a hit,” Carl said.
“Kind Of A Drag” was the title track of their debut album and became the first #1 hit of 1967 going certified gold, replacing The Monkees’, “I’m A Believer.” It was followed by “Don’t You Care,” ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” “Hey Baby (They’re Playing Our Song),” and “Susan.” ’All this in between more than 300 tour dates! With appearances all over television including “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “American Bandstand,” and “The Jerry Lewis Show,” Billboard Magazine named them “The Most Listened To Band in America.”
The Giammarese family lived near the Grand and Ogden Italian neighborhood. “My grandparents were from Bagheria and Ciminna, Sicily. Our house became the place where the family congregated, and the pasta was made from scratch,” Carl said. “My grandmother lived with us, and SHE kept our culture alive!”
Carl’s father, Nicholas, was a tailor by trade, but also had a baritone voice that eventually got him a spot as vocalist for the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He grew up on the streets of Chicago and would hang around North Avenue and Clark Street. “My dad actually saw what came to be known as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre,” Carl said.
Dennis Tufano, the band’s original lead singer, was the heartthrob of the infamous Holiday Ballroom in Chicago. He hailed from the northwest side of Chicago, the Riis Park neighborhood. “My Neapolitan father taught my Polish mother how to cook, “he said. “My Uncle Dom had an Italian grocery store and, on many nights, we had snails and other traditional Italian foods.”
Like Carl’s dad, Dennis’ father was a singer and played the violin, saxophone and the harmonica. Dennis left the band in 1983 to pursue an acting career and Giammarese stepped into the lead vocalist role.
Buckinghams bassist Nick Fortuna was born in the Cabrini Green section of Chicago, which was a predominantly Italian Neighborhood near Division and Halsted. “My Sicilian grandfather had the corner grocery store in the neighborhood, and my uncle had the bakery,” Nick said. “My grandfather was also President of the Sons of Italy, so we went to every St. Joseph’s Table and procession and participated in all the Italian traditions of the day,” Nick recalled.
Fortuna originally played guitar and his experience and passion for the Rhythm and Blues music of the era brought a funky rhythm to the band. Because Giammarese was already deemed the band’s lead guitar player, Fortuna was offered a place in the band only if he played bass. He wanted the gig, so bass it was!
The Buckingham’s first personal manager was another Chicago-based Italian American musical genius, Carl Bonafede, who also co-produced “Kind Of A Drag” at Chicago’s legendary studio, Chess Records. They were then managed by James William Guercio who went on to manage a new band called, “The Big Thing,” that eventually became the band, “Chicago.” He also produced records for another power-horn band, “Blood, Sweat and Tears.” It is common knowledge that his time with The Buckinghams resulted in a strong impact on those “Brass Rock” bands of the 1970s.
Dennis and Carl got together after the band’s breakup in the 1970s and toured as “Tufano & Giammarese”. They put out three albums together and performed regularly, including tour support for “Cheech & Chong!”
Fortuna and Giammarese re-formed The Buckinghams in 1980 and became a much sought after live act. National tours, cruises, PBS specials and benefit concerts kept the band in the limelight. Support from Disc Jockeys including Bob Sirott, John “Records” Landecker and Dick Biondi also kept them going strong.
Tufano performed the original theme song for the hit television series, “Family Ties.” He then joined Olivia Newton-John on the road, performing hugely successful duets with the superstar. He continued to appear in many films and television shows. Dennis also performed in a very popular live show in tribute to the music of Bobby Darin.
The Buckinghams are true unsung heroes of Pop Music. Their British-style haircuts and suits may have been a homage to the Beatles but brought great pride to Chicago for decades.
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