Insights into … the Buckinghams
[8 Billboard Hot 100 singles, 1966–68]
The Buckinghams, originating in Chicago and consisting of lead singer Dennis Tufano, drummer-band leader John Poulos,
keyboard and saxophone player Marty Grebb, guitarist Carl Giammarese,
and bassist Nick
Fortuna, honed their
collective appreciation of jazz, blues and rock into a dynamic fusion of those
genres. The hybrid “pop-rock horn sound” that made them unique would later be embraced
by other bands: Blood, Sweat and Tears, Chase, Chicago, Lighthouse, Earth, Wind
and Fire, Cold Blood, the Electric Flag, the Ides of March, and Tower of Power
through the 1970s and beyond.
On February 18, 1967, the band’s debut hit
single, “Kind of a Drag” punched its way to the top by ending the seven-week
reign of the Monkees’ “I’m a Believer” as the nation’s #1 record. The rise to
#1 was a coup not only for the Buckinghams as a new group, but also for their
small independent label, U.S.A. Records. “Kind of a Drag” held on to the #1
spot for two weeks, but it took the Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday” to unseat
it. The giddy success of “Kind of a Drag” prompted U.S.A. to compile an album
of the same name from previously recorded tracks, including covers of the
Drifters’ “Sweets for My Sweet” and the Beatles’ “I Call Your Name.” While
“Kind of a Drag” was still on the charts, U.S.A. released a follow-up single, “Lawdy
Miss Clawdy” (which on some pressings the label also spelled “Laudy Miss
Claudy”), an energetic horn-driven celebration of Lloyd Price’s 1952 R&B
hit.
Amid their newfound fame in early 1967 the band members were introduced
to James William Guercio – bass player for Chad and Jeremy’s touring band and
composer of their No. 1 hit, “Distant Shores” – and they agreed to work
together. He signed the Buckinghams to a management contract with
Ebbins-Guercio Associates, and the group traveled to New York to record with Columbia Records with
national representation by the William Morris Agency, for which Garrick Ebbins’
father worked. With Guercio as manager and producer, the Buckinghams created four
more top-20 hits: “Don't You Care,” a remake of Cannonball Adderley’s soulful “Mercy,
Mercy, Mercy,” “Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)” and “Susan.” At the top of
their game, the group was honored by Billboard magazine as “The most
listened-to band in America,” and Cashbox Magazine named
them “The most promising vocal group in America.”
Beginnings
“When I was a freshman in high school, I had a couple of school chums, two
brothers, who had guitars at their house. When I would go over to the house, if
they were tied up doing chores or eating dinner or whatever, and they had a
couple of guitars lying around, I used to mess with it a little bit. Watch what
they were doing and then mess with the guitars. And slowly but surely I
developed my own interest. I think that was probably one of the most fun parts
of my life. Of course, I miss my youth back then. There’s an old saying: youth
is wasted on the young. Well, hello.
Of course, everybody wants to be 20 forever. But fortunately enough, I’ve held
up pretty good.”
— Nick Fortuna
bass guitarist and singer
Misperceptions
“When we performed on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, we arrived to find the set decorated
with the Union Jack flag, because the producers actually thought we were from
England. The TV crew even served us fish and chips to eat during our rehearsal
break – we would have preferred pizza.”
— Carl Giammarese
guitarist and singer
The Buckinghams’ sound
“There’s a certain kind of clarity to our music. It
was pretty simple and straight-ahead. It wasn’t cluttered at all. And the horn
sound, of course, gave us a good solid foundation. Now I’m saying this as the
singer, but I think that there was kind of a sincerity in the delivery of our
songs. I always felt like I had songs that I could actually just really sing, but
I didn’t have to do any kind of selling, or any kind of gimmicky stuff. We had
the reputation of looking clean and being clean. We were just regular guys.”
— Dennis Tufano
lead singer
Longevity in music
“I knew I was going to be a professional musician when I was still
in grade school. It was definitely my aspiration. I was totally focused on that. I had set aside some money
and for the first six months [after leaving the Buckinghams], I just really
sort of tried to re-form myself after going through the trauma of being in a No.
1 band in 1967 – over the Beatles, over the Monkees, over Jimi Hendrix, over
all the people that were out that year. Coming from that and feeling sort of
trashed, it took me a while to really be motivated. But then once I was, I started
to make more hookups and tried to figure out what I was going to do. I just
kept plugging away, and more doors kept opening.”
— Marty Grebb (died January 2, 2020)
saxophonist, pianist and singer
“Probably one of my proudest achievements is the longevity of being part
of a band that had five top records. I guess a real achievement is staying
married all these years – being in the music business, that’s not always easy.
I’d have to say the thing I’m most proud of is what I’ve accomplished with the
Buckinghams. I’ve enjoyed my experience more in the last 20 years than I did
back in the ’60s. We still have a strong following, and there’s still an
audience that wants to hear us play, which makes me realize that, hey, we did
something right. And thank God for oldies radio. It’s like having hits all over
again.”
— Carl Giammarese
The narrative and quotations in this article are excerpted from the book Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone? — Volume 2, by Marti Smiley Childs and Jeff March. This material is copyrighted © 2012 by EditPros LLC and may not be reproduced or redistributed without written permission.
You can order YOUR copy of this book here:
https://www.editpros.com/WHATPSG_Vol_2.html
PHOTO CREDIT:
The Buckinghams in 1968. From left to right, Nick Fortuna, Marty Grebb, Jon Poulos, Carl Giammarese and Dennis Tufano (photo courtesy of Dennis Tufano)
THE BUCKINGHAMS HIT LIST:
1967 - Kind Of A Drag (#1)
1967 - Lawdy Miss Clawdy (#36)
1967 - Don't You Care (#5)
1967 - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (#5)
1967 - Hey Baby, They're Playing Our Song (#5)
1968 - Susan (#6)
1968 - Back In Love Again (#45)
