Sunday, December 18, 2016

The Sunday Comments ( 12 - 18 - 16 )

The Sunday Comments
You are reading what will be the last edition of The Sunday Comments that we will publish on the website for the next 54-55 weeks!
That's right!
There won't be a Sunday Comments next week on Christmas Day ...
And by the following Sunday (January 1st) we'll already be into our 1967 Salute ... which will run for 369 consecutive days (kicking off on December 30th).
That means that any future comments pages that we generate for the next 13 months will ONLY go out via email ...
So if you don't want to miss a single issue, you MUST subscribe NOW to our brand new 1967 list.

Email me now at either forgottenhits@aol.com or kk@forgottenhits.com and get on the list! (kk)

Meanwhile, for ALL of the latest oldies news, served up daily, may we suggest Vintage Vinyl News ... which is also available by subscription. They'll keep you up to date with the the current news while we continue to live in the past! (lol) http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/

Carl Giammarese

Carl’s a super nice guy; wish we had known each other better “back in the day” but at least we get to connect now through Cornerstones. Looking forward to hearing his solo work as well as Bucks’ stuff in the upcoming ’67 series!

Ray Graffia, Jr.

Kent,
Thanks for giving Carl Giammarese some love. I had the chance to meet him a few years ago to work on a podcast with him and share a meal. What an ace guy and a terrific musician -- someone any Chicagoan should be proud of.
Best,
Stu Shea

Nice review / preview of Carl Giammare's new album, Kent -- it definitely convinced me to order a copy. I always appreciate your honesty in the periodic concert and disc reviews that you post, even when your opinion might ruffle the feathers of the artist being profiled. Criticisms are measured and I never feel that you are hyping something that you like, so something that gets a hearty thumb's from you definitely tweaks my interest.

Happy Holidays to you and the entire FH crowd!

Scott Paton

That's one thing we've never compromised here in Forgotten Hits ... we've got to call 'em as we see 'em ... and that policy has probably earned us more respect than any other amongst our many fans and readers. I've always said ... if all you want is a puff piece, get your publicist to write it ... if you want the real deal, then I'm your guy. (It's funny because even Carl acknowledged that he knew when he sent it to me that I was going to give the CD a serious evaluation ... which is always risky as an artist ... it can go either way ... but I genuinely do like this CD ... it's well done and I love the fact that you get to hear a side of Carl that never has a chance to come across on stage by only cranking out the hits.) That being said, I try to temper EVERY criticism I give with some constructive suggestions regarding what might have made it better. I have NEVER set out to write a negative review ... it's just not in my nature ... but there is a certain expectation with the fans so we do our best to represent "the silent majority" when approaching these situations. Glad you ordered the CD ... you'll enjoy it! (kk)

I ordered Carl Giammare's new CD after reading just Part One of your feature - now that I've heard a couple of samples in Part Two I know I made the right decision. Can't wait to hear the whole thing. Another review ... and interview well done.

Rick

Kent,
Thank you so much! I love the way you put this together and how you put across the meaning and significance of each song. All I could say is I appreciate that you took the time to get into and reflect on each song. I cannot put into words what it means to write a song and have those you respect give you such positive feedback. I always thought of you to be honest, saying what you think. When I first gave you the album I was hopeful you would really enjoy it, but I was prepared and willing to accept whichever way it turned out.
I have it up on both the Buckinghams and my personal Facebook page. We are getting a ton of likes already. We have 39,000 Facebook friends and the likes are piling up. Once again, much appreciation.

I appreciate how in depth you were. It is so complete and well done that I am inspired to move forward with some solo possibilities. I look forward to talking again soon. Please make sure you join us for the Cornerstone show.

Merry Christmas!
Carl
THE BUCKINGHAMS
www.thebuckinghams.com
www.facebook.com/thebuckinghams
www.facebook/carlgiammarese

I am happy to report that Part Two of our interview with Carl Giammarese received the highest number of views in the past six months ... hopefully some of you have already ordered his new CD for your personal collection! (kk)

FH Reader Jack Levin sent in this vintage Buckinghams ad ...

And Gary Theroux, the creative mind behind "The History Of Rock And Roll", sent us this Buckinghams feature from his new daily series, currently running on Rewind Radio ...

1967:

Am I obsessing about our new 1967 Series??? Well, maybe just a little bit. Last weekend when we drove down to ISU to see our daughter Paige starring in two one-act plays, I couldn't resist snapping this photo of the building next door when we parked at the campus bookstore ...

But mostly I'm just really exciting about sharing all of this with you ... hoping you'll start your day with Forgotten Hits every morning to catch up on the events of exactly fifty years ago ... relive the memories ... and subscribe to our "1967 Extras" that will go out ONLY as emails to registered subscribers. (Subscribe now by sending an email to either forgottenhits@aol.com or kk@forgottenhits.com and ask us to put you on the list!)

And, above all else, I'm hoping you'll share YOUR memories with US so we can share them with the group. Counting on major participation for this one ... fans, deejays, artists ... the whole deal.

Remember, it all kicks off on Friday, December 30th, with a year-end recap of 1966 ... and then runs straight through till January 2nd, 2018 (yes, we've already added a day!!!) kk

Here are some 1967 "Forget Me Nots" ...

LITTLE GAMES - Yardbirds

THE AIRPLANE SONG (MY AIRPLANE) - Royal Guardsmen

YOU'VE GOT TO PAY THE PRICE - Al Kent

EVEN THE BAD TIMES ARE GOOD - Tremeloes

FELICICAD - Sally Field

I WAS KAISER BILL's BATMAN - "Whistling" Jack Smith

MORE LOVE - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

I'M WONDERING - "Little" Stevie Wonder

ALL YOUR GOODIES ARE GONE - Parliaments

I TAKE IT BACK - Sandy Posey
OUT AND ABOUT - Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart

DO IT AGAIN (JUST A LITTLE BIT SLOWER) - Jon & Robin

YOU'RE MY EVERYTHING - Temptations

HEY! MAMA - Flaming Ember

PATA PATA - Miriam Makeba

SKINNY LEGS AND ALL - Joe Tex

I LIKE THE WAY - Tommy James & The Shondells

SOME VELVET MORNING - Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood
SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL - Soul Brothers Six
TRAMP - Otis & Carla
INDESCRIBABLY BLUE - Elvis Presley
CHILD OF CLAY - Jimmie Rodgers
WHO WILL ANSWER? - Ed Ames
MONTEREY - Animals
STEP OUT OF YOUR MIND - American Breed
LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL & FEEL SO GOOD - Bunny Sigler
SHE IS STILL A MYSTERY - Lovin' Spoonful
SIX O'CLOCK - Lovin' Spoonful
TWELVE THIRTY - Mamas & The Papas
SOCIETY'S CHILD - Janis Ian
WILD HONEY - Beach Boys
DEAR ELOISE - Hollies
NO MILK TODAY - Herman's Hermits
DON'T GO OUT INTO THE RAIN - Herman's Hermits
ANYTHING GOES - Harper's Bizarre
BLUE AUTUMN - Bobby Goldsboro
WATCH THE FLOWERS GROW - Four Seasons
EPISTLE TO DIPPY - Donovan
THERE IS A MOUNTAIN - Donovan
DON'T BLAME THE CHILDREN - Sammy Davis Jr.
WALKIN' IN THE SUNSHINE - Roger Miller
MARY IN THE MORNING - Al Martino
THE HUNTER GETS CAPTURED BY THE GAME - Marvelettes
WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG AND IN LOVE - Marvelettes
LOVE BUG LEAVE MY HEART ALONE - Martha & The Vandellas
HONEY CHILE - Martha & The Vandellas
THE DIS-ADVANTAGES OF YOU - Brass Ring
DANDELION - Rolling Stones
SHE'S A RAINBOW / 2000 LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME - Rolling Stones
TOMORROW - Strawberry Alarm Clock
HOMBURG - Procol Harum

Tal Hartsfeld

You'll find MOST of these featured in our brand new series ... remember, we're unveiling the entire year EXACTLY as it happened ... so get onboard and enjoy the ride! (kk)

Hi Kent -

Really looking forward to this new 1967 series.

I know its a labour of love for you but it does take a lot of research and hard graft. So well done you!

I was not on the air personally in 1967 ... my time started in 1974 but I remember every year in the sixties.

Indeed these days on my syndicated worldwide radio show Solid Gold Sixties I have a feature called "the summer of love".

Looking at current CD's I have, these are just six songs that struck me:
Moby Grape - Omaha
Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl
Chambers Brothers - Time Has Come Today
Buckinghams - Kind Of A Drag
Beach Boys - Heroes and Villians
Hollies - King Midas In Reverse
These are just the start!!
Most do not get airplay today in UK.
Regards
Geoff

www.softrockshow.co.uk

Kent,

Here's another tale from the DJ days ...

In October, 1967, Red Foley was making his last tour of the western states. He had picked up two Country & Western performers who were operating out of California at the time ... Lynn Anderson, who was still three years away from "Rose Garden" but had made her first country Top 10 hit earlier in the year and Glen Campbell, who was already a known factor in the country genre.

We had earlier charted the John Hartford version of "Gentle On My Mind" so when Glen's release of the song arrived, we had it on our playlist right away. We had also charted his "Burning Bridges" as well as the Oak Ridge Boys release of Glen's "Less Of Me". At that time, KMOR-AM was the #2 station in the market, so we did have an impact on sales.

The concert hall was an "in the round" venue, so got my seat on the aisle right where the artists came up to go to the dressing rooms. Lynn led off and did her set of about eight songs. When she left the stage, she walked up the usual aisle so I stood up and introduced myself.

She shook my hand and we exchanged the usual pleasantries. Then she asked if she could sit with me because she wanted to hear Glen's songs. That was fine with me, so we chatted a another minute or so until Glen took over the stage. That's when the great memories began.

Glen was about halfway through his second song when Lynn started quietly singing harmony with Glen and I was the only one in the hall who could hear her. She kept it up through Glen's whole set, so I had my own private stereo concert. I did note that she was darn good, too.

After the show, I made my way back to the dressing rooms. There, Herb, the local Capitol Records rep saw me and invited me to join their party that was heading for a local nightspot. That sounded good to me so I joined Glen and his trio, Herb and another DJ and off we went to the Squire Lounge. As soon as we got seated, Glen asked the leader of the house band if he could sit in with their group. The leader looked a little puzzled but then told Glen to come on up. Needless to say, as soon as Glen started pickin', the whole group came alive. Glen did about five numbers and then thanked the guys and rejoined us.

Glen was still wide awake so he suggested we hit a local all night diner for a snack and some visiting. So off we went to the "Rodeway Inn" coffee shop.

I sat next to Glen in the booth and proceeded to enjoy the best all-night shift in my life. As it happened, one of the guys in Glen's back up trio had also been in the Hondells (of "Little Honda" fame), so he had some good stories to tell. Glen was absolutely a great guy to hang out with. He'd already been a top studio cat (the Wrecking Crew) so he'd played with and talked about all kinds of Hollywood folks. He laughed easily and joked and jived with all of us. He also mentioned that he'd been in discussion with the Smothers Brothers to start his own TV show. I can also say that the conversation never let up and I didn't get tired at all!

Finally, at 5:30 AM, I had to bail out and get to my morning shift at the radio station. I thanked everyone and shook hands all around.

Glen later sent me some autographed albums and a few letters thanking me for playing his music. What a thrill it was.

Jim Southern

Gladstone, OR

This And That

The polls are closed on this year's fan ballot for The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
After extending the deadline to December 12th, here's how your favorite finished up ...

ROCK HALL: Journey Comes Out on Top in Fan Vote
The fan voting for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2017 is complete, and the Top 5 vote-getters, in order, are: 1. Journey
2. Electric Light Orchestra
3. Yes
4. Pearl Jam
5. The Cars
Each of these artists will receive an extra vote in the overall Class of 2017 induction tally. But this doesn't guarantee induction, nor does it exclude the other 14 nominees. The ballots from the members of the music industry are due today (Friday), and the results will be announced on Tuesday morning at 8:00 ET.
This year's other nominees are (ranked in votes earned order): Steppenwolf, The Zombies, The J. Geils Band, Joan Baez, MC5, Jane's Addiction, Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, Bad Brains, Tupac Shakur, Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, Chic and Joe Tex

Hey Kent -

Our writer Roger Catlin interviewed Peter Noone recently. They covered a lot of ground, including his passion for stamp collecting and also the benefits of being British in 1965, when Herman's Hermits landed two #1 hits.

http://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/peter_noone_of_herman_s_hermits/
Be Well,

Carl Wiser

www.songfacts.com

Speaking of new interviews, check out this one with Micky Dolenz and Noise 11 ...

http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2016/12/interview-noise11-talks-with-micky.html

Look at these show coming up at Vegas' Gold Nugget - interesting grouping - looks like Ron's bookings!

- DIS

They're calling it "52 FRIDAYS" ... every Friday at 8 PM at The Golden Nugget ...

Bookings thru March include:

December 30th - Morris Day and the Time

January 6th - John Waite

January 13th - Blood Sweat And Tears

January 20th - Micky Dolenz

January 27th - Felix Cavaliere

February 3rd - Tommy James and the Shondells

February 10th - Blue Oyster Cult

February 17th - David Cassidy

February 24th - Jefferson Starship

March 3rd - BJ Thomas

March 10th - Marshall Tucker Band

March 17th - Eddie Money

March 24th - Taylor Dayne

Tom Cuddy tells us about the upcoming tour featuring Lionel Richie and Mariah Carey. (To tell you the truth, I was SHOCKED to hear that Mariah is the opening act on this one!)

CNN Films Premieres ‘NOW MORE THAN EVER: The History of Chicago’ on New Year’s Day

Legendary rock group’s origins, hits, and challenges makes TV & streaming debut on Jan. 1, 2017

CNN Films will premiere Now More Than Ever: The History of Chicago, about the rock super group, on Sunday, Jan. 1, at 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm Eastern on CNN / U.S., the network announced today. The film’s debut presentation will be offered with limited commercial interruption.

In 2017, the band will mark 50 years of pop music success that includes 36 albums, yearly tours, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2016, two Grammy^®award wins (including one for the band’s first album, Chicago Transit Authority, for the Grammy^® Hall of Fame in 2014), 21 Top 10 singles, five consecutive No. 1 albums, an incredible 25 certified platinum albums, multiple American Music Awards, and more.

Band founders Robert Lamm (keyboards and vocals), Lee Loughnane (trumpet and vocals), James Pankow (trombone), and Walt Parazaider (woodwinds) remain from the original crew, making Chicago America’s rock band with the most longevity in history.

Now More Than Ever was directed and edited by Peter Pardini. Pardini’s unique access yields deeply personal reflections the band’s origins, successes, and struggles. Pardini weaves archival and contemporary interviews, footage from the band’s DePaul University college days and tours, and contemporary interviews with band members and managers through the years to reveal Chicago’s chart-topping, pop culture iconic history through intimate layers. Bandmates discuss their early days of peace rallies with Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, as well as the stories behind their hit, 1969’s ‘Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is?,’ to ‘If You Leave Me Now,’ to ‘You’re The Inspiration,’ and many more with colorful insights into how the band members were growing as people, and sometimes feuding, as artists and bandmates.

Throughout, Pardini’s deeply personal interviews tell the backstories to ‘Just You ‘N Me,’ which was written by Pankow, following an argument with his fiancée, and ‘Hard to Say I’m Sorry,’ which introduced Chicago to a whole new generation of fans as well as some new creative tensions, when the song became part of the soundtrack to 1982’s Hollywood romantic comedy, Summer Lovers. And, movingly, Pardini examines the band’s wild years while living and recording at Caribou Ranch, and the devastating and emotional loss of gifted lead guitarist Terry Kath, to an accidental self-inflicted gunshot.

In addition to the premiere broadcast, NOW MORE THAN EVER: The History of Chicago, will also stream live for subscribers via CNNgo beginning Jan. 1 (at www.CNN.com/go and via CNNgo apps for AppleTV, Roku, Amazon Fire, and iPad). The film will also be available the day after the premiere (Monday, Jan. 02) on demand via cable/satellite systems and CNNgo. NOW MORE THAN EVER will also encore on CNN/U.S. on Saturday, Jan. 07 at 8:00pm and 10:00pm Eastern.

CNN will explore the band’s incredible music legacy through the experiences and reflections of their superfans in interactive pieces for CNN.com. Video excerpts from the film, and photographs from Chicago’s tours, will also be available via CNN’s mobile platforms and online at www.CNN.com/history-of-chicago closer to the time of the broadcast premiere. Viewers can interact with CNN Films about NOW MORE THAN EVER by using the hashtag #HistoryOfChicago via Twitter before and during the premiere.

-- Tom Cuddy

Here is a list of more film festival screenings of the new documentary "Bang! The Bert Berns Story", playing to rave reviews ... if you're able to see it in a city near you, we'd love to hear from you! (I still don't see Chicago on the list!)

Dec. 17 - Hartford CT Wadsworth Atheneum – special screening plus performance by Betty Harris backed by The Mighty Soul Drivers

Dec. 29 - Jerusalem, Israel - Jewish Film Festival

Jan. 17 - Miami FL - Jewish Film Festival

Jan. 26 - Atlanta GA - Jewish Film Festival

Feb. 3 - Atlanta GA - Jewish Film Festival

Feb. 11 - Atlanta GA – Jewish Film Festival

Mar. 7 - Cleveland OH - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Special Screening

Mar. 23 - Portland ME - Maine Jewish Film Festival

Apr. 24 - Port Jefferson NY - Documentary Series

May 4 - Toronto Ontario - Jewish Film Festival

Hola Kent,

Perhaps Ups & Downs is too broad a subject, and as the Oldies frame of reference enlarges each decade, it becomes harder to focus on songs that appeal to that growing demographic.

So speaking for the ~~older~~, oops, more mature segment of your vast audience, might I offer "Up on the Roof" and "Down In The Boondocks" ... I'll stop there since many more are coming to mind.

That may explain why the upcoming tribute to '67 is so anticipated by your readership as it allows us to focus and appreciate a specific segment of the Oldies Era.

Today may have been a good day to highlight weather related songs I.E. "Baby, It's Cold Outside" ... ha ha ... man it is freezing!

Merry Christmas to you and all the readers and supporters,

CharlieOFD

As I type this, the forecast calls for ACTUAL temperatures as low as 18 degrees BELOW ZERO tomorrow ... with wind chills into the Minus 30's ... so I can relate.

Then again, tying it all together, perhaps "It's Cold Outside" by The Choir (a group that eventually morphed into The Raspberries) was a 1967 as well! (kk)

Hi Kent ...

Have a rockin' good new year!

Chet

We're kicking it off with The Chi-Lites and The O'Jays at Star Plaza on New Year's Eve ... and have already earmarked at least half a dozen shows at the Arcada for the first quarter of 2017 ... and you just know the list is going to get even better from there!!! (kk)

One last concert note ...

Star Plaza in Merrillville, Indiana, presents "A Salute To The '60's" featuring The Buckinghams, The Grass Roots and Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone ... I can't even begin to tell you how cool it is to have members from all three of these legendary '60's group on our list as active participants in Forgotten Hits. More ticket information here:
http://www.starplazatheatre.com/index.php/get-tickets/upcoming-events/129-salute17

Friday, December 16, 2016

SWEET 16: Ups And Downs

We've all had 'em ...

Today we celebrate the UPS ... and the DOWNS ... in our very special SWEET 16 Feature!

Creedence Clearwater Revival went both Up Around The Bend ...

And Down On The Corner ...

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Carl Giammarese - Part Two - The Forgotten Hits Interview

LIVING IN THE MOMENT by Carl Giammarese -
available now at www.carlgiammarese.com

Kent Kotal / Forgotten Hits (kk) – I’ve got to tell you, I really, really enjoy the new album.

Carl Giammarese (CG) – Well, thanks – thank you.

kk – I guess it’s got to be a little frustrating in a way – here you are, still creating brand new music … and yet you don’t really have the opportunity to showcase some of that music because you’re so locked in with what you do within the confines of The Buckinghams – you kind of have to do the same show every night and the fact that you’re still making brand new music is lost on the fans – it's a shame that they never really get to hear any of it unless they go to the website and see that it’s available.

CG – I’ve said this many times – I’m grateful that The Buckinghams still have a following and our music is still well received by our fan base and the baby boomers – and hey, we’re still out playing because of that and they still come out and see us. We just did a couple of really successful shows here recently – one at the Raue Center in Crystal Lake, which was sold out and then we just came back last week from doing a show with Peter Noone in New Jersey at a performing arts center – and it was also sold out and well-received – so, you know I appreciate that – and, of course, it’s great to still be out there playing – it’s financially rewarding and it’s just what we do – and I would do it anyway but I have to be creative at this point in my life. That’s what keeps my sanity and keeps me going – is to do these projects like this album, “Living In The Moment”.

You know, you do it out of love and I love to write songs and I always say that when I get into a project like that – and this took me a little over a year to finish it – I was on the road with the Happy Together Tour and other things – and so you do it whenever you have some leisure time to get back in the studio – and I have a studio in my house that I can do most everything that I need to do there – so if I get creative, I can get up in the middle of the night and go down and lay down a track or a vocal or whatever – but it really lifts me up.
And when I do these projects I don’t have aspirations of this is going to be a million seller – it’s more a case that maybe a few people will buy it and listen to it and get into it and it’s just your creative side comes out – and that first got piqued back around 1970 when myself and Dennis Tufano had a duo, Tufano and Giammarese, and that was my first opportunity, really, to write songs and I was half of that duo and did half of that song writing and half of that singing and to see a song that you write come to fruition and come to record it and the great Lou Adler gave us that opportunity back then – you know, we didn’t have a tremendous amount of success with it, but it was like the first song we picked to be our first single was a song called “Music Everywhere”, which is a song that I wrote – and so that’s where – going all the way back then – that is where I first got excited about writing and making new music.
Now the problem is that The Buckinghams’ audience – you know, the baby boomers – they want to hear the old songs and it’s really hard to make that transition – and a younger audience, the millennials or whatever, who buy music now, new stuff, they usually tend to go toward artists that they can relate to, in their own age group, so you know I’m sort of in that gray area – because I’m gray (lol) – but you do it.
I think this whole collection of songs on this album - I think there’s ten songs on there – are all saying something that relates to some part of my life.

I mean, as a writer, you know, sometimes there’s a part of some songs where you sort of make up – I’m not sure making up is the right word – but you just sort of put yourself in that place to try and write something about a particular thing – but mostly, like I said, all the songs are about very important things in my life.
For instance, “A Better Me”, which is the third cut if I remember, it kind of goes thru all those things about your significant other supporting you thru all of life’s challenges and I’ve been very fortunate in my life to be one of those persons – I’ve been married a long time – so I’m fortunate to have one of those people in my life, my wife – so it’s dedicated to her, you know, “you are the one that I need – you always seem to understand – you always seem to have a plan” – are some of the lyrics that kind of hit the spot there, you know. So every song is something that has some significance in my life.
The last song I wrote for the album was “Living In the Moment”, which turned out to be the title of the album and it’s like I find myself reflecting on the past quite a bit and it’s a reminder that, you know, being in The Buckinghams, after we finish a show we always do autographs or meet and greet people, the fans – and I appreciate this – it’s one of my favorite parts of the show – when people come up to you and say “You know, when you recorded ‘Don’t You Care’ I just met my girlfriend or my wife and I was doing this or doing that’ and you know we’re part of their lives from back then. You’re always reflecting back – and then I have a tendency where my wife always gets on me to worry about the future and thinking about what you’re doing next year – so what I’m getting at is that when you’re doing the show, you’re helping relive some of the shared memories of the past and then when you’re not doing a show, you find yourself thinking about the future and all these things - which means you’re never really living in the moment. We need to focus more on today and just enjoy our life - and that’s kinda what that song’s all about.

kk- One of the things I REALLY like about the album is that you hit a bunch of different styles. I mean over the course of ten songs, there’s some bluesy stuff, there’s the one song that pretty much turns into a country hoe-down – you’ve got the gospel track – another has a little touch of reggae - these are things that you don’t get to do otherwise within the confines and restrictions of The Buckinghams – so I really enjoyed seeing you stretch a little bit and incorporate some of these other styles into your music. It was very interesting to see that side of you because we don’t get to see that in concert. It’s almost like you were able to cut loose a little more as you did this.

CG – Well, yeah – I don’t know if people picked up on that – there’s one track that we did called “What A Time We Had” and it has kind of a reggae feel to it – it’s the fourth cut – and lyrically it’s about my brothers in The Buckinghams back in the late ‘60’s –
“Oh what a time we had together –
We were brothers in every way –
We knew it wouldn’t last forever –
It doesn’t matter, it’s ok –
What a time we had together” –
So it’s really about that.

kk – And see to me, that seems to me to be one that you COULD work into a Buckinghams show – tell a little bit of the backstory – this is you reflecting back on that very special time.

CG – Yeah, I agree. One of the songs – “We All Need Someone To Love” – I thought would be a good Buckinghams song – and a fun one to play on stage because it’s the only track that has some horns on it. And I could work that in. I’m in a lot of places here with this LP – there’s a song, “Oh Lord, Make Me More Like You”, which I wrote many years ago when my father passed away – I think I wrote that song in ten minutes – and I did one version of that on a little album I did many, many years ago on another solo project – I didn’t think about it at the time – but I’ve had two different Christian Rock Artists record that song and make it part of their album – so I decided, Hey, I’m gonna do it again – and add a little more to it – and put some drums on it and make that part of the album.
And there’s a cut, “I’ll Remember You”, which is about my brother and good friend, Jon Poulos, who was the original drummer and founder of The Buckinghams, and him and I were very close back in the day and it was one of the saddest days in my life when he passed away – it was 1980 – and he was only 33. So the song “I’ll remember you – will you remember me? I guess it’s just the way it had to be” – those lyrics definitely reflect on that whole experience – and thinking about what he would have been like today – so it’s a very personal cut. It’s also a track that, if Tufano and Giammarese could have still been recording today, it probably would have fit into our format and program.

kk – Well, two of the songs – and I kind of singled these two out when I listened to the album for the very first time - “We All Need Someone To Love” and “What A Time We Had” – now “What A Time We Had” maybe not so much because it’s such a personal song – but BOTH of those songs, when I heard them for the very first time, I thought, “Man, this is EXACTLY like the kind of stuff that Eric Clapton has been recording over the last 10-15-20 years – they just have that very laid back, kind of bluesy (but not overly bang-you-over-the-head bluesy) feel to them - but over the last twenty years or so, Clapton just sort of fell into a groove where he kind of developed into a middle-of-the-road artist – and both of those songs – I can hear him doing BOTH of those songs as I listen to them.

CG – You know, it’s funny you brought up Clapton – because you know who else said that to me was Jim Peterik when he heard that and a couple of other songs he said, “Wow, it sounds like that was a Clapton song out of the lost vault or something” …

kk – Yeah, well, it’s true! Both of these songs fit his style perfectly.

CG - Well to hear that is a real compliment.

kk – Especially “We All Need Someone To Love” – the very first time I heard I thought, “Wow, Eric could record this song today and have a hit with it TODAY – and it’s funny in a way because things being what they are right now, Carl Giammarese probably couldn’t get a brand new song played on the radio because there are just too many restrictions in place that prevent that from happening – but if Eric Clapton were to record this track, I think you could have a hit song on the radio right now, simply because it had his name on it!

CG – Well you know what was exciting about that track for me is, you tend to forget – well I didn’t forget – but I was the lead guitar player in The Buckinghams back in the day – and I forgot more than I can remember – because I don’t really have the opportunity to play that much anymore because of what I do now, singing all the songs – but making a recording like this, gives me a chance to play guitar again and some of the lead guitar on that cut around the vocal is me playing guitar and it was fun for me to do that again – and years and years ago when Tufano decided not to continue on with us and I took over singing, then all of a sudden I became in that role of being up front and singing and playing a little bit of guitar, but not nearly as much as I used to. So this gives me an opportunity to expand again and remember a lot of stuff that I don’t do much of anymore. It forces me to get my chops together a little bit in the studio and record – so that’s another side of it – besides writing the songs and seeing them come to fruition, and, of course, this is the first album I did that falls within this new world of digital downloading so even though the album is available at www.carlgiammarese.com - and right now we’re putting out some additional Facebook promotion for Christmas and if you order it, I will be happy to autograph it for you – you can order it thru PayPal – but it’s also available on ALL of the download sites from iTunes, to Pandora, to Amazon and probably 40 other different download sites where you can download it, too, if you like … or stream it – which is a whole new world for me. Us old rockers are trying to keep up with all this stuff! (lol)

kk – And it’s funny you said that because a lot of the artists that I talk to today aren’t even putting out hard-copy cd’s anymore because they know everybody downloads their music now – but I think your audience – and I speak for myself, anyway – we’re a bit “old school” in that respect - I want the physical cd – I like having it in my hands – and just reading the notes – like on yours, there’s not a lot here but I still get a lot out of that – like seeing that Tommy Scheckel (former Buckinghams drummer, now with Paul Revere’s Raiders) designed the artwork through his Bugaloo Design Company – and that Dave Zane and Rocky Penn (both current members of The Buckinghams) played on the title cut. (No Nick, though?)

CG – No, no Nick. Nick lives in Las Vegas and I had a few other bass players available – and I also play bass - so there really wasn’t a reason for Nick to fly in and record on this album – and Tommy’s still a very dear friend – we still see each other quite a bit and go to dinner when he’s in town – and I’ve always wished him the best with The Raiders – but to go back to something you said earlier, I agree with you about having an actual album in your hands – it’s a piece of material that’s “real” – and when you download I believe that people will listen to their downloads for a certain amount of time and then they just get rid of them and move on to something else – so nothing is ever really permanent, you know – it’s just that throw-away society we live in and because of that, music comes and goes – I come from a time when there were regular 33 1/3 Albums – and you had a collection of albums and I still have a collection – I don’t really listen to them anymore, but they’re there and I have them – so this download thing is still really new for me.

kk- I also see something on the back here about “The Puppy Mill Project” and I didn’t know if that might be something you’d like to talk about during this interview – maybe an opportunity to fill other dog-lovers in on what you’re doing for that organization.

CG – Sure! Well, on the back of the cd it talks about The Puppy Mill Project, which my wife Barbara and I got involved with a few years ago. She is a big part of and very instrumental in helping toward the success of "The Puppy Mill Project. We were approached and we're both animal lover, an animal activist – I love dogs especially – dogs and cats – but The Puppy Mill – Mothers of the Mill – is an organization designed to prevent and stop puppy mills – which is the abuse of particularly mother dogs that are confined in cages and only used in breeding – and they never have a life – they never get out - it’s all about selling puppies and it’s a terrible existence. Every $500 we raise takes one of these dogs out of the mill. So I did a photo session for it – and we have a coffee table book that you can go to that website and order it – and all of the proceeds go to the Puppy Mill Project. All the celebs are mostly from around Chicago – there’s beautiful photos that were done by this photographer, Karen Morgan, and she’s just a fantastic photographer – and so they put together The Puppy Mill coffee table book – and I’m in there along with my little dog Lucy and that’s what that’s all about. I’m always contributing to these different organizations, but that one in particular. And every year they have a fund-raiser that we go to and I’ve performed at it, just myself, with a band that they’ve had there – just done a few tunes and auctioned off some of my stuff – so it’s a good cause.

kk – Well I’m glad we could get something out there then for all the readers who may wish to contribute as well. (More information here:
http://www.thepuppymillproject.org/)

Earlier you mentioned that it was AFTER The Buckinghams that you really started the songwriting part of your career. Were you encouraged to write with The Buckinghams - or did they pretty much have that down to where there was a certain sound they wanted and that was really all they were interested in?

CG – They wanted a certain sound – and you didn’t have much leeway or much of an opportunity to write back in The Buckinghams because the sessions were pretty much controlled by the record label. I think everybody knows that The Beatles changed everything as far as self-contained bands, writing their own material, and performing their own music – but of course they were also so unbelievably talented so, of course, that helped quite a bit in their case, the fact that they were writing great songs. But we didn’t have much opportunity back in the day, back in the late ‘60’s – but our keyboard player, Marty Grebb, wrote a little bit and he was allowed to write a song that became a single with “Back In Love Again” and that was our first – well, we didn’t have a lot of success with that song – but at least it was something we did on our own – and it charted, and it was great that we got the chance to do that.

kk – That’s actually one of my favorites by you, by the way!

CG – Yeah, it’s – if I have any criticism at all about that song, it was the way Guercio produced it – I think the sound could have been better – the fidelity of it – I think Jim Guercio, who had produced all of the previous Buckinghams hits, was a great producer as far as being able to pull that sound out and make it sound great but I felt that even though the song was cool, the song was great, it could have been better recorded.

kk – Punched up a little bit maybe?

CG – Yeah – it just could have been a better mix.
But when we broke up, the original band, by 1970, Dennis and I, as Tufano and Giammarese, were very much influenced by the singer-songwriter people that were emerging and that was what was happening at the time – Crosby, Stills and Nash, Jackson Browne, The Eagles a little bit at that time – I was a giant fan of Joni Mitchell and Carole King – and James Taylor – so you had these singer-songwriters coming out and it was a more personal sound – a more unplugged, acoustic-driven sound - great material – and Dennis and I started listening to a lot of that – boy, I was a big fan of Neil Young – “Harvest” – Cat Stevens “Tea For The Tillerman” – and God, we wanted to do that sound and so we got pretty influenced, I think, by that – and I think Dennis was pretty influenced by that, too, if I may speak for him.
So we started experimenting and writing and at that point, 1970 – 71, he had a TEAC two-track tape recorder up in his apartment and we used to go up there and experiment, write songs and try different things – and we were out playing but there were only a few clubs out around Chicago that allowed you to play original material. There were a few clubs on Lincoln Avenue like The Orphan and The Bulls, which was more of a Jazz Club in Lincoln Park - they allowed you to come up and play original music – and it was tough sometimes because it was like we were starting over again.
Being just two guys with two acoustic guitars – and the crowd was kind noisy – it was tough to be heard and get their attention and play over that – so it was a bit of a struggle until late in 1972 when Jon Poulos, who was managing us – he had stopped playing drums – got Lou Adler’s attention – and, of course, Lou had just come off of winning all those Grammy Awards for Carole King’s album, “Tapestry, and he heard a demo we did – we recorded a demo at RCA in Chicago – with the group Poco – they backed us up – and one of the songs we did was “Music Everywhere”, a song that I wrote – so I played guitar on it and we had Timothy B. Schmit on bass and Poco’s drummer and Dennis and I did the vocals – so Jon Poulos sent Lou Adler the demo and he got excited about it – he really liked it – and the next thing we knew, we were in LA in the studio playing – and Lou had just finished a session with Carole King and Lou had us set up with four microphones and we just went through our repertoire of songs and it was a pretty heavy experience for us – you had a lot of superstars coming in and out of the studio at the time checking out who Lou was listening to – so Carole King was there - her and David Geffen, Jackson Browne – there were a few people coming in and out – so that was the beginning of the first album we did – we took all our original material and Lou Adler produced it and put it out there and we had moderate success with it – but I will say that Lou Adler gave us a great, great opportunity – we just didn’t come up with the hits. We just didn’t come up with the single.

But that’s where my interested started – my excitement about writing songs and seeing a song come to fruition in the studio and create with that – I’ve been excited about doing that all the time. Several years back I did this album for The Buckinghams called “Reaching Back” and I was very hopeful because I wrote a whole bunch of songs that sounded a lot like an old batch of Buckinghams tunes – they had the chord changes, the structure, the symphonic sound and the horns – commercial pop tunes – and we put them on the album along with the hits and we had some moderate success with it but once again, it’s hard to get our audience to buy new music. It was a new album for the group – but I don’t think I’ll ever go back to trying to record original material for The Buckinghams at this point in our career. We may do another live album somewhere down the line – that’s always a possibility – but I don’t think our fans are interested in hearing any new music by The Buckinghams – so I’ve reserved these projects to do under my own name where the prospect of success isn’t tied so much to the band. Like I said, I’m not expecting to come up with a solo million seller at this point – but I have a need to get this music out and this is my release – my way of doing so.

kk- Well, I think it would be great to go out and showcase some of these new tunes with some of the musicians you worked with on the album – do a little Q&A with the audience – tell some of the stories behind the songs – tie it into a book signing opportunity and then close the show with a six song Buckinghams hits set – now you’re talking about the COMPLETE package!

CG - I would love to have the opportunity to go out and play some of these songs from “Living In The Moment” in the near future. You know, I’ve been trying to finish an autobiography with Dawn Lee Wakefield now for a bunch of years …

kk - I know … I got tired of asking you about it! (Lol)

CG- People are always asking me about that – and, believe it or not, we are close to finishing it and we finally got a publisher interested, too, and my idea was to go out and promote the book and put something together and play songs out there live from the new album.

kk – And I think that would be a GREAT show – like I said, do a little Q&A with the audience, you can tell some stories …

CG – Well, that was the idea. I did an album a couple of years ago called “My Journey” that I ran a bunch of extra copies of – in fact, I probably have a couple thousand copies of it sitting here – and on that album I took all The Buckinghams hits – even ones like pre-“Kind of A Drag” songs like “I’ll Go Crazy” and so forth – and Tufano and Giammarese songs, too – and I did them all in an unplugged format and my idea was to give those cd’s away with the book when it comes out – go out and promote the book and do book store appearances plus whatever venues I could do, small venues, and do like a Questions And Answers segment with the audience, tell stories from the book and play some of the cuts – so that’s still sittin’ out there – I won’t say it’s on the back burner – but it’s still something I’d like to do at some point. All we need now is to get the book published and get it out there and that’ll be part of it. And I can also take some of the cuts here from “Living in The Moment” and do those, too.

kk – Well, I think it’s a great idea – it’s a whole different show at that point, too – and now’s the time to do this – you’ve got the whole Cornerstones Of Rock thing going – Jim Peterik just had his successful book out and he’s done some show with his reimaging of some of his best-known songs – and so it’s really a good time to take advantage of that because you’ve got a little bit of momentum behind you right now.

CG – Yeah, yeah – you’re probably aware that we’re doing a Cornerstones Show on Valentine’s Day at The Arcada –

kk – Yeah, I’m hoping to get to that. I’ve missed a couple of these now but finally made it to the last one.

Speaking of which, has anything happened with – I know there’s been some talk about a Midwest tour with all the Cornerstones acts – has anything moved forward with that now that the television special is airing in other cities?

CG _ Well, let me put it this way – yeah – as far as does every body want to do it? Yeah –
The agent who’s taken the lead – and also Ron Onesti – is trying to make that happen – I don’t know – we had one show that was booked in the Minneapolis area – but TWICE it fell thru because of lack of ticket sales.

kk – Oh no, I didn’t know that – I thought those shows had gone off as planned.

CG – No, and it was supposed to happen – and I think that whoever was promoting it dropped the ball and the timing was off – it was supposed to coincide with the airing of the show up there and then that didn’t happen. Let’s face it, I think one of the hardest things about selling that show on a national level would be that a lot of the groups don’t have the national name like say The Buckinghams’ name – but there are a lot of cities that I think would work for us – like Indianapolis and St. Louis … and this Minneapolis / St. Paul date should have worked for us too.

kk – I would have thought ANY Midwest dates would have made for a hot ticket – people were listening to WLS all over the country back then – we’ve heard from SO many readers over the years who would hear a song on WLS say by The Cryan’ Shames or something and then go into their local record store 800 or 1000 miles away and find out that they couldn’t buy it because the record wasn’t getting played in that city – but that 50,000 watt signal beamed all over the country back in the mid-‘60’s.

CG – Yeah, Milwaukee, Madison – I mean there’s a lot of venues – so I know they’re trying to do that – and I think it will happen – I think we’ll start seeing some dates jump up for the tour – and it’s a really good show and it’s exciting – and boy, they did a really good job of producing that show – Joe Thomas did a great job of putting that together – it sounds great, it looks great – so hopefully we’ll do more of that.
I’m hopeful that I can go out and put something together and play some of these songs live. There’s one cut here, “Whisper And A Sigh” – that was the first cut that I wrote for the album – and I just thought it was so contemporary – it sounded so much like what you’re hearing on the radio today – it’s basically a love song lyrically but I thought that it would have attracted some attention – and I haven’t given up on getting this album out there – we’re doing a little promotion thing now for the holidays so you’re going to start seeing some things up on Facebook and my Facebook Page – I’ll send you a copy of some of the promo stuff that we’re doing.

kk – You know that anything we can do to help get the word out there we’ll do – hopefully this interview will help to get some of the word out there – I need to do this quickly because I’m kinda winding things down now at the end of the year because come the first of the year we’ll be launching brand new series - an entire year of looking back at 1967 – and I’m really hoping all of you guys will help participate with that because 1967 was such a huge, huge year for The Buckinghams – so maybe you can share some stories, some comments, some memories – maybe some photos that people haven’t seen before – personal milestones, that kind of thing.

CG – Oh yeah, sure – I’d be glad to do that – Oh God, ’67 – The Summer Of Love – that was our biggest year! That was unbelievable – it’s actually our 50 Year Anniversary coming up of when “Kind of A Drag” got the #1 Record.

kk – Yeah, and you guys got the Cash Box Award that year, too, so it’s a big, big year for The Buckinghams.
Let me just say, too, that “Whisper and A Sigh” and the title cut “Living in The Moment” are my two favorites on the cd – they’re the perfect bookends for this cd – it’s interesting that they start and finish the album because it’s a very strong launch – I think “Whisper And A Sigh” is a VERY strong opening track – and I think it kinda helps to set the tone for the album – and then a couple that I mentioned before that kind of have that Eric Clapton feel to them – I love the gospel tune – there’s just such a wide variety of styles on this.

CG – Yeah, and it WOULD be a fun cd to perform live – I really appreciate you saying that – it’s always great to hear any kind of significant media person say something positive about something that you’ve done – but it would be a fun album to go out and play some of these tracks live.

kk – Oh, I agree – and let’s face it , you can always come back and do a six song Buckinghams finale for the encore if you have to – I really like the idea of tying it all together with the book, some stories, the new tracks, all exciting stuff.

Head on over to www.carlgiamarrese.com to pick up not only Carl’s latest cd, “Living In The Moment” but all of his previous solo work can be found there, too.

CG – Everything is up there – I’ll be honest, Kent – I really haven’t done much to promote my website and it’s a shame because it’s a beautiful site, designed again by Tom Scheckel, so I appreciate you getting the word out about this. We prefer that you purchase through PayPal and again, I’m happy to autograph anything you buy – and you can download it all, too – but I’m hoping that in the near future, I’ll be calling you up to tell you, “Hey, I’m out playing – you’ve got to come out and see the show.”

kk – Well, as always, please keep me in the loop – I’m always happy to pass that information along.

CG – And anytime you need anything for 1967, just drop me a line. Let me just end by saying thank you for the opportunity to talk about this – it is appreciated – and have a very happy and healthy holiday season – let’s have a great new year.

kk – And thank you as well – the same to you and yours.

FORGOTTEN HITS