The Buckinghams

In 1965, Dan Belloc’s Holiday Ballroom in Chicago regularly featured two popular groups with strong followings: The Pulsations and The Centuries. The Pulsations had two lead singers, George LeGros and Dennis Tufano, with John Poulos on drums and Dennis Miccolis on keyboard. Sharing the bill with The Pulsations often were The Centuries, whose lead singer was drummer Gerald Elarde, and lead guitarist, Carl Giammarese, rhythm guitarist Nick Fortuna, and bass guitarist, Curt Bachman. When personnel changes in The Pulsations found them searching for new guitarists, they naturally turned to The Centuries first, because of their unique sound and style.

Soon, the The Pulsations’ new lineup included drummer Poulos, vocalists LeGros and Tufano, lead guitarist Giammarese, bass guitarist Fortuna, and keyboardist Miccolis.

Dan Belloc and his DJ, Carl Bonafede, noticed that the teenagers stopped dancing to watch this new version of The Pulsations perform, a sign that the group really had something special. Bonafede was so impressed that he became their manager and worked hard, booking them across the Midwest to bring them to the attention of a regional audience.

Those who grew up in the 1960s will remember families gathered around the TV set every Sunday night, for The Ed Sullivan Show, broadcast live from New York. American teens tuned in to see the latest music groups on CBS’ “really big show” each week, as well as The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour broadcast from Hollywood, California.

The opportunity for the group to 'go national' began on WGN-TV. In 1965 Chicago’s most popular TV station sponsored a competition for a contemporary pop group to be their in-house band for a new show, “All-Time Hits.” A WGN producer called Carl Bonafede to see if he had any musical group in mind who’d like to audition for the show.

Bonafede replied instantly that he did. Almost immediately, The Pulsations won a 13-week spot on “All-Time Hits” as the house band, playing contemporary hits. WGN station producers suggested the group change their name to keep up with the popular British Invasion. A station security guard, John Opager, suggested several names, and the group chose The Buckinghams, which is how they were introduced to viewers by the show’s fourth week. George LeGros had been called to serve in Vietnam, so Dennis Tufano moved from singing harmony to the lead singer spot overnight, as LeGros boarded the train for active duty.

Bonafede and Belloc coproduced The Pulsations’ first tracks and arranged their first record deal with USA Records, where they recorded 12 tracks at Chicago's famous Chess Studios. Belloc and arranger Frank Tezinsky were the ones to create that signature horn sound heard in all the early Buckinghams' music. In 1965 Chicago’s biggest stations, including WLS and WCFL radio, gave strong airplay to “I’ll Go Crazy,” “I Call Your Name,” and “I’ve Been Wrong,” and their audiences grew.

Just as their contract with USA Records for 12 sides was about to expire, the last release, “Kind of a Drag,” took off unexpectedly in Little Rock, Arkansas.  Overnight, it started going to the top of every playlist across the country and within weeks, The Buckinghams had a national hit, their first #1 record. When Dennis Miccolis left the band, the band recruited Marty Grebb, former “Exceptions” band member, who brought vocal skills, along with keyboard and saxophone talents.

When USA Records couldn’t keep up with the demand for “Kind of a Drag,” and with their contract concluded, The Buckinghams were courted by several record labels and management/promotion firms. Ultimately The Buckinghams made the decision to leave Chicago for New York, with a new manager, James William Guercio, and a new label, Columbia Records, whom they trusted to guide their careers on a national level. In 1967 Cashbox Magazine named them “The Most Promising Vocal Group in America.”

For a while, the formula was unbeatable, and the success was overwhelming. The group never missed a beat and turned out hit singles, one after the other, including “Don’t You Care,” “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” and “Hey Baby They’re Playing Our Song,” which made the top of every radio playlist and Top 10 countdown across the country.

USA Records hurried to release the 12 tracks The Buckinghams recorded earlier as the album, “Kind of a Drag,” which also was a runaway bestseller. USA Records released “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” as a single that climbed up the charts against “Don’t You Care” on Columbia Records, with both making the top 10 simultaneously. By the end of 1967, Billboard Magazine had dubbed them “The Most Listened to Band in America.”  

The Buckinghams recorded three albums for Columbia; “Time and Charges” and “Portraits” featured Guercio as producer. By 1968, after the success of the hit single, “Susan,” another Jim Holvay/Gary Beisber composition (with Guercio given writing credit for the psychadelic middle bridge, which was often edited out for AM radio airplay), The Buckinghams were ready to take their careers into their own hands.

They hired a new manager and Columbia assigned staff producer, Jimmy “The Wiz” Wisner, to produce the group’s third album, “In One Ear and Gone Tomorrow.” One single, “Back in Love Again,” made a modestly successful showing on the charts. The album featured compositions by Grebb, Giammarese, and Tufano that have become popular again in recent years, as original members Giammarese and Fortuna, together with their band  have performed across the country and internationally.

By 1970 The Buckinghams’ anthems of love lost, love found, and back in love again went by the wayside as audiences became focused on folk music, protest songs, and early hard rock sounds. The Buckinghams decided that pop rock was over and disbanded to pursue individual musical interests. All members of the group stayed in the business, and remain as working musicians today, except John Poulos, who passed away in 1980. 

In 1980, a phone call brought The Buckinghams back together. Chicago radio programming executive John Gehron called Carl Giammarese, inviting him to reunite the group on behalf of Mayor Jane Byrne’s new event, ChicagoFest. Giammarese called Nick Fortuna and Dennis Tufano, and they recruited Tom Radtke on drums and John Cammelot on keyboards. The Buckinghams’ reunion drew record crowds to ChicagoFest’s main stage. 
 

Dennis Tufano went back to working in the film industry in California in 1982 after doing a handful of dates with Giammarese and Fortuna in Chicago. Marty Grebb, who declined the reunion opportunity in 1980, upon leaving The Buckinghams in 1969, joined H. P. Lovecraft and cofounded The Fabulous Rhinestones. Grebb has toured with Bonnie Raitt, Dave Mason, and Stevie Nicks, playing saxophone, guitar, and Hammond B3 organ.

Presently, Grebb is not on tour, but he has produced albums for artists Peach and Burton Jesperson, and written songs for, and performed with, Eric Clapton, and also released a solo album.

When Tufano returned to acting in California, he was one of the founding members of an improvisational voice ensemble called the "LA MadDogs," who provide voice work for films. Tufano recently created a tribute to Bobby Darin called "As Long as I'm Singing," performing for Chicago audiences and hopes to take that on tour.  

Original founding members Carl Giammarese (lead vocals and lead guitar) and Nick Fortuna (bass and lead/backing vocals) have been part of two major successful national U.S. tours, as well as performing overseas and in Canada for the past 20+ years. They've been on national television and interviewed extensively on radio as audiences continue to enjoy hearing all their 1960s hits. Their band has included, since 1983, drummer Tom Scheckel, joined soon thereafter by Bob Abrams and Bruce Soboroff. 

The Buckinghams' continuing, permanent lineup has been, since 1986, Carl Giammarese (lead vocals, guitar), Nick Fortuna (bass guitar, vocals), Tom Scheckel (drums), Bob Abrams (guitar, vocals), and Bruce Soboroff (keyboards, vocals). This group has been together 4 times as long as the first Buckinghams of the 1960s were together.

The Buckinghams' hits and the band's popular live performances brought, on average, 80-100 bookings per year. The Buckinghams were consequently part of two extremely successful national tours. The first tour was Members Only’ Happy Together Tour, along with The Turtles, The Grass Roots, and Gary Lewis and the Playboys in a 125-city tour, produced by David Fishof and Howie Silverman. The Happy Together Tour was named by Billboard Magazine as one of the top 10 grossing tours of 1985. 

In 2001, The Buckinghams were part of the successful “Solid Gold 60s Tour,” also featuring Tommy James and the Shondells, The Grass Roots, Paul Revere and The Raiders, and Gary Puckett and the Union Gap. As the fans rediscovered their favorite band, The Buckinghams headlined festivals, played arenas and theatres across the country, and appeared in casinos. In 2005, they were invited to play for the Twilight on the Prairie Ball for the Presidential inaugural.

Television appearances on national network programs continue. The music of The Buckinghams continues to hold a solid place on XM and Sirius Satellite Radio stations, streaming Internet and Wi-Fi stations. In 2008, The Buckinghams were nominated to the Hit Parade Hall of Fame, cofounded by radio programming executive John Rook, whose high-profile project is assisted by a respected board of radio and record label executives.

The Buckinghams’ latest album on Los Angeles-based Fuel Records, called “Reaching Back,” showcases 8 new songs written by Carl Giammarese, as well as 5 of their 1960s hits.  The Buckinghams continue to tour in the United States, Canada, and overseas musical venues including arenas, theatres, festivals, casinos, cruises, and corporate events.