The Buckinghams

Personnel:
NICK FORTUNE bs A B C
CARL GIAMARESE ld gtr, vcls A B C
DENNIS MICCOLIS organ A
JON-JON POULOS drms A B
DENNIS TUFANO gtr, vcls A B C
MARTY GREBB keyb'ds, horns B
(JIM GUERCIO bs )

ALBUMS:
1(A) KIND OF A DRAG (USA 107) 1967 109
2(B) TIME AND CHANGES (Columbia CS 9469) 1967 58
3(B) PORTRAITS (Columbia CS 9598) 1968 53
4(B) IN ONE EAR AND GONE TOMORROW (Columbia CS 9703) 1968 161
5( ) MADE IN CHICAGO (Columbia 33333) 1975 -
6( ) ROMPIN' AND STOMPIN' (Capitol ST 440) 19?? -
7(A/B) GREATEST HITS (Columbia CS 9812) 1969 73
NB: (1) reissued on CD by Sundazed with bonus tracks (SC 6126) 199?. (2) and (3) reissued on one CD (Sundazed SC 11073) 199?. (4) reissued on CD (Sundazed SC 11074) 199? with nine bonus tracks.

45s:
1 Sweets For My Sweet/Beginner's Love (Spectra-Sound 003) 1965
2 I'll Go Crazy/Don't Want To Cry (USA 844) 1966 112
3 I Call Your Name/Makin' Up And Breakin' Up (USA 848) 1966 -
4 I've Been Wrong/Love Ain't Enough (USA 853) 1966
5 Kind Of A Drag/You Make Me Feel So Good (USA 860) 1966 1
6 Laudy Miss Claudy/I Call Your Name (USA 869) 1967 41
7 Summertime/Don't Want To Cry (USA 873) 1967 -
8 Don't You Care/Why Don't You Love Me (PS) (Columbia 44053) 1967 6
9 Mercy, Mercy, Mercy/You Are Gone (PS) (Columbia 44182) 1967 5
10 Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)/And Our Love (PS) (Columbia 44254) 1967 12
11 Susan/Foreign Policy (PS) (Columbia 44378) 1967 11
12 Back In Love Again/You Misunderstand Me (PS) (Columbia 44533) 1968 57
13 Where Did You Come From?/Song Of The Breeze (PS) (Columbia 44672) 1968 117
14 This Is How Much I Love You/Can't Find The Words (PS) (Columbia 44790) 1969
15 It's A Beautiful Day (For Loving)/Difference Of Opinion (PS) (Columbia 44923) 1969 126
16 I Got A Feelin'/It Took Forever (PS) (Columbia 45066) 1970 –
Special Juke Box Disc:
17 Interview + 'Kind Of A Drag' (Play Me Play Back 1013) 1966
18 Veronica/Can We... (Red Label 71001) 1981
NB: There's also a French EP with PS: Kind Of A Drag/You Make Me Feel So Good/Don't Want To Cry/I'll Go Crazy (Columbia ESRF 1841) 1967.

Originally known as The Pulsations, The Falling Pebbles, The Centuries and later The Buckingham Fountain, this Chicago-based act came together in 1965. Their biggest early exposure was on WGN-TV's "All Time Hits" show in 1965, playing cover hits of the day. Their first 45 release was a cover of the Drifters/Searchers' hit Sweets For My Sweet on Spectra Sound. They were soon signed by the Chicago-based USA Records. Their first three 45s were also substantial local hits but their big 'national' break came when Kind Of A Drag (written by Jim Holvay of local Chicago band The Mob) climbed to the top of the U.S. Singles Charts in February 1967. This resulted in Columbia buying their contract from USA Records and Jim Guercio, who was later involved with The Mothers Of Invention taking over production of their recordings.
They enjoyed two further Top Ten hits with Don't You Care (which was again written by Holvay and fellow Mob member, Gary Beisber) and Mercy Mercy, which took a top twenty instrumental hit by jazz musician Cannonball Adderly earlier that year and added vocals. Their first two albums also sold quite well peaking at No's 109 and 58 respectively in the Album Charts.

Not a psychedelic or garage band as such they did release a 45, Susan, which was an attempted venture into psychedelia and this was their most relevant recording to this book, whilst their first album is quite garagey, and of their early 45 cuts Don't Want To Cry is a great fuzz raver and I've Been Wrong Before is a great British-inspired slice of garage-pop.
Although they fell from favour in 1968, following a drug bust, they struggled on until 1970 and their Greatest Hits compilation, released in the Summer of 1969, made No. 73 in the U.S. charts. Incidentally, Martin Grebe, who joined the band in 1968 had earlier played in Chicago act The Exceptions.
Carl Giamarese and Dennis Tufano later signed to A&M Records as a duo (recording under that name) and met with further chart success. They were one of a number of acts managed by Jon-Jon Poulos before his drug-related death on 26th March 1980. Marty Grebb also played with Dick Campbell and became an active sesson musician during the seventies.

The Buckinghams reformed in 1980 and again in 1981 for the annual Chicago festival. In 1985/86 they released two cassettes Sincerely Yours and A Matter Of Time, and for their 30th anniversary in 1996 a live CD/cassette and video Places In Five was released. They have also recently released their first new album of mainly original material Terra Firma, available on CD.
The vinyl junkies out there may want to know that in 1966 they released a juke-box only 45 on red wax. It consisted of a track from their first album and interviews with the band and is now one of the rarest sixties recordings out of Chicago. The compilation Psychotic Reactions (LP) also includes their rare I'm A Man cut featured only on the first pressing of their debut LP (and the Sundazed CD reissue). A right roarin' rave-up it is too which is why it was replaced makes you wonder if The Litter had heard this.
You can also find I've Been Wrong on Pebbles Vol. 6 (CD) and I Don't Want To Cry (the flip side to their first 45 on USA Records) on both Glimpses, Vol. 1 (LP) and Glimpses, Vol's 1 & 2 (CD).
For more information on the band - check their website: http://www.aol.thebuckinghams.com
(Vernon Joynson/Cheryl Miller/Byron Stewart/Stuart Shea/Stephane Rebeschini)