Chicago Music Favorites Tapped to Celebrate Columbus Day

To those in Chicago who look forward to attending the annual Columbus Day Parade, it is especially memorable for those of Italian heritage, thanks to Christopher Columbus for discovering America. The year 2021 Parade marked the 69th annual parade, held on State Street.

[L to R: Carl Bonafede, Rocky Penn, Carl Giammarese, Carlo Isabelli, Nick Fortuna, Bruce Soboroff. Photo by Susan Rakis.]

Pride in one’s family heritage runs strong, in Chicago and in every city across the country, but in the case of the Columbus Day annual celebration, one need only look to the JCCIA, which stands for the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans. [Photo courtesy of San Filippo Foundation, Facebook page.]

When JCCIA current president Ron Onesti, CEO of Onesti Entertainment (The Arcada, Des Plaines Theatre, and several other venues), was planning for the 2021 Columbus Day Parade, he reached out to the Sanfilippo family (Jasper Sr.’s widow, Marian, and their five children continue to be involved in the success of the business today—John, Jim, Jeffrey, Lisa, and Jasper).

Jasper Sr. had instilled his personal pride and passion in his family and his employees to work your hardest and best to help your community. The family gave Onesti their permission to dedicate this year's parade to Jasper Sr., who died Jan. 28, 2020. COVID-19 safety precluded a 2020 Columbus Day Parade from taking place.

The 2021 parade took a little over an hour and was covered in its entirely on ABC7-TV with hosts Ryan Chiaverini, Val Warner, and Anthony Rago. The result was an unforgettable parade, which can be replayed in full (click here). Of greatest excitement to The Buckinghams’ fans, though, is the very end; click below to see The Buckinghams' specific segment of the parade:

Looking closely, you’ll spot Carl Bonafede, aka The Screamin’ Wildman, of Chicago radio fame in the 1960s and beyond.

Bonafede was also the first manager of The Buckinghams in the early 1960s before they broke out into either local or national prominence. The fans still love Bonafede, an icon in his own right, a contemporary of legendary radio DJ Dick Biondi.

Bonafede and The Buckinghams remain close today. As recently as this past summer, before a recent Chicago concert, Bonafede came to introduce The Buckinghams to a very appreciative crowd.

Carl and Nick always remember the hard-working enthusiast who brought them from the garage into the living rooms around the country in a friendship that has endured over 65 years now.

That’s just a little more Chicago history from the world of rock music and local civic pride of individuals who love living and being based in Chicago.

Thanks to the JCCIA, Chicago residents will long remember the Screamin' Wildman, Carl Bonafede, and of course the band they've loved for over 50 years, The Buckinghams.

As the end of 2021 approaches, and we look back on every kindness that has been shown to those we regard, it's really so uplifting to see, particularly in the case of Carl Bonafede, no matter how far you go in you career and how many accomplishments you have, remembering who brought you to national prominence in the beginning and keeping them close in your heart, is most important.

Carl Bonafede continues to be the vital and enthusiastic supporter of The Buckinghams that he was from Day One, the days of the Holiday Ballroom record hops.

If you are looking for a nice Christmas gift for your music lover, check out his biography, "The Screaming Wildman: Vibrations from the Dawn of Chicago Rock," by Carl Bonafede, edited by Joel Bierig.

In Memory of John Poulos, March 31, 1947 - March 26, 1980

Five days before his 33rd birthday, we lost John Poulos, a dear friend who was like a brother to us, as well as The Buckinghams’ drummer. Often described as the heartbeat of our band, he was known to most Buckinghams’ fans of the 60s simply as Jon-Jon. To know John was to love him. With his outgoing personality, he never met a stranger. His talent is remembered best in the style he displayed on drum fills and riffs on our hits, including “Don’t You Care,” “Hey Baby, They’re Playing Our Song,” and “Kind of a Drag.” It’s not surprising that Jon-Jon was included as one of the Top 10 drummers in Modern Drummer Magazine. Contemporary MySpace profiles of aspiring amateur and professional musicians today include the name John Poulos among their musical influences. That’s an honor both fitting and accurate for a musician who was truly one of a kind. Nick and I recall that one of John’s own musical influences was Bobby Elliot, drummer for The Hollies, whose signature beret and tossing of his he...

In Memoriam — Martin Joseph Grebb

On the first day of a new year and a new decade, friends and family of Marty Grebb read a post on his Facebook page that sparked instant concern. The composition he shared had required much thought, and in it, Marty shared his love, regard, concern, and caring for virtually every person he’d worked with professionally, loved in his lifetime, and showed how deep his feelings ran for an earlier day and time when his body and mind were not wracked in pain by the five types of cancer he said he’d battled over time. The outpouring of love and support, expressions of concern, reminders of so many who had friended him on Facebook and felt as though they’d really known him, were nothing short of amazing. Offers of “please call me” or “we are worried about you” or “hang on, brother, we are here” filled the comments section. If there were a point in time when he was wavering in his attitude about what his plan was, everyone did whatever they could yesterday, New Year’s Day, to show their supp...

Remembering Frank Tesinsky, Beloved Chicago Musician, Key to The Buckinghams' Characteristic Sound

Each time the opening notes to “Kind of a Drag” come on the air, whether it’s your car radio, your phone, or choice of streaming media, the first 23 notes you hear inform you immediately that not only are you hearing “Kind of a Drag,” but you are hearing The Buckinghams. That instant recognition, in turn, is thanks to the talent of musician Frank Tesinsky, who arranged the iconic tune for producers Dan Belloc and Carl Bonafede in a 1966 recording session in Chicago’s Chess Studios. The Buckinghams family was greatly saddened to learn of Frank’s passing on November 9. Catherine Johns, his wife of 32 years, was a beloved part of his life and part of Chicago radio as well. In February 1967 "Kind of a Drag" was #1 on the Billboard charts for two weeks, and it forever defined the sound of five young men from the northside of Chicago. Just 27 notes, right? And yet, it defined the magic of what would become known as “the horn sound” that The Buckinghams are b...

The Buckinghams in Concert

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