It's not every day that an aspiring young musician receives a Roy Smeck ukelele instead of a dreamed-about drum kit and is told that it would be great to learn music on the uke. The uke fell into the 'disdained' category and remained there safely until some 40 years later, a new appreciation for both the ukelele and a musician, Kharmachanic, who has mastered same was discovered on YouTube. In the department of "you just can't make this stuff up," here's "Kind of a Drag," a number one hit for The Buckinghams, on the uke. Enjoy.
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...
Comments
Post a Comment