Buckinghams to Play Two Shows at the Riverside Casino Resort Show Lounge. Riverside, IA

7 and 10 p.m. Saturday (12/26)
Riverside Casino & Golf Resort Show Lounge, 3184 Highway 22, Riverside, Free, (319) 648-1234, www.riversidecasinoandresort.com


From the Iowa City Press-Citizen online site:

Riverside Casino Show Lounge, Riverside

7 and 10 p.m. Saturday

Chi-town quintet pounded the charts and Midwestern ballrooms in the late-sixties (I saw 'em at The Surf with the Cryan Shames), hitting No. 1 in 1967 with "Kind of a Drag." Other hits include "Don't You Care," "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)," "Susan" and a vocal version of Cannonball Adderley's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy." This re-formed edition, featuring two original members, has been on the road for some 25 years.

Carl Giammarese Appearing on WGN Radio's Steve and Johnnie Show, December 17th at 11pm

From the blog on wgnradio.com,
Steve & Johnnie Schedule - Dec 17th - THURSDAY NIGHT / FRIDAY MORNING

We get another musical treat for the holidays as Carl Giammarese of The Buckinghams joins us in studio to perform songs from their holiday album The Joy of Christmas and other Buckingham hits. TUNE IN at 11 pm, on 720 WGN-AM or listen online at wgnradio.com.

PLUS

Missed something from this week? A comment you didn't get to share with us? We do our best to get to it all in our 3 AM Unfinished Bidnezz Hour.

PLUS

Where to chill out after all that holiday shopping? Who's in town? What's new on the big screen? We spill it all in our 4 AM hour as we present The Weekend!

Kent Kotal's Forgotten Hits Blog Features The Buckinghams' The Joy of Christmas Today

Kent Kotal, Chicago music lover and originator of the blog "Forgotten Hits," features Christmas music from Chicago bands in his daily blog. Today's post, available at:
Forgotten Hits: More Christmas Music


Excerpted here...
And I was very happy to receive this note from another one of Chicago's legendary bands, The Buckinghams:
Hi Kent,
From "The Joy Of Of Christmas," I would like to feature the Buckinghams Christmas song "Have A Little Faith." It is a song of faith and hope and the promise that things will get better. I would like to dedicate it to all our fine men and women that are making the ultimate sacrifice by putting their lives on the line serving us in Iraq and Afghanistan with the hope and faith that they will soon be rejoined with there families ... our prayers are with them.
Kent, your readers can also download the track by going to www.thebuckinghams.com/20081110
Have a blessed Christmas.
Carl Giammarese

Thanks, Carl. In fact, The Buckinghams have their entire Christmas Album, "The Joy Of Christmas", available for downloading FOR FREE on their website from now until New Year's Day!!! It's a GREAT collection of Christmas classics along with some brand new Christmas music written by the band. And we are VERY happy to feature "Have A Little Faith" on the website today ... a BEAUTIFUL song that we got to see Carl perform live at this year's Rock And Roll Roots CD Release Party. Thanks again. (kk)


http://www.thebuckinghams.com/20081110/The%20Buckinghams%20-%20The%20Joy%20Of%20Christmas%20-%2002%20-%20Have%20A%20Little%20Faith.mp3


.. and, speaking of The Buckinghams ....

re: THE BUCKINGHAMS:
THANK YOU FOR GIVING THE MONKEES THEIR DUE RESPECT. I'M ASSUMING THEY'RE THE ONLY GROUP IN MUSIC HISTORY WITH FOUR #1 LP'S IN ONE YEAR!! TALK ABOUT IMPACT!! IT REMINDS ME OF THE BUCKINGHAMS, WHO SCORED FIVE TOP TEN SINGLES HERE DURING THE SAME YEAR, RIGHT?
... MICHAEL G. BUSH
The Buckinghams had an INCREDIBLE run during 1967, the same year that The Monkees hit #1 with their first FOUR LPs. The Bucks started the year off with a #1 Single, "Kind Of A Drag" and then followed that up with four more National Top Ten Singles: "Don't You Care" (#6), "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" (#5), "Hey Baby, They're Playing Our Song" (#5) and "Susan" (#7). It's amazing to think that ANYBODY was ever releasing as many as five singles a year ... yet THESE guys were taking all five of theirs into The National Top Ten!!! (In between, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" peaked at #39 ... and, here in Chicago, they also placed "I'll Go Crazy", "I Call Your Name" and "I've Been Wrong" in our Local Top 20 before their 1967 assault on the charts. AMAZING!!!) kk
Posted by Kent Kotal at 6:42 AM [12.14.2009]

Buckinghams to Play Potawatomi Casino, Friday, December 11th

On Friday 11 December 2009 at 9:00 pm, The Buckinghams return to the Northern Lights Theatre of the Potawatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee. The Chicago group has played this venue several times in the past few years. The Northern Lights Theatre is a two-tiered venue with booth and table seating on the first floor, traditional theatre seating on the second floor. Crowds can enjoy the 60s music they know and appreciate and relive the music of that generation performed by The Buckinghams.


Northern Lights Theater
1721 West Canal Street
Milwaukee, WI 53233
Ticket info: (414) 847-7400
Show starts at 9 pm.

Carl Giammarese Visits Dick Biondi for Christmas Toy Drive on WLS-FM, 11/27/09

Chicago's favorite videographer, known by just one name, McCrackin, has posted two new YouTube videos taken at the 2009 edition of the annual Dick Biondi Toy Drive, where WLS was broadcasting live to raise money and get new toys donated for UCAN. The community really responded and they were able to raise substantial dollars and now have toys to make Christmas brighter for so many Chicagoland children, who would otherwise be thinking Santa forgot them this year.

Carl dedicated his song, "Have a Little Faith" to all the men and women serving our armed forces, who have to be away from their loved ones during the holiday season. This song is from "The Joy of Christmas" CD by The Buckinghams.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSZ3DVP2iDE

Here is the holiday duet of Dick Biondi, who joked that people had offered him $60 NOT to sing, singing with Carl Giammarese on "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibnWZtHsKpY




Also on YouTube here's a blast from Christmas past, 2005, posted by videographer John Michaels of Lisle, IL, JMike100, from Biondi's 2005 Christmas Toy Drive. Featured in this video include WLS Chicago live music and concert icon, H. P. Bertram, better known as "The DanZman". Carl and Dick entertain the crowd with "Take Me Out to The Ballgame," reprising their performance from Wrigley Field, where they were joined by Ronnie Rice and Jim Peterik to sing "Take Me Out to The Ballgame" for the 7th Inning Stretch....accompanied by ukeleles, unforgettable.


For Dick Biondi's 15th toy drive in 2007, videographer John Michaels put together a 1-minute video montage, including Dick and Carl Giammarese. Here's the link for that montage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKqW_meYc2c&feature=related

Also appearing at these toy drives were the New Colony Six, Ronnie Rice, and The Ides of March, among other Chicago favorites.

Marshall Lytle's New Book Talks of Performing with The Buckinghams at Sea, along with Several Popular 60s Bands

Pictured from their 2006 Oldies Cruise show, members of The Buckinghams and The Original Comets, including founding bass player, Marshall Lytle. Buckinghams members pictured here include Carl Giammarese, Nick Fortuna, Bob Abrams, and Bruce Soboroff.

A nice surprise to read Marshall Lytle's new book talks of being part of some fun oldies ocean cruises in his role as original bass player for Bill Haley and the Comets. In Lytle's new book, "Still Rockin' Around the Clock: My Life in Rock N' Roll's First Super Group, Bill Haley and the Comets, Lytle notes:

"The first cruise we did was in 2004 with Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Buckinghams, and Gary Puckett and the Union Gap-great organizations, and these people just did wonderful work. In 2005, we did the show with Paul Revere, the Raiders (again), Gary Lewis and the Playboys, and Peggy March. In 2006, the Buckinghams returned and Blood, Sweat and Tears appeared." (pp. 164-165).



Lytle's book, coauthored with Michael Rush, is available on amazon.com. Plans are to begin doing book promotion tours in the next few months. A fun, fast read that takes you right back to the excitement of the beginnings of rock and roll at its best.
Marshall Lytle is a great storyteller and still a great bass player, as anyone who's seen them in concert knows.

For more on Marshall, Joey, and Dick, go to http://theoriginalcomets.com