Skip to main content

Buckinghams' Fan, Steve Merry, Shares Memories of the Happy Together Tour 1985-1986

When The Buckinghams toured the country on their first Happy Together Tour, they were part of one the year's Top 10 Most Popular Tours, according to Pollstar, which keeps track of concert attendance and ticket sales. The Happy Together Tour '85-'86 was produced by Howard Silverman and David Fischoff, and the tour was sponsored by Members Only, quite popular at the time.


Steve heard The Buckinghams and the Happy Together Tour at the Hulman Center, in Terra Haute, Indiana. Steve graciously shared photos from several pages of his Souvenir Tour Booklet for others to enjoy on Chicagosveryown Buckinghams' Facebook page. Reproduced here with his permission.


Top photo-Encore with everyone on stage.
Bottom photo--(L to R: Tour co-producer, Howard Silverman, today of Paradise Artists, Carl Giammarese, Rob Grill(Grass Roots), Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman(The Turtles), 3 reps from Members Only, Tour co-producer, David Fischoff.


About Members Only, Tour Sponsor.


About The Buckinghams--Tour Bio.


The Buckinghams-Photos from the 60s and '85/'86.


About The Grass Roots.


Photos of The Grass Roots.


Gary Lewis & The Playboys Photos.


About Gary Lewis & the Playboys.


Photos of The Turtles.


About The Turtles (Mark Vollman and Howard Kaylan, aka Flo & Eddie).


Family Album, page 1.


Family Album page 2.


Cousin Brucie, WABC-AM Radio Legend, and MC who came out to launch the Happy Together Tour that year. Bottom panel is an ad for music by The Turtles.


Discography for all the bands, plus the bottom panel is an ad for The Buckinghams new single release, "Veronica", from their album, "A Matter of Time" on Red Label Records. Carl, Nick, and the band did this song as part of their set that tour.


Happy Together Tour Production Team.


A Message from Tour Co-producer, David Fischoff.


Back cover of the Souvenir Tour Program.

Thanks again to Steve for taking the time to share his memories. He's ready to attend the HTT 2011 when the tour comes to Effingham Perfomance Center, Thursday, August 25, 2011.

Comments

  1. It was a blast being a part of the 1985 happy together tour as well as a member of the Buckinghams! The best thing I took away from that tour besides all the wonderful memories and great friends was my wonderful husband who was the Drum tech on the tour! We've been happy together since 1985 and still together celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary this year! (2016) I'm still singing and loving every minute of it!
    Cheers!
    Laurie Beebe Lewis
    www.lauriesmusic.com

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

Dick Biondi, Beloved Chicago Radio Legend, Dead at Age 90

Baby Boomers across Chicago and anyone who listened to rock n’ roll radio around the country in the past 50 years likely knows the name Dick Biondi, aka “The Wild Itralian.” Biondi remains a beloved DJ who made friends and loyal listeners wherever the radio waves would broadcast, from Los Angeles to his native New York, and anywhere 50,000 watts reached in between. Word is making its way around the music community that the beloved icon passed away on June 26, at the age of 90. If ever there was one among a leader board of favorite Chicago DJs whose personality shined across the nighttime, it was Biondi. Credited as the very first American DJ to debut a Beatles record on air, and best known by Chicago music icons as the “man who gave us our first big breaks” with local airplay” when they were first beginning, Dick Biondi was the teenage musician’s friend. Carl Giammarese, lead singer of The Buckinghams, said today, “Dick gave so many of us our first big breaks on r

What Celebrating 50 Years Since Reaching #1 on Billboard Means in the World of The Buckinghams

Everyone who is a fan of the band The Buckinghams can easily name all the songs that were Top 10 hits, Top 20 hits, and Billboard Top 100 chartmakers. You have several songs that have personal, special meaning for you. But the song that took the native Chicagoans out of the basements of the band members' homes was the one USA Records released last, almost as an afterthought. "Kind of a Drag" has the distinction of being the song that took this band to the national level. Many wonderful bands are part of Chicago history, and they are as beloved today as they were in their time. But this one song, "Kind of a Drag" took flight and went to #1 on Billboard 50 years ago today, February 18, 1967. Imagine what it was like for five young men to hold a copy of "Billboard" in their hands. For a few years, Carl and Jon-Jon had gone to the newsstand each week, buying a single copy of "Billboard" and reading it cover to cover. These days you hear about