The Buckinghams in Concert

Well, it’s just one of those things that happens in the world of classic rock concerts. The Buckinghams were originally scheduled to be on the 2020 Flower Power Cruise, but sadly, they’re not on the recently rescheduled 2022 Flower Power Cruise. Original 2020 ad. We’d all gotten excited in early 2020; the wonderful folks at Star Vista Cruises had their terrific promo set up and they’d even done an interview with Carl about what fun everyone would have again. Tragically COVID-19 hit our country and devastated many lives, which we still are lamenting today from our sincere losses of precious loved ones. Without a doubt, whether COVID impacted your home personally or you immediately quarantined voluntarily or otherwise, we can agree that our worlds as we once knew them, all froze for about 18 months while we waited for a cure via vaccines. Like just about every other business, the entertainment industry screeched to a halt, impacting everyone from the concertgoers ...

On August 31, Illinois music fans can be part of an exciting first in classic music history. At 7pm the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet will be the site of the inaugural Annual Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony sponsored by the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66. Twelve inaugural inductees include bands The Buckinghams, the band Chicago, Cheap Trick, The Ides of March, and REO Speedwagon, plus bluesmen Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters. Also to be honored are radio station WLS-AM, popular deejay Larry Lujack and the iconic Dick Biondi (Lifetime Achievement Award) legendary Chess Records, and venue The Thirsty Whale. This is the group originally identified as the Class of 2020, but COVID delayed the opening of the museum and Hall of Fame inauguration. A concert on August 31 will feature live performances by REO Speedwagon, Ides of March, Jimy Sohns (Shadows of Knight), Muddy Waters’ son, Mud Morganfield, New Colony 6, and the Millenials. The band Chicago and The Buckinghams ar...

/> In 1966, what are the chances that Carl Giammarese, Nick Fortuna, Dennis Tufano, Marty Grebb, and John Poulos would have ever thought that their names, faces, mementos, and music would be part of an historic exhibit housed in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois? Known as “The State of Sound: A World of Music From Illinois,” it’s most prestigious for The Buckinghams to be included in this collective. It’s fair to say that no one saw this coming. Sadly, two of the five band members are no longer with us, but both John and Marty have daughters who can see and feel the adulation of their fathers’ respective musical legacies. From 1966–1967, in the course of a year’s time, several young men from Chicago’s north side and one from the south side came together to form two bands; ultimately three members of The Centuries would come and go into The Pulsations, whose first membership also experienced comings and goings in their band. Ultimately...

UPDATE TO ARTICLE: Answers to Questions at the end of the article. Scroll down to see! Many of you who collect nostalgia and save souvenirs through the years from days when you went to hear your favorite groups in concert often have a file, a box, or a folder with old concert ticket stubs, a few photographs and autographs, and maybe even some sheet music from songs you used to play in bands while you were a teen. Going through some files today, two distinct copies of sheet music jumped out for “Kind of a Drag,” which went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts. They are different in at least three different ways. How quickly can you spot them? Photo #1 Photo #2 Take your time and study both pictures. If you think you have all the answers as to how they’re different, feel free to post them on Facebook. Waiting to see how fast they jump out at you. Answers will be posted tonight here at facebook.com/TheBuckinghams. Good luck! ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS FOLL...

There are many truly knowledgeable Buckinghams fans to be sure, and many are from Chicago, so it seems right to ask a few questions to check your trivia knowledge while we wait for more music and concert dates. Three questions to start: 1) How many week(s) was “Kind of a Drag” at the #1 Spot on Billboard? 2) Which exact one or more week(s) was it at the #1 spot in 1967? 3) What song was previously in the #1 spot that “Kind of a Drag” replaced? If you’re a longtime Buckinghams fan, you likely know the answers but just in case, scroll down and check your answers. Question 1, it was at the #1 spot for 2 weeks. Question 2, they were at the top the week of Feb. 18 and the week of Feb. 25, 1967, according to the Billboard Top 100 charts. Now, for Question 3…if you’ve been to a Buckinghams’ concert in person, you just might have heard lead singer Carl Giammarese tell how The Buckinghams knocked The Monkees out of the top spot. And he does it with great flourish and satisfaction. ...