Remembering Booking Agent Charlie Davis

NASHVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 22: Trip Brown, Bob Birk, Charlie Davis, Lee DeWzye, Jim Lenz, Lori Otelsberg, and Howard Silverman backstage during the IEBA 2013 Conference - Day 3 at The Omni Nashville Hotel on October 22, 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for IEBA)

Today our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Charlie Davis, our Paradise Agents booking agent who passed away Wednesday, August 25, in his home. Charlie was an important part of our many tours that include casinos such at the South Point Casino, Sun Coast Casino in Las Vegas, and the Golden Nugget clubs across the country.

A brief summary of his career is found at celebrityaccess.com (Click here).

A second obituary on Pollstar notes that he worked with music icon Chubby Checker as his manager for over 30 years, and in his early 20s, he started out at road manager for Peter Frampton (see story here).

His local newspaper featured a most happy photo of Charlie, enjoying driving a boat on some well-deserved time off:

Full story located here. The family requests: “In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made in Charlie’s memory to the Schuylkill Haven School District Music Department located at 501 East Main Street, Schuylkill Haven, PA, 17972.”

Photo-- NASHVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 22: Moderator Charlie Davis of Paradise Artists, Inc. speaks at the Breakout Sessions Let's Talk Casino Entertainment during the IEBA 2013 Conference - Day 3 at The Omni Nashville Hotel on October 22, 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for IEBA)

When The Buckinghams perform at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas on Friday, October 8, we will definitely be thinking of him and we'll always remember him fondly. Godspeed Charlie, Carl Giammarese, Nick Fortuna, and all The Buckinghams organization.

Comments

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

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

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

The Buckinghams in Concert

Search This Blog