Happy New Year 2023 from The Buckinghams

On this final day of 2022, we’d like to take a moment to address all of you who are here on our musical journey across the country and over the seas as we travel on cruises. Our world has been changing constantly this year, and as a result, we have seen what happens when we all join together in song, and in appreciation of the music that brings us together. The Buckinghams are now celebrating what will be our 58th year as a group.

Thanks to quality songs by James Holvay, Gary Beisbier, Lloyd Price, Cannonball Adderly, and lyricists Johnny “Guitar” Watson, and Larry “Bad Boy” Williams, as well as the late Marty Grebb, our fellow bandmember, and talented producers including Dan Belloc, Carl Bonafede, James William Guercio, Jimmy “The Wiz” Wisner, as well as talented arrangers, label promo teams, and relentless devotion to our craft, The Buckinghams continue to be heard on terrestrial radio, we’re streaming on your favorite devices, and many times when you speak to Alexa, Siri, or Google, you’re requesting the devices to play our songs for you.

When concert promoters had to wait out the in-person paralysis of freezing in-person concerts, you all tuned in to our YouTube channel, my YouTube channel, and you stayed with us across all 3 pages on Facebook. DJs around the country kept in touch with us and talked with us about new music we worked on (in our basements) and in carefully controlled studio environments. In 2022 the veil was gently lifted, and the velvet rope pulled back once again when live music events began to reappear as safely as we could all be.

COVID had sidelined some of us for a time, but miraculously, thanks to vaccinations and consideration of all of you, even though we had to forego meet-and-greets, which was a sacrifice for us and for you, you attended our concerts and shared your love for our personal appearances. We saw many of you in the 2022 Happy Together Tour city travels. Thousands of miles, thousands of music fans. You were there for us each time.

We’re now entering 2023. I see on our calendars appearances in towns large and small, sailing the seas to exotic ports of call, and summer festivals and fairs, and showcases together with our musical friends. Our Cornerstones of Rock signature Chicago gatherings always promise a return to the best times of our teenage days.

American Pops concerts with The Box Tops and The Grass Roots (occasionally with The Association) mean an evening of fun wherever we go. Concerts with Peter Noone, Tommy James, and Gary Puckett keep our best days fresh and fun. Then, we enjoy opportunities to reunite with friends in music in selected concerts of the Happy Together Tour.

In 2022, new music was offered from Carl in solo and duet form with colleagues and you all embraced the new songs as enthusiastically as he could ever ask for. New records were set for our fans who have seen us over the “first” 57 years of our shows. To think that you have saved times in your lives to be together with us throughout the coming year is a compliment and a gift of precious time that we appreciate profoundly.

In 2023 we wish for you that all your dreams come true, for you to have great health, enjoy plenty of time with those you love, that you find healing when you have sustained a loss, and that you all know how important each of you is to The Buckinghams. Here’s to another great year of friendship, laughter, and music.

Happy New Year, from all of us in The Buckinghams’ family, and thank you.

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

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