The Buckinghams in Concert

Tuesday, August 31, marks the exciting long-awaited opening of musician Ron Romero’s dream: the Illinois Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . It’s located in the heart of Joliet, IL, at 9 W. Cass St. "On behalf of the entire Buckinghams band, original lead singer and founding member Dennis Tufano will be representing in the formal Hall of Fame induction ceremony," announced his friend and longtime fellow Buckingham, Carl Giammarese. "It’s poignant and so important that Dennis be there just as he was in the very beginning. The founding member we all considered the “heart” of The Buckinghams, John Poulos, and early founding member George LeGros as well as final founding member, Marty Grebb, are no longer with us. Dennis will share memories from his heart and will be wonderful in representing all of us from the beginning. He’ll also sing a few songs that evening," said Carl. Two early shots of The Pulsations turned The Buckinghams during the early days of WGN-TV...

/> 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...

This picture is from Carl Giammarese’s personal photo album and it’s of a celebration of John Poulos’ birthday back in the late 60s/early 70s. The cake looks pretty good. Today John would have been 73 years old and without a doubt, he would be one of the most positive voices you looked to for affirmation that, no matter what was going on at the time, things were all going to work out just fine. It’s the basic nature of an optimistic person to want to make things better, to cheer people up when they’re sad, and to take a leadership role in turning a bad situation into a good one. To hear Carl tell stories of their early days together, John was someone whose personality really meshed with his. They had many interests in common and they didn’t fear what was coming tomorrow. Rather than being overly serious about long-term worries, instead John was able to enjoy the moment and capture the joy of being there, something many of us forget to do. Three rare, early photos of The Buckingha...

It’s hard to fathom that it’s been 40 years since The Buckinghams’ leader, drummer John Poulos, passed away at the too-young age of 32. Travel back in time for a few minutes as we remember John through the eyes and memories of his bandmate and friend, Carl Giammarese. First, Carl's video message, especially for friends and fans of The Buckinghams, who’d journeyed with them from their earliest days. John’s legacy of love lives on, and his many gifts and talents are remembered by those who loved him dearly, especially his widow, Dale Fahey, and their daughter, Polly, a talented creative in her own right. And now, flashback to the very beginning. From the band photo (above) the year was 1965 and The Pulsations won a battle of the bands in Chicago, chosen to perform on Chicago’s WGN-TV for 13 weeks on the show, “All Time Hits.” Band members on the show by the 4th week were: [L to R]: Nick Fortuna, Dennis Miccolis, John Poulos (seated), Dennis Tufano, and Carl Giammarese (seated)]....

On the first day of a new year and a new decade, friends and family of Marty Grebb read a post on his Facebook page that sparked instant concern. The composition he shared had required much thought, and in it, Marty shared his love, regard, concern, and caring for virtually every person he’d worked with professionally, loved in his lifetime, and showed how deep his feelings ran for an earlier day and time when his body and mind were not wracked in pain by the five types of cancer he said he’d battled over time. The outpouring of love and support, expressions of concern, reminders of so many who had friended him on Facebook and felt as though they’d really known him, were nothing short of amazing. Offers of “please call me” or “we are worried about you” or “hang on, brother, we are here” filled the comments section. If there were a point in time when he was wavering in his attitude about what his plan was, everyone did whatever they could yesterday, New Year’s Day, to show their supp...

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 ...

Dann Isbell has released his new book "Ranking the '60s: A Comprehensive Listing of the Top Songs and Acts from Pop's Golden Decade." The book was released August, 2013 and is advertised as "the ultimate 1960s music countdown with more than 6,800 songs and over 1,800 acts ranked for popularity based upon national weekly chart performance." Use the "Search Inside" feature and find The Buckinghams mentioned 18 times! The book is available on amazon.com right here, and is the perfect stocking stuffer for all of your favorite music lovers. Click here to order today. Thanks to Kent Kotal and his Forgotten Hits blog for the heads-up on the great comprehensive book.

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...