The Buckinghams in Concert

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...

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. ...

The Buckinghams are back in concert, starting in as few as 8 weeks from now. After months of agency strategic planning, innovative booking effort, and lots of patience from you the fans, Carl and Nick have released their concert dates that are as set in stone as much as can be. Concerts begin in July 2021, in Petoskey, Michigan, at the Odawa Casino and Resort and continue through the rest of the year. Not all concerts have live ticket links posted to purchase right now. Others are starting to show live dates ticket links and The Buckinghams have two 2022 shows listed, again with more to be revealed soon. All concert dates are still subject to change, but at this point in the scheduling year, here's what they are packing up and heading out for. Looking at just some of the 2021 and even a few 2022 concert dates set for The Buckinghams, it's great to see this strong regional coverage, but in the month ahead, more dates will be posted around the country on...

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 ...

From a Jan. 5, 2009 article in the Illinois Entertainer magazine, Jim Holvay's "Kind of a Drag" receives top song honors as made a signature tune of The Buckinghams: Songs 1-10 Illinois Entertainer picks the 25 greatest songs in Chicago history, continued below: "Hearing how much Magic 104.3 used to blast this song from my mom’s Chevy Citation while on garage-sale rounds, one gets an appreciation of what 1967 was like for Chicago and The Buckinghams. What we know today as the “Chicago horn sound” was astonishingly new when “Kind Of A Drag” landed, and the song seemed to encapsulate every sound from their ensuing album: stately pop, garage rock, blue-eyed soul, British invasion. True, Chicago (the band) had already formed at this point, but “Kind Of A Drag” contained a lot of ideas they’d pillage." Full story link at: http://illinoisentertainer.com/2009/01/songs-1-to-10/comment-page-1/

In the April edition of Chicago Magazine ( www.chicagomag.com ) readers will note in Jeff Ruby's article that The Buckinghams' "Kind of a Drag" comes in at #39 of the top 40 of 'any' Chicago records. We're not talking about 'of the 1960s' but instead, of any time period. As the first page of the article shows, The Buckinghams' album debut on Chicago's USA Records label was selected to be included among contemporaries including Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor, The Staple Singers, The DJ Fast Eddie, Screeching Weasel, the inimitable Howlin' Wolf, The Chi-Lites, and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. The digital version of Ruby's article can be reviewed online Chicago Magazine and explores the questions "What counts as a Chicago record"? and "What does 'greatest' mean"? This distinction was first noted by Johnnie Putman of the WGN Radio "Steve and Johnnie Show", whose keen eye saw it first. The story is i...

According to the Billboard Magazine music charts, today marks the 43rd anniversary of the day when "Kind of a Drag" reached the number one spot. The Top Five Songs for the Week of Feb. 18, 1967 include: 1 Kind of a Drag, The Buckinghams 2 I'm a Believer, The Monkees 3 Ruby Tuesday, The Rolling Stones 4 Georgy Girl, The Seekers 5 (We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet, The Blues Magoos Released originally on the USA Records label, the song was coproduced by Carl Bonafede and Dan Belloc, recorded at Chess Studios at 2120 S. Michigan Ave. in Chicago. The office and studio was designated as a Chicago Landmark in May, 1990 and is home to timeless rock, blues, and jazz classics that, like the music of The Buckinghams, remain a commodity, even 43 years after their original release date. Columbia Records bought the masters for The Buckinghams' music after the band signed as Columbia recording artists, so you'll find Kind of a Drag as hits on both labels. Most recently, Carl G...

Said it before, will say it again. The Internet is a great invention. YouTube is even greater. Where else in the world but the Internet and YouTube could you ever hope to hear a #1 song played on the Ukelele and it actually sounds terrific? Admit it, you think ukelele, your mind races to Don Ho's "Tiny Bubbles." Right? But after a viewing of this gentleman, known only as "kharmachanic" it's quite a special rendition. And the talented troubadour has more videos on the Net of other songs, each video hosting a regular cast of characters, including the cockatoo (shades of Baretta) and a cat that answers to either Tiki-Tiki or Aku-Aku. So, expect the unexpected when you catch this version of a song you only thought you knew:

On this day in history A history lesson from "Good Time Oldies Buffalo radio veteran Tom Schuh - the greatest Top 40 hits of the 60s and 70s: Beatles, Brits & Beach Boys; Motown & Memphis and more! Plus "Hall of Fame Hits" from the 50s, and even a few "Modern Oldies" from the 80s." BIRTHDAYS: The Troggs guitarist Chris Britton is 65. Richie Havens is 69. MUSIC HISTORY: In 1957 Filming began on Elvis Presley's movie "Loving You." In 1961 Elvis Presley signed a five-year movie deal with producer Hal Wallis. In 1962 Jackie Wilson performed on "The Ed Sullivan Show." In 1965 The Animals had to cancel a show at New York's Apollo Theater when the U.S. Immigration Department refused to allow the group to work at the venue. The Rolling Stones arrived in Sydney, Australia to begin a tour with Roy Orbison. The Kinks released the single "Tired of Waiting for You" in the UK. In 1966 George Harrison married his first wife,...

In the noted "Swingin' Showbiz Saga," by David Letterman's sidekick and leader of the CBS Orchestra, Paul Shaffer, music of The Buckinghams is mentioned twice in "We'll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives." The 2009 book is published by Flying Dolphin Press and is coauthored by Paul Shaffer and David Ritz. Page 67 notes that after high school graduation, Paul Shaffer listened to WLS radio in Chicago all the way from his hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. In Chapter 26, "Divided Soul," Shaffer speaks of his dilemma in having been asked to be musical director for the upcoming Blues Brothers movie, but the overlapping request from Gilda Radner to write songs with her and coproduce her album on a record deal she'd just been signed to develop. Shaffer's work on The Blues Brothers Movie project was substantial enough to the point where, in Shaffer's own words (pp. 185-186) "As the script started shaping up, it became clear that...

It's not every day that an aspiring young musician receives a Roy Smeck ukelele instead of a dreamed-about drum kit and is told that it would be great to learn music on the uke. The uke fell into the 'disdained' category and remained there safely until some 40 years later, a new appreciation for both the ukelele and a musician, Kharmachanic, who has mastered same was discovered on YouTube. In the department of "you just can't make this stuff up," here's "Kind of a Drag," a number one hit for The Buckinghams, on the uke. Enjoy.