The Buckinghams in Concert

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...

Thanks to Kent Kotal for his Forgotten Hits Sunday Comments today, noting the video of "I Knew You When", an audience favorite featuring Carl Giammarese. ******** re: THE BUCKINGHAMS: I recently found this hot new video of Carl Giammarese and The Buckinghams performing the Joe South / Billy Joe Royal tune " I Knew You When " ... pretty nice version of a FAR too under-played oldie. The band sound great ... and it's neat to see a brand new "concept video" interpretation of this tune! YouTube - The Buckinghams I KNEW YOU WHEN ****** Video credits go to L. A. Franicich, of Transient Organs Productions, for creating and posting this video. It's Vintage Buckinghams from 1998, and their "Terra Firma" CD release on Nation Records. Of note for collectors, there's two releases of "Terra Firma". Only the 2003 special edition CD (see cover below) of " Terra Firma " includes this particular video.

While traveling recently, we paused to stop in at one of the famous Cracker Barrel Restaurants found on major highways and couldn't wait to shop for the unique greeting cards. An interesting find was the "Remember When" series of cards, published by Seek Publishing, and there's a card for each year you were born. With a card for every year over a 60-year period, you can find a car for the year you were born, or one for your parents, and grandparents. The "kardlets" contain info pertaining specifically to that particular single year. Zoom in and see that among the favorite hit songs of the year 1967, "Kind of a Drag" by The Buckinghams is right there in favorite memories. Special highlights of the card series include: • News • Hollywood highlights • Price index of cars, houses, milk, gas, and more • Year specific magazine advertisements If you see this where you like to buy greeting cards, be sure and check out the one from 1967. For more info, chec...

Minnesota is a favorite state for Buckinghams' concerts, and a particularly great concert was the Faribault County Fair , held July 26, 1986. Featuring The Buckinghams and Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon, the concert was considered 'retro' as " Back to the 50s and 60s ". Today 'retro' is 'classic'. Sponsored by radio station KBEW-AM, whatever the event was part of the festival/fair heydey of the mid-80s. No matter how high the hair piled atop their heads, Carl, Nick, Bob, Bruce, and Tom, are ever much the same today as back in 1986.

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...

One popular nationally syndicated show, "The Village Square" was broadcast each week between 1965-1968. The program was 30 mins of variety entertainment featuring the house band, The Villagers, Jeannie Le Bois, and the Village Dancers. The current hits on the charts were performed by The Villagers, and it's like deja vu all over again for The Buckinghams, who for 13 weeks were on the show All-Time Hits, doing this exact routine, performing the popular hits of the day. Kind of a Drag, performed by The Villagers It wasn't long before The Buckinghams were the hitmakers being emulated by groups of talented musicians across the country. And, All-Time Hits, on Chicago's own WGN-TV was the first local Chicago program broadcast in color. The Village Dancers are also an important part of the formula The Buckinghams had accompanying them on their TV performances. An even more subtle feature is the silver drum kit in the background looks very much like the kit Jon-Jon used ...

Festivals and fan cams are a great way to give those couldn't attend a chance to be there for part of the fun. These videos are new from YouTube user, Hal109. Taken with his Canon digital camera at the Highland Park, IL festival in August, 2009. In the first video, Carl Giammarese sings "Happy Together" by The Turtles from a great part of the concert. Carl, Nick, and Tom Scheckel were part of the Happy Together Tour in 1985, one of the Top 10 Grossing Tours of 1985-1986. and here's Bob Abrams on lead vocals in an excerpt of Tommy James' "Crystal Blue Persuasion" in The Buckinghams' Solid Gold 60s Medley, a crowd favorite. In a tribute to Chicago, Carl Giammarese sings "Does Anyone Really Know What Time It is?" In this compilation of still picturea and video, catch the festival fever and enjoy the show. Look for Steve Frost on trumpet solo in this standout performance.