The Buckinghams in Concert

Travel plans for the Happy Together Tour are "almost" as complex as those at Mission Control at NASA. You go here, here, there, there, here, there, and back to here, but over there, then take a left and...well, you get the idea. When a concert promoter comes up with a concept for a musical tour, they're relying on knowing what audiences are in what cities that love classic rock music. That's step one. Then, you have many venues that either are brand new and can't wait to book the tour, or they're longtime venues where you've booked shows before, and every year the tour is extremely likely to perform in the venue, because they can always count on selling tickets to happy audiences. Happy audiences mean happy ticket buyers who are loyal each year the show comes to your town. In some cases, like Florida , you'll find four dates within a week's time. In the northeast, you'll see many shows booked in almost a triangular fashion in different cities...

When the Happy Together Tour was being planned for 2019, executives reached out to Carl Giammarese earlier this year to gauge interest availability for what was described as the 10th Anniversary Tour for the annual summer trek around the United States, bringing a veritable group of traveling classic rock stars to favorite venues they visit annual as well as some new places on the map for the typical 90 minute time travel machine filled with music and memories. The funny thing was that yes, this is the 10th anniversary of the Happy Together Tour, but it's actually the 10th year of the Happy Together REUNION tour. You see, the very first Happy Together Tour was launched in 1984 , and the lead group, who performed the eponymous hit, was of course The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie. Joining them that year were Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, Spanky & Our Gang, and The Association. Here's the cover of that first year's tour book designed by Reiner Design Consultants. M...

Recently Warren Kurtz, a Contributing Editor at Goldmine, interviewed Carl Giammarese for his column: “Warren’s Fabulous Flip Sides.” You can also catch Warren most Saturday mornings, in the 9 a.m. hour, EST, as part of “Moments to Remember” at wvcr.com or iHeart Radio – search WVCR. Mr. Kurtz spoke with vocalist and guitarist Carl Giammarese about The Buckinghams, his post-Buckinghams ‘70s duo Tufano & Giammarese, his solo work, The Beatles concert Abbey Road on the River, the Happy Together Tour 2019, The Chicago Cubs, and rescue dogs. Read the entire article here: https://www.goldminemag.com/articles/fabulous-flip-sides/fabulous-flip-sides-the-buckinghams-carl-giammarese-interview?fbclid=IwAR2vzjVusCESi4beSS0KZQXneof4sjaXxjd_Q0155P4BP9msbP7alnYe_cY

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 ...

This story is one for the archives! On Valentine's Day 2017, the ultimate entertainment producer and grand host, our very good friend, Ron Onesti, welcomed Chicago natives back into his "home stage" in St. Charles, the one and only Arcada Theatre. Thanks to Pamela Pulice of the Dick Biondi Film Project for sharing a photo of the marquee. The music of Jimy Sohns, Jim Peterik, Ronnie Rice, New Colony Six, the Cryan Shames, The Ides of March, Colin Peterik, Ted Aliota, and The Buckinghams was heard to another sold-out crowd and even the Dick Biondi Film Project team was on hand, doing live broadcasts from the Arcada for people to enjoy on Facebook. Snapshots of each group performing were shared so people who couldn't get there would be included in the fun. Ron writes as well as he produces concerts, so we'll share the first three paragraphs and then give you the link so you can read the original article for its own beautiful self. Ron, as always thanks so much f...

Just when you think you knew where to find "all things Buckinghams" you might be surprised and pleased to see one more. One of The Buckinghams' most dynamic music supporters and history preservationists is a very wonderful lady, Lesley Clack. On her initiative, and with permission from the band, she started a new Facebook Group, "Picture the Buckinghams" and the page link is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1791834574391351/ Anyone can view the page, but in order to share your photos on the page, all you have to do is request to join the group, and that's it! One request button. For a long time, Lesley has been taking photographs from very good perspectives at concerts, as she's often very close to the stage because she gets her tickets the first day they go on sale. In fact, here's a photo of Lesley in action taking pictures in Las Vegas as longtime fan and friend Terri D'Talia snapped this one: Lesley is based on the West Coast and she...

"Living in the Moment" is the latest solo CD from Carl Giammarese, and it represents a year of composing songs that reflect a present-day look back at the past and focus on the future. For those not on Facebook, here's "What People Are Saying--Reviews of 'Living in the Moment'" shared here: Have you had a chance to hear Carl’s new CD yet? Did you have preconceived notions about what you might hear? Were you right? One thing you can say for certain is that Carl’s talent in songwriting has never been clearer than in this new CD. The diversity of the musical offerings, the styles in which he can sing (reggae, country, soft rock, Christian rock, and of course, classic rock) go far beyond what you hear at a beloved Buckinghams’ concert. Carl is a modest man, and when he released the music, he didn’t know what to expect in terms of feedback. Recently he shared that he’s receiving so many e-mails with your reactions to his work, after people have ordered an...