The Buckinghams in Concert

From Chicago to LA and back again, There’s magic in the air tonight and it’s thanks to a story, some 50+ years in the making, of how a group of talented musicians, many of them undiscovered, would come together, in a story of reaching the top of the charts on Billboard , Cashbox , and Record World , fueled by determination to carve out each leg of a journey that would take his songs all over the world. One man would stay the course over 50 years in between paths that kept him far from the stage and spotlights in between each foray into music. But still the music kept calling his name. When it comes to The Buckinghams, it just so happened that the body of work he wrote solo or with Gary Beisbier made possible a #1 hit record for The Buckinghams and the devotion to their music that comes from being named by Billboard Magazine as "The Most Listened to Band in America." Am I talking of the music of The Buckinghams, the five-man band from Chicago who found fame and acclaim...

Are you ready to go back, back, back in time to when two Chicago native singer-songwriters, vocal champs, and guitar fanatics began building their repertoire of songs (and guitar collections) that would become iconic? Whether Billboard Chart toppers or deep tracks that so many Chicagoans and Midwest music lovers know by heart, these two anchors of their bands “The Ides of March” and “The Buckinghams” bring you the excitement of their respective “Cornerstones of Rock” collective show that you’ll enjoy later this year. “And as I board my plane Something inside my brain Hates to wave L.A. goodbye, aye L.A. goodbye, aye, aye" ~~Jim Peterik “Music everywhere Music fills the air Feeling it running down your spine Feel it taking over your mind Celebrate with a bottle of wine And some music everywhere.” ~~Carl Giammarese “…Then I touched your hand I could hear you whisper The search is over Love was right before my eyes” ~~Frank Sullivan and Jim Peterik Indeed, as Jim has written:...

Carl Giammarese has been back down in his Twenty-Four Seven Studio and having fun reviewing some of the songs he's written over the past 10-12 years. As he went through them, he rediscovered several of them that were really special to him. Next he thought about how best to get these songs out, so he decided on digital streaming across all the platforms. His first release is "Geographical Breakup" and in this video he adds a personal message. Find and listen to Carl Giammarese as well as to The Buckinghams on all streaming media. Search for them by name. Or, just click the following ilnks: Carl Giammarese's "Geographical Breakup" on Spotify Carl Giammarese on Pandora Carl Giammarese on Deezer Carl Giammarese on iTunes While you're there, please consider "Following" Carl as an artist and putting a "Heart" on the songs you enjoy! ...

May 11, 1937 – October 3, 2020 In recent years when the phone would ring, a bright and ebullient voice would ring out, “Hello Carl, ol’ mate, how’s it going?” And that would begin a chat of at least 30 minutes between two old friends with mutual respect, a lot of history, and miles of laughter in between. On Saturday, we received the sad news that longtime friend and former tour manager Peter Shelton had died today. A native of England, Peter grew up with a devotion to football. It was an early passion of his life and he rooted, as well as scouted, for both Blackpool Football and Manchester City Football Club. Early in his career, he was highly respected as a scouting talent and football clubs often called on him to advise them. His collective knowledge of the sport and friendships across multiple teams would ultimately lead him to his first publication, “My Name is Len Davies, I’m a Football Scout.” The book co-authored with Davies, was “an account of almost 50...

Before COVID-19 hit the entertainment world and brought live concerts, and seagoing cruises with classic rock favorites to a screeching halt, The Buckinghams had been enjoying traveling the United States and then out of country with the 2020 Flower Power Cruise in the Caribbean. On August 24, 2020, rock collectors' magazine Goldmine published a lengthy, informative interview with Carl. They talked about fun trivia only true Buckinghams' fans would know, like the 13th cut on certain copies of the "Kind of a Drag" album released by USA Records, a small label in Chicago. They also discussed recording at the iconic Chess Studios where Bo Diddley, Howling Wolf, and Muddy Waters once created historic tracks there. Included in the interview was the talent of songwriter James Holvay, who wrote or co-wrote most of the hits by The Buckinghams. Also of interest were Tom and Carl discussing that funky psychedelic break in the song "Susan" and it's fun to see it ...

Our friends, the entertainment reporting duo of Marc and Carol, better known as Love Imagery, published a wonderful interview and review with Carl Giammarese. They took the time to visit with us during the earliest part of the hiatus of all live concerts due to health considerations caused by the activity of the COVID-19 across the country. Love Imagery asked Carl questions about his father's career and passion for music, the types of music he heard around the house as a young man from Chicago growing up in the 1950s. They added several insightful questions about the early days of The Buckinghams as well as questions about Carl's career as a jingle singer and how he was inspired to start performing his "Live from the Basement" video concert series especially for fans of The Buckinghams to enjoy while we wait for the return for live music again. Enjoy reading the full story here by clicking the link below: https://medium.com/spotlight-central/mercy-m...

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...