Song:Kind Of A Drag
Album:Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (A Collection)
Kind Of A Drag was a number one hit for The Buckinghams in 1967. At that time they were the number two band in the US after The Monkees. Despite the British Invasion name, The Buckinghams were from Chicago. They started out in 1965 as The Pulsations. Members were singer Dennis Tufano, guitarist Carl Giammarese, keyboardist Dennis Miccolis, bassist Nick Fortune and drummer John Poulos. A battle of the bands win got them a TV show on WGN in Chicago. The producers of the show suggested a name change to reflect the British Invasion and The Buckinghams were born. They signed with a local label USA Records with national distribution from Chess Records. Kind Of A Drag was the first single and it topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967. The song was written by local songwriter Jim Holvay of The Mob. He wrote several songs for The Buckinghams. The band changed management to James William Guercio and he got them a deal with Columbia Records. Guercio is best known as producer of Chicago and he added horns to The Buckinghams. And though they had success with top ten hits like Don't You Care and Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, there was conflict with Guercio. They wanted more creative input and he had the last word. They split with Guercio and their 1968 album in One Ear and Gone Tomorrow was produced by Jim Wisner. But the album was unsuccessful and after personnel changes and continued attempts to record, The Buckinghams split up in 1970. This budget CD has all their hits. Tufano and Giammarese recorded three albums as a duo for Ode Records. Poulos became their manager. He died in 1980. After the duo split, Tufano moved to Los Angeles and Giammarese wrote jingles. Giammarese reformed The Buckinghams in 1980 and continues to lead them today. Here are The Buckinghams performing Kind Of A Drag 1967.
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