RPM45
We’re going back to the heyday of the 45 rpm record -- the little records with the big holes.We’re talking about the '60s '70s and '80s. We'll talk to some of the artists that had big hits back then.
RPM45
Carl Giammarese of The Buckinghams
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Carl Giammarese of The Buckinghams
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Season 1
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Episode 25
In the late ‘60s, there were a lot of great groups coming out of Chicago, but the most successful were The Buckinghams – with five major Top 40 hits in the space of little more than a year -- kicked off by "Kind of a Drag"...atop the charts for two weeks in early '67.
In this episode, we talk with the guitarist and singer who continues to perform with the group -- Carl Giammarese. We cover a bunch of topics including...
- How the band got a big break (and its new name) on a local weekly TV show.
- How those TV appearances led to the band's first contract with a local record label.
- How "Kind of a Drag" became a hit.
- What it was like to have a #1 record while still in high school
- Signing with CBS Records after the success of "Kind of a Drag."
- How four of the group's hits were written by a member of another Chicago group...all about his breakup with a girlfriend named Susan.
- Why the band's success didn't make them much money.
- How the band crashed when the '60s ended, and how he coped with it.
- Recording in L.A. with legendary producer Lou Adler
- Returning to Chicago and success as a jingle singer.
- The band's reunion at a Navy Pier concert.
- The '80s resurgence of The Buckinghams and other late '60s bands, fueled by Baby Boomers.
- And... MUCH MORE!