THE BUCKINGHAMS 'GREATEST HITS' STILL SEALED COPY COLUMBIA PC 9812 60s POP

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THE BUCKINGHAMS 'GREATEST HITS' BEAUTIFUL STILL SEALED COPY COLUMBIA PC 9812 STEREO ~ ALL ANALOG PRESSING
THE BUCKINGHAMS "GREATEST HITS" LABEL: COLUMBIA PC 9812 ORIGINALLY RELEASED: 1969 STILL SEALED CRISP ALL-ANALOG COPY MID 1980's "THE NICE PRICE" REISSUE SERIES PRODUCERS: JAMES WILLIAM GUERCIO / DAN BELLOC  LINER NOTES: LINDA SOLOMON
CONDITION: PRESUMED MINT ~ STILL SEALED COPY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've been going thru my massive vinyl record collection these past few weeks and pulling out some LPs that I thought that someone else would want for their collection. I've been collecting records for over 45 years and it's time to pass some of them on to the next generation of collectors.
This week on EBay I am offering up this still sealed U.S. Columbia pressing of The Buckinghams "Greatest Hits" album.
This is my original copy, purchased back in the mid 80's that I've taken great care of for many years. I had several other Buckinghams albums and never opened this copy. It's in perfect condition.
This is a still sealed, perfect, all analog pressing of the great Buckingham's 'Greatest Hits'
Originally released in 1969, this 'Greatest Hits' album is the best representation of the Buckingham's sound. It contains all their classic hits, some great rare B-sides and the fantastic cover of Lloyd Price's “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” which was one of the group's early hit singles on the USA label that didn't appear on any of their early albums.
It's really all you need from this band for your collection, unless you can find the rare early pressing of their first album 'Kind of a Drag' on the small Chicago 'USA' label that contains the great rave-up "I'm a Man". The long, raw, garagey song was dropped from later pressings, as it was too 'rocking' compared to their new Pop direction.
That first Buckinghams album on the USA label is fantastic; much rawer and more garage-rock sounding.
This 'Greatest Hits' album remains a perfect look at the better side of late 1960s AM radio. This record has all the Soul/Pop/Rock hits of the Buckinghams that hit the airwaves before 1969. It proves how great and timeless those classic hits are. 
For one brief shining period, in the late ‘60s, the Buckinghams sat near the top of the music world. All seven of the group’s top 40 hits came within a two year period, between 1967-1968.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Buckinghams formed in Chicago in late 1965 as a young garage rock band. 
After a couple of personnel changes, their line-up gelled, consisting of guitarist Carl Giammarese, vocalist Dennis Tufano, bassist Nick Fortuna, drummer Jon-Jon Poulos and organist Dennis Miccolis. Miccolis was drafted in 1966 and was replaced by keyboardist Marty Grebb.
The 1966-era Buckinghams were a great local band. They had a terrific youthful mix of garage, blues, and blue-eyed soul, with a heavy British Invasion influence from bands like the Kinks, Zombies, Yardbirds, and the Troggs. 
Dennis Tufano was an excellent singer, Giammarese played great fuzzy guitar, and Jon Poulous was one of the best pop-rock drummers in Chicago. The band was tight, despite their youth.
The band's big break came when they won a "Battle of the Bands" contest sponsored by Chicago TV station WGN's music show, "All Time Hits."
The 'Prize' was that they earned a multi-week gig on the show. Since the 'British Invasion' was in full swing, the TV shows producers wanted the guys to have a cool, British-sounding name, so 'The Buckinghams' was chosen.
The TV show got them noticed thru the Midwest leading to them finding their first manager/co-producer, Carl Bonafede, and getting signed to Chicago’s USA Records. 
Starting in 1966, they found musician Dan Belloc to help produce, and Frank Tesinsky to help arrange, and went on to record 12 great singles for the regional USA label.
With this new management they created some of the best soul-shaded Chicago pop-rock of the era.
The singles they cut for USA were mostly great songs. “Don’t Want To Cry” and “I’ve Been Wrong” were masterful garage-y tunes and were regional hits for USA.
“Makin’ Up & Breakin’ Up” and "Sweets For My Sweet” had a garage-pop sound, with nice organ and raw guitar work. “Love Ain’t Enough” was a great blue-eyed soul song. 
They also did several Cover songs including James Brown's "I'll Go Crazy" and The Beatles' "I Call Your Name"
I lived in Chicago during the late 60's and remember hearing the Buckingham's USA singles on the radio. I purchased a few back then and still  have them in my collection today.
The Buckinghams were popular in Chicago, but needed a big hit to break Nationally.
The band's manager Carl Bonafede knew of a local songwriter James "Jimmy Soul" Holvay who wrote several of the band's early hits when he was still a member of the Chicago Rock/Funk band The Mob. The songs didn't 'fit' the sound of the Mob, but when re-interpreted by the Buckinghams, they became hits. Holvay wrote "Don't You Care", "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)", "Susan." and their last song recorded for the USA label, the smash hit, "Kind of a Drag"
Holvay wrote “Kind of a Drag” when he was breaking up with his girlfriend, and it originally was a sad, slow and melodic song. The Buckinghams sped it up and rocked it up, and created a hit. It was, and still is, a real 'earworm' of a song.
Producer Dan Belloc added punchy horns to the tune and launched both The Buckinghams and the "Chicago Sound" into the Pop charts.
~~~~~~~~~~ Recorded in December 1966, and released on the small USA label, the Buckinghams’ first and biggest hit, “Kind Of A Drag,” topped the Billboard Pop Singles Chart in early 1967 and sold more than a million copies. When USA Records released it, no one anticipated the impact it would have.
“Kind Of A Drag” was slightly raw, but had a catchy melody, solid upbeat rhythm, and that classic horn intro. It defined the band's sound and set the tone for the group’s future hits and their career. It also defined the 'Chicago Horn' sound, which became all the rage in the late 60s.
Shortly after 'Kind of a Drag' became a huge hit, other Chicago bands tried to copy their sound, which led to some great 'One Hit Wonder' singles by Chicago bands such as The Ides of March, the Cryan’ Shames, and the New Colony Six.
~~~~~~~~~~ As mentioned, “Kind of a Drag” was the last song the Buckingham's recorded under contract for the USA label, which left them in the unusual situation of having the #1 Song in the Country and NO recording contract.
That soon changed. Free from their USA contract, the band evaluated many offers, and they signed with Columbia Records.
Columbia Records offered National distribution, better recording studios, and a better production team.
Columbia and the band agreed on James William Guercio, who’d written Chad and Jeremy’s recent #1 hit, “Distant Shores,” as their new producer/manager. Guercia is credited with adding horns, strings, and better production and steered the band in a new mainstream Pop direction.
Guercio was smart enough not to mess with the Buckingham's general sound and style, leaving their garage-y, soulful style intact, just adding tasteful horns and cleaner production.
Their first single for Columbia, "Don't You Care" was a Top 10 hit.
USA records also released a cover of Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy” which climbed the charts alongside “Don’t You Care.” 
Columbia countered with "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" a remake of Cannonball Adderley's hit.
With multiple chart hits at the same time, the Band was in the unusual position of having several songs in the Top Ten on 2 different record labels, leading to Billboard Magazine calling the Buckinghams “The Most Listened to Band in America.”
The rise in popularity of the band, and the success of 'Kind of a Drag'  caused their previous label, USA, to re-release a bunch of their previous singles as well as a 'new' 12-song album. also called 'Kind of a Drag,' made up of earlier songs. Overnight, it became a major-selling album. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Following 'Kind of a Drag', the band released a fantastic string of hits: “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy”, "Makin' Up and Breakin' Up", "Don't You Care", "Susan" and "Hey Baby, They're Playing Our Song", "Love Ain't Enough", "Susan" and others.
Most of them boasted mid-to-uptempo arrangements that benefited from Guercio’s smooth production. 'Susan' has an interesting "Psychedelic Interlude” in it, appropriate for the times, and the closest this band ever got to being 'Psychedelic'.
The Buckinghams weren't just a hit singles band. During their peak period, Guercio-produced 3 great albums for Columbia: “Time and Charges”, “Portraits”, and "In One Ear and Gone Tomorrow."
These albums are peppered with their hits, but also include some great deep cuts that are excellent. The band's biggest singles are classis 60s Pop and are pure pop ear candy. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1967 was a whirlwind year for The Buckinghams. They had a No. 1 hit record with “Kind of a Drag,” they toured extensively playing almost 300 shows, and they appeared on several TV shows.
While the airwaves were brimming with The Buckinghams’ latest tunes, TV audiences saw them on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “The Smothers Brothers’  Show,” “The Jerry Lewis Show,” and “American Bandstand.”
The Buckinghams quickly became part of American teenage culture. Their faces were splashed on national magazines, posters and album covers with a look and style that helped define 60s pop rock. They were clearly one of America’s answers to the British Invasion.
Cash Box Magazine named them “The Most Promising Vocal Group in America,”
1967 was an amazing year in music. 1967 gave us many acts with Top 20 hits, among them, The Doors, Box Tops, The Rolling Stones, Supremes, The Beatles, and The Young Rascals, but the ONLY groups to score five different Top 20 hits that year were The Monkees and The Buckinghams. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Buckinghams were a true ‘60s pop phenomenon, known for their catchy tracks, jazzy drumming and use of a horn section.
They were pop superstars on top of the World for a period in 1967-68, and released many great hits, but by late 1968, after making 3 great albums over a 2 year period, the Buckinghams started to fade.
By their 3rd album, 1968's “In One Ear and Gone Tomorrow”, the band wanted to take more charge of their careers. They got a new manager, Jimmy “The Wiz” Wisner, and a new producer, John Hill, and shifted away from their mainstream Pop direction.
After Monterrey Pop, Woodstock, and protests against the Viet-Nam War, musical tastes were quickly changing and the Buckingham's style of clean pop-rock was becoming outdated.
While on tour, in the Summer of 1968, several members of the band and some roadies were busted on drug charges in Spirit Lake, Iowa. This led to legal issues, inter-band tensions and was the start of the group's downfall. 
The individual members were starting to have other interests and wanted to go their own ways. They went through a string of personnel changes, which didn't help matters.
The Buckinghams mutually disbanded at the start of 1970, but they all remained involved in music and entertainment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Buckinghams’ impact on the music scene didn’t end when the band broke up. 
The musical trend the Buckingham's started, introducing the use of horns and brass to rock songs, led to big changes in rock music. 
The story is that Al Kooper listened to the Buckinghams, loved the horn ideas, and went on to put together the brass/rock fusion group 'Blood, Sweat & Tears.' Kooper left after the bands first album, but James William Guercio stepped in and produced the classic self-titled second album.
In 1968, Guercio took his experience from The Buckinghams to become a staff producer for Columbia. At the encouragement of The Buckinghams, Guercio signed the local group “The Big Thing,” or as they were renamed, “Chicago,” and produced their first 11 albums. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After the band broke up, most all of the original members went on to other musical careers.
Guitarist Carl Giammarese and former lead singer Dennis Tufano formed a rock duo “Dennis and Carl” with an acoustic style and played around the Chicago area. With help from The Buckinghams’ drummer, John Poulos, they were signed to Ode Records, run by legendary producer Lou Adler, who renamed them “Tufano and Giammarese” and released 3 albums.
By the late 70's, the members of the Buckinghams went their own ways.
Giammarese did solo work and did lots of advertising work. Tufano moved to California and did Film work, and Bassist Nick Fortuna immersed himself in rhythm and blues.
Drummer John Poulos went on to manage & produce bands until he passed in 1980 due to succumbing to his vices.
Multi-instrumentalist Marty Grebb went on the road, working with Bonnie Raitt, Leon Russell, Eric Clapton, and Dave Mason, He passed in 2020.
In 1980, The Buckinghams (Giammarese, Fortuna, and Tufano) famously reunited for the annual ChicagoFest Festival. That show was well received and the band had a minor resurgence for several years. They went out on several 'oldies' tours with other popular 60's acts.
In the 1990s, The Buckinghams music got renewed interest when Sony/Legacy released the great “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” compilation CD. 
In recent years, the Buckinghams signed with Nation Records and Fuel records and continued to release music.
Their classic early records have been re-released digitally, but to really hears them at their peak, this all-analog 'Greatest Hits' album is the way to go.
This album is Still Sealed and in excellent condition. A classic album that should be in everyone's vinyl collection.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The great Buckinghams hits on this 'Greatest Hits' album include:
Don't You Care Lawdy Miss Clawdy Back In Love Again Why Don't You Love Me I'll Go Crazy Susan Mercy, Mercy, Mercy And Our Love Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song) Foreign Policy Kind Of A Drag
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** NOTE: I'm selling this record "AS IS" and "NO RETURN". It's still sealed and in excellent condition. I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I’m recently retired and downsizing and letting go some gems and rarities from nearly 45 years of vinyl record collecting. Check out the many other fantastic 45s and 33s coming soon to my page!
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THANK YOU for looking and reading if you got this far.  -- JOHN