Claims of having spent time with the Buckinghams during their peak years circulated widely among residents on Chicago’s northwest side, and consistent purchases of every release from those individuals might have propelled the rock band past even the Beatles in total record sales. While still attending high school the five-piece act drew steady crowds, then swapped its original name the Pulsations for the Buckinghams to ride the British Invasion wave before inking a deal with USA Records in Chicago during 1966. Layering rich vocal harmonies and sharp soul-inflected horns behind Dennis Tufano’s buoyant lead singing, the group uncovered the wistful “Kind of a Drag” and soon held a million-selling number-one pop single. A swift move to Columbia Records followed. Continued supply of strong material from songwriter Jim Holvay kept the Buckinghams in strong position, and his co-writes on “Don’t You Care,” “Hey Baby (They’re Playing Our Song),” plus the pseudo-psychedelic “Susan” each became sizable hits. The band’s R&B foundation emerged clearly in a vocal version of Cannonball Adderley’s jazz standard “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” which stood as their second-biggest success. Commercial momentum faded sharply after 1967, however; despite ranking among that year’s biggest rock acts, the Buckinghams scored just one further hit following the early months of 1968. Original guitarist Carl Giammarese and bassist Nick Fortuna later reformed the group and resumed full-time touring in 1982.
