Becoming The Buckinghams
Because of band leader and Holiday Ballroom club owner Dan Belloc and new Pulsations manager Carl Bonafede, The Pulsations won a 13-week spot on WGN-TV’s All Time Hits program. By week 2, The Pulsations were known as The Buckinghams. By week 4 Giammarese had recruited Nick Fortuna to be their new bass player after Curtis Bachman decided to leave the group. The Pulsations were originally identified as “Rock and Roll Royalty” because of their superb look, sound, and style. The Buckinghams would later earn the new identity as “Chicago’s response to the British Invasion.” The Buckinghams made one final change to the lineup and added Marty Grebb on keyboards and vocals when Dennis Miccolis left the band after the WGN-TV shows were completed.
In 1967, when the USA single "Kind of a Drag" went to #1 on the national charts, most of The Buckinghams were still under 21 and entered a series of business decisions by group vote, based on instinct rather than professional legal advice. The group chose a new manager, James William Guercio, and a new label, Columbia Records, for their future recording projects. On the strength of their first #1 single on USA Records, in early 1967, The Buckinghams were named “The Most Promising Vocal Group” by Cashbox Magazine.
In approximately 18 months' time, The Buckinghams had Top 5, Top 10 and Top 20 records with the release of singles every three months, including “Don’t You Care,” “Hey Baby, They’re Playing Our Song,” “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” (USA Records), "Susan" and “Back in Love Again.” Columbia quickly released two albums, Time and Charges and Portraits produced by Guercio. USA Records released an album composed of all the sides recorded at Chess Studios in 1965 that was simply titled Kind of a Drag on the strength of their #1 national hit. The Buckinghams were named by Billboard Magazine as “The Most Listened to Band in America” in 1967.
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