When, in 1967, the Buckinghams took the stage for an appearance on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," they found that the set designers had pulled out all the stops in their honor.
There was one small problem, though.
"The whole stage set was decorated in British flags -- you know, the Union Jack. The whole set," recalls Buckinghams guitarist Carl Giammarese.
"We were called the Buckinghams; they just took it for granted that
we were a British group. The reality was, we were a bunch of guys
from Chicago."
Happy Together Tour
Who: Flo and Eddie, Micky Dolenz, the Grass Roots starring Rob Grill, Mark Lindsay and the Buckinghams
Where: Paramount Theatre, 1300 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park
When: Friday at 8 p.m.
How much: $39, $49, $56 and $69. Call 800-745-3000 or visit livenation.com
Giammarese, 62, is one of the founders of the '60s hitmakers behind "Kind of a Drag," "Don't You Care" and "Hey Baby, They're Playing Our Song." He and another founding Buckingham, bassist Nick Fortuna, are scheduled to perform Friday in Asbury Park alongside fellow '60s artists Flo and Eddie, Micky Dolenz, the Grass Roots and Mark Lindsay. Some proceeds from the show will benefit the Light of Day Foundation, which raises money to fight Parkinson's disease.
Giammarese says that these days, the Buckinghams' fan base can be pretty varied.
"It depends on the venue," the guitarist says. "Of course, we get the Baby Boomers, the people who remember us from way back when. But we do see younger people who are embracing '60s music. So it's diversified. But in the casinos and theaters, it's more the Baby Boomers."
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The Buckinghams recorded their first album, 1967's "Kind of a Drag," at the legendary studio Chess Records in Chicago (which was the subject of the 2008 film "Cadillac Records" starring Beyonce Knowles).
"It was my first experience at recording," Giammarese says.
"I remember we were so excited that we were going to record at Chess Records at 2120 South Michigan Ave. in Chicago. I was very much aware of all the great jazz artists, all the great blues artists, who recorded at Chess -- people like Muddy Waters and Little Walter and Chuck Berry. When our manager booked us, we were just blown away."
Giammarese credits Dan Belloc, who co-produced the song "Kind of a Drag" with Buckinghams manager Carl Bonafede, as the creator of the song's horn-driven sound.
Subsequent Buckinghams producer Jim Guercio built on that theme.
But Guercio perhaps took studio innovation a bit too far while producing the Buckinghams' 1968 hit "Susan."
Recalls Giammarese: "We were in the studio, and Jim Guercio said he had this idea. He had us leave a blank space there on the track and then come back in."
Without the band, Giammarese later added a "psychedelic" sequence that was apparently misunderstood by more than one person.
"Later on, when we got the test pressing of 'Susan,'" Giammarese says, "we thought something had gone wrong with it! A few radio stations edited that break out of the song when they played it. Maybe Guercio was thinking of the Beatles' 'Day in the Life' or something? I should ask him some day."
Mark Voger can be reached HERE.