Kind Of A Drag by levipatrick

levipatrick - Kind Of A Drag

levipatrick

May 04, 2025 05:19pm

For Rhonda! <img src="https://www.songfacts.com/img-artalbums-145-851c90f1afe461dd15533279aaaeb476.png">A Album: Kind of a Drag (<a href="https://www.songfacts.com/browse/years/1967" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">1967</a>) <ul><li>"Kind of a Drag" was written by Jim Holvay, who was a friend of the band's from Chicago. It is The Buckingham's only No. 1 hit, although they peeked into the Top 10 twice more and charted a couple more times after that. Holvay went on to write "Don't You Care," "<a href="https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-buckinghams/susan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Susan</a>" and "Hey Baby They're Playing Our Song" for The Buckinghams.</li><li>Is that a song from the late-'60s/ early-'70s with a horn section? Then odds are good it's produced by James William Guercio. Guercio produced both early Chicago and The Buckinghams, and the latter influenced the formation of Blood Sweat & Tears. Try playing "Kind of a Drag" back-to-back with "<a href="https://www.songfacts.com/facts/chicago/saturday-in-the-park" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Saturday In The Park</a>" (Chicago) and "<a href="https://www.songfacts.com/facts/blood-sweat-tears/youve-made-me-so-very-happy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">You've Made Me So Very Happy</a>" (BS&T).</li><li>Meet The Buckinghams: Dennis Tufano (vocals), Carl Giammarese (guitar), Martin Grebb (keyboard), Nick Fortuna (bass), Jon Poulos (drums). The band had dissolved by 1970, but a reunion has since taken place starting in 1980, with the only two original members now being Carl and Nick. Jon Poulos died from a drug overdose in 1980.</li><li>The Buckinghams had five charting hits, and they all occurred in 1967, prompting Billboard magazine to declare them "the most-listened-to band of the year." So why did they fall off the map? In our <a href="https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/tommy-james" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">interview with Tommy James</a>, he explained that 1968 marked the emergence of album-oriented bands, with singles acts dying off. Said James: "When we left in August (1968, for the Democratic National Convention), all the big acts were singles acts. It was the Association, it was Gary Puckett, it was the Buckinghams, the Rascals, us. But the point was that it was almost all singles. In 90 days, when we got back, it was all albums. It was Led Zeppelin, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Joe Cocker, Neil Young. And there was this mass extinction of all of these other acts. It was just incredible. Most people don't realize that that was sort of the dividing line where so many of these acts never had hit records again."</li><li>The modern-day version of The Buckinghams have risen to such heights as playing at President Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration ball and being inducted into the 2009 class of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.</li></ul>