The Buckinghams - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy - A Collecti
The Buckinghams - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy - A Collection (1991)
AMG Biography
by Bill Dahl
If everyone on the northwest side of Chicago who claims to have hung out with the Buckinghams during their heyday had faithfully bought all their releases, the rock group might have sold more records than the Beatles.
Popular attractions while still in high school, the quintet changed its name from the Pulsations to the Buckinghams to reflect the British Invasion craze and signed with Chicago's USA Records in 1966. Backing Dennis Tufano's buoyant lead vocals with prominent harmonies and punchy soul-styled brass, the group came across the wistful "Kind of a Drag," and in short order, the Buckinghams had a million-selling pop chart-topper on their hands. They quickly graduated to recording for Columbia.
As long as songwriter Jim Holvay supplied more material of the same high quality as "Kind of a Drag," the Buckinghams were sitting pretty. Holvay cowrote "Don't You Care," "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)," and the pseudo-psychedelic "Susan," and they all proved to be major hits for the band. The group's R&B roots surfaced on a vocal adaptation of Cannonball Adderley's jazz standard "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," their second-biggest hit.
But the Buckinghams' fortunes soon changed drastically -- one of the top-selling rock groups of 1967, they managed only one hit after early 1968, and by 1970 the group was kaput. Two original members, guitarist Carl Giammarese and bassist Nick Fortuna, have since revived the Buckinghams for oldies tours.
Tracklist:
1. Kind Of A Drag 2:09
2. Lawdy Miss Clawdy 2:08
3. I've Been Wrong Before 1:56
4. I'll Go Crazy 2:09
5. I Call Your Name 2:13
6. Makin' Up And Breakin' Up 2:13
7. Don't You Care 2:30
8. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy 2:49
9. Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song) 2:50
10. Susan 2:57
11. Back In Love Again 2:26
12. You Misunderstand Me 2:29
13. Where Did You Come From 2:35
14. This Is How Much I Love You 2:43
15. It's A Beautiful Day (For Lovin') 2:56
16. Difference Of Opinion 4:01
17. I Got A Feelin' 3:26
18. You 4:14
The Buckinghams - Time & Changes/Portraits (1999)
The Buckinghams - Time & Changes/Portraits (1999)
1. Don't You Care (Gary Beisbier; James William Guercio; Jimmy Holvay) 2:32
2. Why Don't You Love Me (Gary Beisbier; Jimmy Holvay) 2:29
3. The Married Life (James William Guercio) 2:49
4. Remember (James William Guercio) 2:30
5. You Are Gone (James William Guercio) 3:33
6. And Our Love (James William Guercio) 2:40
7. I'll Be Back (John Lennon; Paul McCartney) 2:49
8. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (Joe Zawinul; Johnny "Guitar" Watson) 2:25
9. Pitied Be the Dragon Hunter (James William Guercio; L.D. Fitzgerald) 3:44
10. Foreign Policy (James William Guercio) 4:21
11. Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song) (Gary Beisbier; Jimmy Holvay) 4:08
12. Susan (Gary Beisbier; Jimmy Holvay) 3:08
13. We Just Know (Carl Giammarese; Dennis Tufano; Marty Grebb; Nick Fortune) 2:52
14. The Mail (Marty Grebb) 1:19
15. I Love All of the Girls (B. Grebb; M. Grebb) 3:24
16. C'mon Home (M. Grebb) 2:48
17. Have You Noticed You're Alive 2:55
18. Inside Looking Out (Dennis Tufano; Marty Grebb) 2:58
19. Big Business Advisor (Marty Grebb) 3:02
20. Just Because I've Fallen Down (Dennis Tufano; Marty Grebb) 4:40
21. Have You Noticed You're Alive (Reprise) 1:47
22. Just Because I've Fallen Down (Dennis Tufano; Marty Grebb) 4:13
23. Any Place in Here (Dennis Tufano; Marty Grebb) 2:03
24. Any Place in Here (Reprise) (Dennis Tufano; Marty Grebb) 1:32