It seems that everybody loves the greatest Chicago-area rock-and-roll star of all time, Carl Giammarese (pictured here with my wife, Celeste) of The Buckinghams. On Thursday, Carl was the guest on my radio show. To prepare the show, I asked several of the biggest names in rock, and some other noteworthy personalities, why they like Carl.
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Gary Puckett, who became famous with his band, the Union Gap, told me, "He's a handsome, good-lookin', fun guy."
Rob Grill, lead singer of The Grass Roots, told me, "He's one of my best friends in the whole world!"
Dick Biondi, the Chicago area's all-time greatest rock jock and a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Radio Hall of Fame, told me, "First of all, he's a happy, wonderful, upbeat and optimistic guy. He's one of the many guys in music who always remembers the people who were around back then. He's become a superstar in his own way, and with the group, and he's always ready to say, 'Hello,' never walks by without saying, 'Hey, Dick, how are you?' He's a down to earth guy. He takes his job seriously. He knows just how to be a great guy. I can't say enough about how great he is." Dick's favorite Buckinghams song is "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy," from the "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" album.
Howard Kaylan of The Turtles told me, "I like Carl because he's not Nick (Fortuna, also of the Buckinghams)."
Mark Volman, also of The Turtles, told me, "He's a swell guy. He used to work at McDonald's, and the nights I would go in after we played some of our shows, Carl admired us. He always gave us a free burger, and ever since then we've been good friends." Mark is such a comedian.
Roger Claar, the mayor of Bolingbrook, a southwest suburb of Chicago, told me, "He's just a real trooper. He plays the audience so well. He literally charms everybody in the audience. He does more than just a show. He gets there early. He talks to all the people involved. He stays well after the event, talks to the fans, signs autographs, and people just appreciate somebody who is as genuinely sincere an individual as Carl is." The Buckinghams play at the Bolingbrook summer festival Jubilee Days every year.
Tommy James, of the Shondells, told me, "The Buckinghams are one of my favorite, all-time acts. Also, we worked together so many times. I've also been impressed with how loyal Chicago is to their local groups. It's amazing. They take local bands and make national acts out of them, and they've done it time and time again. The Buckinghams is one of those bands and I love them."
When you play back my radio show, that's Carl singing with the Buckinghams in the opening and closing themes.
Carl, Gary Puckett and Rob Grill will be performing in concert, tonight, at the Peoria Civic Theater. I'll be there. You may want to go, to.
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