The Buckinghams

Right around the same time, bassist Bachman also left and Fortuna (now playing bass and soon briefly going under the surname of Fortune, after it was misspelled on the record jacket) returned after a stint with Jimmy V. & the Entertainers.

Several were released as singles, including "I'll Go Crazy", a song originally recorded by James Brown & the Famous Flames and the Beatles' "I Call Your Name".

"Kind of a Drag" was written by Chicago-based songwriter Jim Holvay, who had been performing with a group called The Mob,[4] and spent two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1967.

By mid-1968, the Buckinghams had parted company with Guercio and Columbia Records assigned staff producer Jimmy Wisner to work with the group on their fourth album, In One Ear and Gone Tomorrow.

Despite the release of a new single, "Back in Love Again", it ended up stalling on the Billboard chart at #57, and they were unable to duplicate their 1967 success without Guercio, who went on to take the "brass rock" concept further with Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago.

[11] By late 1968, Grebb and Fortuna had left and were replaced by keyboardist John Turner and original bassist Bachman, who had gone on to join the band Saturday's Child after leaving the Buckinghams.

[12] Columbia released a double compilation record of their two Guercio era albums, Time and Changes and Portraits, in 1975 under the title Made in Chicago.

Later in 1980, Chicago's WLS radio programming executive John Gehron called Giammarese with an invitation to reunite the Buckinghams for Mayor Jane Byrne's ChicagoFest event in August.

Giammarese, Fortuna and Tufano appeared with drummer Tom Osfar and keyboardist John Cammelot on the Navy Pier rooftop stage.

When Tufano decided to return to California to resume a career in film voice work in early 1983, Giammarese and Fortuna committed to tour full-time as The Buckinghams.

The show was filmed and released as a video entitled "Off Their Rocker" and included DJs Dick Biondi (d. 6.26.23)[17] and John Records Landecker, still on WGN Radio, as hosts.

In July 2011 concerts began for the second Happy Together Reunion Tour that included the Buckinghams, the Turtles, the Grass Roots, Mark Lindsay and the Association.

[20] Later in 2011, it was announced that Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna would join the 2012 Happy Together Tour alongside the Turtles, Micky Dolenz, the Grass Roots and Gary Puckett.

In addition to the Buckinghams, the Cornerstones line-up included the Ides of March, the Cryan' Shames, the New Colony Six, the Shadows of Knight, the McCoys and the American Breed.

The majority of Cornerstones performances are held at the Arcada Theatre (Saint Charles, IL), but as fan demand has grown the tour has branched out to other venues in the Midwest.

The Buckinghams original lead singer Tufano continues to tour as a solo act, and also appears in a Bobby Darin show he created, As Long as I'm Singing.

[23] Giammarese and Fortuna have continued touring with band members Soboroff, Zane, Scheckel and a horn section consisting of Carlo Isabelli (trumpet), Charles Morgan (trombone) and Dan Moffett (tenor saxophone).

They remain acts for casino venues and international rock and roll cruises throughout the country and perform the national anthem at home games of baseball teams such as the Chicago Cubs and White Sox.