The Buckinghams’ Carl Giammarese discusses 6 songs from new solo album

In the ‘60s, The Chicago band The Buckinghams hit the Top 40 five times with “Kind of a Drag,” “Don’t You Care,” “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” “Hey Baby (They’re Playing Our Song),” and “Susan,” with Carl Giammarese on guitar and harmony vocals, who is celebrating his 78th birthday. For the past few decades, Giammarese has stepped into the role of lead vocalist for the group, joined by fellow original Buckingham Nick Fortuna on bass, performing at many concerts throughout the country each year. Additionally, Giammarese has been releasing solo albums. In 2019, Goldmine spoke with him about Living in the Moment. Now Giammarese has released Let the Music Play and joined us to discuss a half dozen songs from the album.

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Let the Music Play

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The album opens gently with “Monday Morning,” with Carl Giammarese playing a country style guitar and wonderful harmonies from Dave Mikulsis. Giammarese told Goldmine, “Dave is a wonderful singer in the Chicago area classic rock cover band Hi Infidelity and has a vocal range on par with Steve Perry. I met him through Lisa McClowry, who sang ‘I Will Love You Forever’ with me in 2022. ‘Monday Morning’ is about my life on the road and coming back home. I meet a lot of great people on the road, but it is always good to be home.”

The title song, “Let the Music Play,” has a very full sound with a strong saxophone solo. Giammarese continued, “Dan Moffatt is a great sax player. He is part of our Buckinghams three-piece horn section as we travel around Chicago and the Midwest, and is the youngest member, just turning 50. This song is about us playing music as long as we can, keeping it going for our fans and for ourselves.”

“This song is about us playing music as long as we can, keeping it going for our fans and for ourselves.” – Carl Giammarese on “Let the Music Play”

“Lean on Me” is filled with Giammarese’s guitar. He shared, “I used around seven of my fifteen guitars throughout the album. My Gibson ES-345 is featured on this song, which I have had since about 1969, and it has a lot of bite to it. Larry Millas did a great job of mixing and mastering this song and the whole album.”

“I Don’t Know Why” is a wonderful love ballad, recalling the style of Burton Cummings, with a grand piano played by Tommy Leerschen. Giammarese explained, “For this song, I was thinking about back in the day when you would have a crush on a girl and she wouldn’t notice you, and the teenage insecurity you would face. We have been doing a concert series comprised of Chicago bands called The Cornerstones of Rock, over the years, which has included The Ides of March, The Cryan’ Shames, The American Breed, The New Colony Six, Shadows of Knight, and us. I met Tommy through those shows, and he played piano on ‘I Don’t Know Why’ and ‘Monday Morning.’”

The piano sound also comes through on “Whisper and a Sigh,” played by Myles Green. Giammarese stated, “Myles is a very prominent keyboard player around Chicago and is an old friend. My cousin Jerry Elarde sang with me on the track. Jerry was in the first band that Nick and I were part of in the early ‘60s, before The Buckinghams.”

Kiki Ebsen, daughter of the late actor Buddy Ebsen, sang co-lead vocals, background vocals, and played piano and organ on the emotional “There Comes a Time.” Giammarese concluded, “She is so giving and connects with you right away. It was such a treat to have her on the album.” Ebsen added, “I really enjoyed the process of recording with Carl on this beautiful song. He is a talented, supportive, and generous artist that I’m proud to call my friend. I think our voices blend well and I look forward to doing more projects together.”