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In the \u201860s, The Chicago band The <\/a>Buckinghams<\/a> hit the Top 40 five times with \u201cKind of a Drag,\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t You Care,\u201d \u201cMercy, Mercy, Mercy,\u201d \u201cHey Baby (They\u2019re Playing Our Song),\u201d and \u201cSusan,\u201d with Carl <\/a>Giammarese<\/a> 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 <\/em>spoke with him about Living in the Moment<\/em>. Now Giammarese has released Let the Music Play<\/em> and joined us to discuss a half dozen songs from the album.<\/p>\n CARL GIAMMARESE AND FRIENDS<\/p>\n Let the Music Play<\/em><\/p>\n 24\/7 (CD and digital format)<\/p>\n The album opens gently with \u201cMonday Morning,\u201d with Carl Giammarese playing a country style guitar and wonderful harmonies from Dave Mikulsis. Giammarese told Goldmine<\/em>, \u201cDave 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 \u2018I Will Love You Forever\u2019 with me in 2022. \u2018Monday Morning\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n