![Dennis Tufano In 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Dennis_Tufano_In_2007.jpg)
Dennis Stanley Joseph Tufano (born September 11, 1946) is the original lead singer of the 1960s rock group
The Buckinghams
The Buckinghams are an American sunshine pop band from Chicago. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top-selling acts of 1967, charting their only five top 40 hits in the U.S. that year. The band dissolved in 1970, but re-formed ...
, and has been a solo performer since the early 1980s.
Biography
Dennis Tufano was born in Chicago, Illinois. He attended St. Sylvester grade school and
Gordon Tech High School
DePaul College Prep is a Catholic high school located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is located on the north side of Chicago at 3300 N Campbell Ave. DePaul College Prep is sponsored by the Western Province of the Congregation of the Missi ...
. He inherited his musical talents from his father, who was also a singer, and who played the violin, saxophone and harmonica.
Career
The Chicago band scene included clubs, high school dances, battle of the band contests and local hit parade shows. Many burgeoning bands competed for local radio airplay and a chance at stardom. Dennis Tufano was part of the Chicago rock and roll band invasion to hit the charts in the late 1960s. He was a member of The Pulsations (early to mid-1960s) with
John Poulos
John Poulos (March 31, 1947 – March 26, 1980), also known by his nickname Jon Jon, was the original drummer for The Buckinghams, and one of its founding members in 1965.
Early life
His mother Ann and father John Sr. are of Greek origin. He ...
(1947–1980).
In 1965, Tufano and Poulos were joined in The Pulsations by two members of The Centuries, bass player Nick Fortuna (born 1947) and guitarist
Carl Giammarese
The Buckinghams are an American sunshine pop band from Chicago. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top-selling acts of 1967, charting their only five top 40 hits in the U.S. that year. The band dissolved in 1970, but re-formed ...
(born 1947). Dennis Miccolis joined the group as keyboard player. "Jon Poulos
rums
Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Phili ...
and I knew each other from the neighborhood and we were the first in the band," said Tufano. The Pulsations name was retained until the group auditioned for a spot on the "All Time Hits" variety show on local powerhouse television station,
WGN-TV
WGN-TV (channel 9) is an Independent station (North America), independent television station in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister station, sister to the company's sole radio property, talk ra ...
. The producers wanted them to have a more British-sounding name, and a security guard suggested The Buckinghams. The group won a 13-week contract.
![The Buckinghams 1968](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/The_Buckinghams_1968.JPG)
Between December 1966 and February 1968 the Buckinghams charted with five big hits on
''Billboard'''s
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
, starting with the chart-topping "
Kind of a Drag
"Kind of a Drag" is a song written by Jim Holvay and recorded by the Buckinghams. It was the title track of their debut LP. The single reached #1 on the U.S. Hot 100 in February 1967, becoming the first #1 single within the new calendar year, r ...
" – which replaced
the Monkees
The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...
' "
I'm a Believer
"I'm a Believer" is a song written by Neil Diamond and recorded by the Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number-one spot on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for the week endi ...
" at number one – and followed by "
Don't You Care" (no. 6), "
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
"Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" is a jazz song written by Joe Zawinul in 1966 for Julian "Cannonball" Adderley and which appears on his album '' Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at "The Club"''. The song is the title track of the album and became a surprise hit i ...
" (no. 5), "
Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)
"Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)" is a song by The Buckinghams, which they released as a single in 1967, and on their album ''Portraits'' in 1968.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
It spent 10 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, peaki ...
" (no. 12) and "
Susan" (no. 11). Plus "Laudy Miss Claudy" (no. 41, 1967) and "Back in Love Again" (no. 57, 1968).
Following his success in the Buckinghams, Tufano was part of the singer/songwriting duo Tufano and Giammarese, who recorded three albums with
Lou Adler
Lester Louis Adler (born December 13, 1933) is an American record and film producer and the co-owner of the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Adler has produced and developed a number of iconic musical artists, including The Grass R ...
's custom label,
Ode Records
Ode Records (also known as Ode Sounds and Visuals) was an American record label, started by Lou Adler in 1967 after he sold Dunhill Records to ABC Records. It was distributed by CBS's Epic Records except between 1970 and 1976, when the label was ...
. The duo toured in support of the albums, including a rather rambunctious tour with
Cheech & Chong
Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo consisting of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. The duo found commercial and cultural success in the 1970s and 1980s with their stand-up routines, studio recordings, and feature films, which were based on the hippie a ...
.
John Poulos
John Poulos (March 31, 1947 – March 26, 1980), also known by his nickname Jon Jon, was the original drummer for The Buckinghams, and one of its founding members in 1965.
Early life
His mother Ann and father John Sr. are of Greek origin. He ...
served as the group's manager.
Appearing as guest vocalist, Tufano went on to co-write with renowned composer and musician
Tom Scott. Using a song composed by Scott and
Jeff Barry
Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are " Do Wah Diddy Diddy", " Da Doo Ron Ron", " Then He Kiss ...
, Tufano and Mindy Sterling performed the original title/theme song "Us" for the initial four episodes of the TV series ''
Family Ties
''Family Ties'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States f ...
''. After 10 episodes, their version was replaced by one performed by
Johnny Mathis
John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...
and
Deniece Williams
Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1951) is an American singer. She has been described as "one of the great soul voices" by the BBC. She is best known for the songs " Free", " Silly", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle" and two ''Bil ...
, and the song was retitled "Without Us". As an actor, voiceover artist and sometimes stuntman, Tufano has appeared in theater productions in Los Angeles and has worked in film, television, radio and commercials.
Back on the road, Tufano joined
Olivia Newton-John
Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...
on one of her hugely successful tours, and was noted for his duets with her, including "Suddenly," and "You're the One that I Want." The duets were featured on Newton-John's HBO Special, which aired in January 1983.
Dennis Tufano also composed music and performed with
Bernie Taupin,
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
's lyricist, on Taupin's album ''
He Who Rides the Tiger
''He Who Rides the Tiger'' is a 1980 solo album by longtime Elton John lyricist, Bernie Taupin. It is his second effort following his 1971 spoken word album ''Taupin''. Taupin co-wrote all the songs in the album with the Buckinghams former guitari ...
''. Subsequently, for Taupin's group, the Farm Dogs, Tufano teamed again with the renowned lyricist to co-write, co-produce and perform on the Farm Dogs' album ''
Last Stand in Open Country''.
Tufano was also one of the founding members of an improvisational voice-ensemble called the LA.MadDogs. In 1992, this group of actors began performing in hundreds of movies and numerous television shows. They have produced and performed seven "live" radio dramas, three of which Tufano directed, for KMPC Radio Theater in Los Angeles.
Tufano produced, directed and shot a documentary in Chicago, ''Major Hall: Therapy Tuesday''. He taped a performance for the PBS music series ''My Generation – The '60s'', which first aired in March 2008, and was a part of the award-winning PBS-DVD series. An expanded version of the show aired on PBS in September 2008.
Tufano performed a classic Chicago rock concert with
The Cryan' Shames
The Cryan' Shames are an American garage rock band from Hinsdale, Illinois. Originally known as The Travelers, the band was formed by Tom Doody ("Toad"), Gerry Stone ("Stonehenge"), Dave Purple ("Grape") of The Prowlers, Denny Conroy from Pos ...
in the summer of 2008, and appeared with
Marty Grebb
Marty may refer to:
Names
* Marty (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters, also includes stage names
* Marty (surname), a list of people
Places in the United States
* Marty, California, a former settlement
* Marty, ...
and
Bruce Conte outside Manila in the Philippines in late fall 2008.
[Samonte, Danee, "What started out as an experiment turned out to be a wonderful experience," Steve O'Neal Productions, October 28, 2008, http://steveoneal.blogspot.com/2008/10/what-started-as-experiment-turned-out.html. Accessed November 23, 2008.] Tufano continues to perform with his critically renowned tribute to
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, Pop music, pop, rock and roll, Folk music, folk, Swing music, swing, and country music.
He started his car ...
''As Long As I'm Singing the Music of Bobby Darin'' and he makes appearances with his classic rock show. He maintains a full concert schedule for most of each year, performing with various "oldies" artists and bands.
In 2015, Tufano reunited with The Buckinghams as a benefit concert for
Marty Grebb
Marty may refer to:
Names
* Marty (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters, also includes stage names
* Marty (surname), a list of people
Places in the United States
* Marty, California, a former settlement
* Marty, ...
, who was a member of the group during the 1960s. The concert featured Tufano,
Carl Giammarese
The Buckinghams are an American sunshine pop band from Chicago. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top-selling acts of 1967, charting their only five top 40 hits in the U.S. that year. The band dissolved in 1970, but re-formed ...
and Nick Fortuna with Grebb.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tufano, Dennis
Singers from Chicago
American male singers
American people of Italian descent
1946 births
Living people