Dennis Tufano

Dennis Stanley Joseph Tufano (born September 11, 1946) is the original lead singer of the 1960s rock group The Buckinghams, and has been a solo performer since the early 1980s.

Dennis Tufano was born in Chicago, Illinois. He attended St. Sylvester grade school and Gordon Tech High School. His father was also a singer and played the violin, saxophone and harmonica.

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 (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 (born 1947). Dennis Miccolis joined the group as keyboard player. "Jon Poulos 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. 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.

Between December 1966 and February 1968 the Buckinghams charted with five big hits on Billboard's Hot 100, starting with the chart-topping "Kind of a Drag" – which replaced the Monkees' "I'm a Believer" at number one – and followed by "Don't You Care" (no. 6), "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" (no. 5), "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)" (no. 12) and "Susan" (no. 11). Plus "Laudy Miss Claudy" (no. 41, 1967) and "Back in Love Again" (no. 57, 1968).

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.