There is a long history of great music originating in the Chicago area. Most of it , for years was taken for granted. When I was growing up here there were several bands playing around Chicago who made a great national impact on the music scene, but never really got their due.
The Buckinghams. In the late 1960’s Cash Box Magazine named them The Most Promising Vocal Group in America. They recoded many singles in that era, including “Kind of a Drag,” “Don’t You Care,” “Hey Baby, They’re Playing Our Song,” “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,.” During that period, they appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “The Smothers Brothers’ Comedy Show,” “The Jerry Lewis Show,” “The Joey Bishop Show,” and “American Bandstand.” In 1996 and 1997 they had 5 Top 20 singles, including a #1.
The Cryan’ Shames. From 1966 to 1968, they had 6 Top 100 singles and toured the world, showcasing their folk rock sound
The Shadows of Night. They were the house band at the Celler, a suburban club in 1965, drawing 500 people every Saturday and Sunday. They combined British blues with American blues, and in 1965 they re3corded a song called “Gloria” Originally done by Van Morrison and Them. The lyrics were king of racy, and WLS radio banned Van Morrison’s song, so the Shadows recorded it with slightly changed lyrics. The song got massive regional airplay and reached #10 on the national charts
The Ides of March. Chicago’s first horn band, the Ides released the single “Vehicle” in 1970 and it became the fastest selling single in Warner Bros. history. It can still be heard today in Chevy commercials!! When the band went on hiatus, Jim Peterik founded a band called Survivor and in 1982, wrote a song for the soundtrack of a Sly Stallone film called Rocky. The song was called “Eye Of The Tiger.” Over the years, the song has sold over 9 million copies, making it one of the best selling singles of all time.
Scott May of the Ides Of March with Marty Grebb
Marty Grebb is a keyboardist, guitarist, saxophonist, and is also a producer and arranger.. He became a session musician and worked with musicians such as Bonnie Raitt, Leon Russell, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, John Lennon, Etta James, Vince Gill, Bernie Taupin, Olivia Newton-John, Taj Mahal, Roseanne Cash, the Band, Chicago and BB King,. He was in the Buckinghams from 1967 to 1970. Marty has cancer, and is fighting it valiantly.
The Buckinghams
The Cryan’ Shames
Jim Peterik of The Ides Of March and Survivor
Jimy Sohns of the Shadows of Night and Dennis Tufano of ther Buckinghams
It is expensive, so his friends threw a benefit last Thursday night. All of the above bands played their greatest hits, mixing and matching players throughout the night. Marty played keyboards and saxophone in many of the bands. An amazing night of music. I was glad to be there among so many caring and talented musicians, and hear the music of my youth still sounding as good as it did 40 years ago.