Carl Bonafede
Encyclopedia
Carl Bonafede was the original manager of the Chicago
, Illinois
-based rock band The Buckinghams
, who charted in Billboard's Hot 100 in February 1967 with "Kind of a Drag".
Carl Bonafede was born in Chicago's Little Italy
community. He appeared as a young boy on local television on Morris B. Sach's Amateur Hour singing and playing the accordion
. He appeared on an interview show, Ernie Simon's Curbstone Cut-up. He sang his hit record "Were Wolf" on disc-jockey Jim Lounsberry’s TV show in Chicago. He went on to promote local bands with his weekly dances at local ballrooms including the Aragon, Madura’s Danceland and The Holiday Ballroom with owner and collaborator Dan Belloc of big band fame (Billy May Orchestra). He recorded and produced over 200 records with various recording artists. He fronted a local group, The Gemtones, whose saxophone player, Harry Manfredini
, became a movie musical score arranger for the "Friday the 13th" movies. He then turned to managing and promoting local teen bands (garage-bands in the early 60s). His most famous clients were The Buckinghams and the all-girl group The Daughters of Eve. He also managed Thee Prophets, from Wisconsin and Mickey & Larry and the Exciters from Boston. He managed The Delights in Chicago. He worked for the Willard Alexander Booking Agency with agent Herb Gronauer, who now promotes celebrities in Palm Springs, California
. He also worked for the CASK Attractions agency.
As a young band manager Bonafede promoted many, many young teens in a new phenomenon – the garage band
. One of these groups included The Fabulous Centuries. Another group with great vocal harmonies was known as The Pulsations. These two groups merged to form The Buckinghams
. One day, Sheldon Cooper, an executive at WGN-TV
, witnessed a promotion of Carl's outside Lane Technical High school across the street from WGN-TV's studios. Carl's discussion with Cooper led to the The Pulsations entering and winning a competition to appear for 13 weeks on The All-Time Hits, Chicago's first locally produced TV program broadcast in color, featuring a variety of musical guests. By the end of the 13-week run, the Pulsations/Fabulous Centuries became The Buckinghams. He was on hand at the Chess Records
studios in Chicago, Illinois to record "Kind of a Drag
" with the Buckinghams co-producer Dan Belloc and arranger Frank Tesinsky. Jimmy Holvay of the local Chicago group The Mob
was the composer of “Kind of a Drag”.
USA 891, 1967.
Spectra Sound 920, 1967.
Cadet 5600, 1968.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
-based rock band The Buckinghams
The Buckinghams
The Buckinghams are an American Sunshine Pop band from Chicago, Illinois. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top selling acts of 1967. The band dissolved in 1970 but reformed in 1980 and continue to tour throughout the United States....
, who charted in Billboard's Hot 100 in February 1967 with "Kind of a Drag".
Carl Bonafede was born in Chicago's Little Italy
Little Italy
Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood.-Canada:*Little Italy, Edmonton, in Alberta*Little Italy, Montreal, in Quebec...
community. He appeared as a young boy on local television on Morris B. Sach's Amateur Hour singing and playing the accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
. He appeared on an interview show, Ernie Simon's Curbstone Cut-up. He sang his hit record "Were Wolf" on disc-jockey Jim Lounsberry’s TV show in Chicago. He went on to promote local bands with his weekly dances at local ballrooms including the Aragon, Madura’s Danceland and The Holiday Ballroom with owner and collaborator Dan Belloc of big band fame (Billy May Orchestra). He recorded and produced over 200 records with various recording artists. He fronted a local group, The Gemtones, whose saxophone player, Harry Manfredini
Harry Manfredini
Harry Manfredini is an American film composer and jazz-soloist, who has scored more than one hundred films, most notably perhaps being the Friday the 13th film series. He has had years of classical training, as well as twenty years in the popular music scene...
, became a movie musical score arranger for the "Friday the 13th" movies. He then turned to managing and promoting local teen bands (garage-bands in the early 60s). His most famous clients were The Buckinghams and the all-girl group The Daughters of Eve. He also managed Thee Prophets, from Wisconsin and Mickey & Larry and the Exciters from Boston. He managed The Delights in Chicago. He worked for the Willard Alexander Booking Agency with agent Herb Gronauer, who now promotes celebrities in Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
. He also worked for the CASK Attractions agency.
As a young band manager Bonafede promoted many, many young teens in a new phenomenon – the garage band
Garage band
The term garage band can refer to:* A band that performs garage rock* GarageBand, audio production software published by Apple Inc.* GarageBand.com, a website that helps publicize emerging bands...
. One of these groups included The Fabulous Centuries. Another group with great vocal harmonies was known as The Pulsations. These two groups merged to form The Buckinghams
The Buckinghams
The Buckinghams are an American Sunshine Pop band from Chicago, Illinois. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top selling acts of 1967. The band dissolved in 1970 but reformed in 1980 and continue to tour throughout the United States....
. One day, Sheldon Cooper, an executive at WGN-TV
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
, witnessed a promotion of Carl's outside Lane Technical High school across the street from WGN-TV's studios. Carl's discussion with Cooper led to the The Pulsations entering and winning a competition to appear for 13 weeks on The All-Time Hits, Chicago's first locally produced TV program broadcast in color, featuring a variety of musical guests. By the end of the 13-week run, the Pulsations/Fabulous Centuries became The Buckinghams. He was on hand at the Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
studios in Chicago, Illinois to record "Kind of a Drag
Kind of a Drag
"Kind of a Drag" is a song written by Jim Holvay and recorded by The Buckinghams. The single reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in February 1967, becoming the first #1 single within the new calendar year and remaining in the top position for two weeks...
" with the Buckinghams co-producer Dan Belloc and arranger Frank Tesinsky. Jimmy Holvay of the local Chicago group The Mob
The Mob
The Mob may refer to:* The Mafia, an Italian organized crime secret society* The American Mafia, an offshoot of the Italian Mafia and also an organized crime secret society* Irish Mob, the first organized crime group for which the term was used...
was the composer of “Kind of a Drag”.
Present day
As of 2009, Carl Bonafede still lives and works in Chicago in the Lincoln Park area, close to the lakefront.The Daughters of Eve
USA 1779, 1966.- "Hey Lover"
- Originally a modest hit for Debbie Dovale in 1963.
- "Stand By MeStand by Me (song)"Stand by Me" is the title of a song originally performed by Ben E. King and written by King, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller, based on the spiritual "Lord Stand by Me,", plus two lines rooted in Psalms 46:2-3...
"- Produced by Carl Bonafede and Ron Malo.
USA 891, 1967.
- "Symphony of My Soul"
- Penned by Chicago songwriter James Butler (with a little help from Tchaikovsky).
- "Help Me Boy"
- As "Help Me Girl", a hit for Eric BurdonEric BurdonEric Victor Burdon is an English singer-songwriter best known as a founding member and vocalist of rock band The Animals, and the funk rock band War and for his aggressive stage performance...
and The AnimalsThe AnimalsThe Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
earlier in 1967. - Produced by Carl Bonafede and James Butler.
- As "Help Me Girl", a hit for Eric Burdon
Spectra Sound 920, 1967.
- "Don't Waste My Time"
- Written by John Serafini.
- "He Cried"
- As popularised by The Shangri-LasThe Shangri-LasThe Shangri-Las were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 they charted with often heartbreaking teen melodramas, and remain best known for "Leader of the Pack" and "Remember ".- Early career :...
, and previously a hit, as "She Cried", for Jay and the AmericansJay and the AmericansJay and the Americans was a pop music group popular in the 1960s. Their initial lineup consisted of John "Jay" Traynor, Howard Kane , Kenny Vance and Sandy Deanne , though their greatest success on the charts came after Traynor had been replaced as lead singer by Jay Black.-Early years:They were...
in 1962. - Produced by Carl Bonafede, engineered by Ron MaloRon MaloRon Malo was an engineer for Chicago's Chess Studios. He was the engineer for the first sessions the Rolling Stones did in the USA, in Chicago in June 1964, recording songs that wound up appearing on the albums 12 X 5, The Rolling Stones...
.
- As popularised by The Shangri-Las
Cadet 5600, 1968.
- "Social Tragedy"
- Written by James Butler, and subsequently recorded, as "Don't Let It Slip Away", by Ral DonnerRal DonnerRal Donner was an early American rock and roll musician. He scored several pop hits in the US in the early 1960s, and had a voice similar to Elvis Presley's. His best known song is his 1961 top ten hit, "You Don't Know What You've Got ".-Biography:Ralph Stuart Donner was born in Chicago, and sang...
.
- Written by James Butler, and subsequently recorded, as "Don't Let It Slip Away", by Ral Donner
- "A Thousand Stars"
- Introduced by The Rivileers in 1954, but popularised by Kathy YoungKathy YoungKathy Young is an American teen pop singer during early 1960s, whose rendition, at age 15, of "A Thousand Stars", rose to No. 3 on Billboard Hot 100....
and The InnocentsThe InnocentsThe Innocents may refer to:* The Innocents , a 1917 novel by Sinclair Lewis* The Innocents , a 1950 play by William Archibald based on Henry James' The Turn of the Screw...
in 1960. - Produced by Carl Bonafede, engineered by Gary Knipper and Ed Cody.
- Introduced by The Rivileers in 1954, but popularised by Kathy Young