The Buckinghams, "Gonna Say Goodbye" c/w "Many Times," Laurie 3258 (rel. 5/1964)
The Buckinghams were one of hundreds of British beat groups to flood the global market in 1964. As with the Elvis phenomenon, only a handful of subjects had the good fortune to fight their way to the top or somewhere near it.
As Beatlemania engulfed the States, record labels wanted nothing but to get in on the UK action. Any group of promise got at least one try at the brass ring. With too much competition and most bandwidth devoted to The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dave Clark 5 and other big-timers, these little groups, good as they were, stood snowball's chance in Hades of getting far.
Among these countless contenders were The Buckinghams—not the “Kind of a Drag” band. The leader of this group was Joseph Luis Rodriguez, born on the Isle of Gibaltar and of Latino heritage. By the time this record was issued in the US (and nowhere else), Rodriguez was living in London, married, and the father of a child. He put the band together sometime in early 1964, and they appeared in an episode of the British police procedural Gideon's Way singing the topside of today's single. They consisted of Rodriguez (vocals, rhythm guitar), Len Ross (lead guitar), Richard Geraghty (bass) and John Hammick (drums).
This TV episode may be seen on YouTube: the group appears in a nightclub scene half an hour into the episode. It's a competent/cheezoid police drama, loaded with caricatures of British society of its day. See it HERE. The group's appearance is uncredited; they're just background spice for a brief scene.
British teens who caught this show and wanted to hear "Gonna Say Goodbye" were S outta L unless they had relatives in America. Somehow, this song and a B-side were licensed by Laurie Records for a summertime release that went nowhere. I'm sure this single got some airplay, but it went unreviewed and its only mention in the industry magazines was a small ad from the song's publisher, Spectorious Music, that included it in a laundry list of what it deemed recent smashes. The Beatles' "Please Please Me," registered with affiliate Concertone Music, tops that short songpile.
Until Los Bravos hit with 1966's "Black is Black," Latino-led beat groups weren't a thing in Anglo-Saxon Europe. Lou, as Rodriguez was called by friends, was a trailblazer for beat music not lily-white in nature. He led this group through three singles—two only issued in England, and just barely at that. The two UK releases were dismal failures in an overcrowded and fickle marketplace. It didn’t help that they were on Pye Records, a label notorious for not pushing records if they didn’t show signs of life. Their two Pye singles may not have been issued as regular records. Only crudely printed promotional copies seem to exist.
Had "Gonna Say Goodbye" been issued, in concert with the Gideon's Way episode, it might have done something in England. It's a powerhouse of sound, with a huge, ringing rhythm section and Len Ross's gnarly fuzz guitar. Not many bands availed themselves of fuzz in the spring of 1964, when this was recorded, and the group’s guitarist uses it for its percussive qualities.
Rodriguez delivers a fantastic vocal abetted by solid harmonies. The instrumental break is a solid duet of Ross' fuzz guitar and a Rodriguez's electric. The song’s bridge is a perfect specimen of the British beat sound. It approaches the energy and finesse of The Beatles without sounding like a copycat.
How this wasn’t played and pushed by moptop-mad American DJs in the summer of ’64 is a conundrum. This is a record that couldn’t be better. You don’t hear them too often, but you know one when it hits you.
The flipside can’t pretend to match the majesty of “Gonna Say Goodbye,” but “Many Times” is decent on its own merits. Less throttling than the A-side, it has a call and response vocal buttressed by drummer Hammick's stellar work. Rodriguez goes flat a few times during the record, but that’s forgivable. He was probably tuckered out after his bravura performance for the A-side. A solid, non-fuzzy guitar solo helps things along.
I first became aware of this single in the mid-1990s, when a British friend with whom I've lost touch included both sides on a cassette tape. Laurie favored the accursed styrene for their singles, and the copy heard on this tape were from a blasted-out copy. Back in those pre-Internet days, it took a lot of effort to find information we can now summon in seconds. Thus, without context, I had no idea where this record was issued. It wasn't in the few reference books I owned. It's one of 1964's great lost singles and deserves to be better-known.
Both their Pye singles can be heard on YouTube, and the best of the lot is a rollicking, melodic group original, “I Was Your First Guy.” They're all worth hearing. The group were far better than many mid-level bands who managed a hit of two. There but for fortune, and all that...
Tomorrow: Norway was bitten by the Beatle Bug long before Americans, and formed their own enthusiastic beat groups. The Key Brothers, backed by former instrumental band The Quivers, deliver a pair of zesty beat stomper on an early '64 outing for the Triola label.
Man oh man did these guys have the Beatles harmonies down. Two great Beatle-esque songs that should have made some coin for someone. What a missed chance.
ReplyDeleteNever heard these before--thanks, Frank! Nice work! Tight band. Strong, clear singing sporting the Everly's/Beatles lack of vocal tremolo to enhance unison and harmony smoothness also championed by the Swinging Blue Jeans and others of that era and later adopted by Liam Gallagher of Oasis and other Brits effectively.
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