Kind Of A Drag
View on Discogs
Album Summary
"Kind of a Drag" was The Buckinghams' debut album, released in 1967 on USA Records — a Chicago-based imprint that had been home to the band before Columbia picked them up for wider distribution. Produced by the one and only James William Guercio, a man who knew how to make a record breathe and swing, the album was born out of the Chicago music scene at a moment when that city was cooking with something special. Guercio brought a sophistication to the sessions that elevated the band's natural gift for blue-eyed soul, wrapping their raw R&B instincts in arrangements that felt polished without ever losing that hunger. What The Buckinghams captured on these twelve tracks was something real — a sound that straddled rock instrumentation and soulful delivery in a way that felt effortless, like they had been doing it their whole lives. This was a group of young men from the Midwest who understood the soul tradition deeply enough to make it their own, and Guercio was wise enough to let that truth come through on tape.
Reception
- The album's title track, 'Kind of a Drag,' shot all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1967, making The Buckinghams one of the most talked-about new acts in the country and announcing their arrival in no uncertain terms.
- The album performed strongly on a commercial level, cementing the band's status as a legitimate chart force in the increasingly competitive landscape of late-1960s American pop-rock.
- The success of this debut laid the groundwork for the band's continued presence on the charts and established James William Guercio as a production voice worth watching.
Significance
- 'Kind of a Drag' stands as one of the finest examples of the blue-eyed soul movement of the mid-1960s, a record that proved white rock bands from the heartland could absorb the R&B and soul tradition and deliver it with genuine feeling and style.
- The album helped shape what would become recognized as the Chicago pop-rock sound — melody-forward, arrangement-conscious, and built on vocal performance rather than instrumental flash — a blueprint that would echo through the city's music for years to come.
- James William Guercio's production work on this record represents an early landmark in his career, foreshadowing the ambitious, layered approach he would bring to later projects and marking Chicago as a serious center of American rock production.
Tracklist
-
A1 I'll Go Crazy 117
2:05
-
A2 Don't Want To Cry 167
2:09
-
A3 Virginia Wolf 92
2:28
-
A4 Beginners Love —
1:55
-
A5 Sweets For My Sweet 132
2:00
-
A6 I've Been Wrong 77
2:00
-
B1 I Call Your Name 140
2:09
-
B2 Makin' Up & Breakin' Up 153
2:12
-
B3 You Make Me Feel So Good 132
2:37
-
B4 Summertime —
3:32
-
B5 Love Ain't Enough 144
2:11
-
B6 Kind Of A Drag 136
2:05
Artist Details
The Buckinghams were a sweet soul-pop outfit born out of Chicago, Illinois in 1966, blending British Invasion energy with lush orchestral arrangements that just oozed that mid-60s radio magic — these cats scored big with hits like "Kind of a Drag" and "Don't You Care," making them one of the most commercially successful American pop groups of 1967. Their sound sat right in that golden pocket between blue-eyed soul and sunshine pop, and producer James William Guercio helped craft a polished, horn-driven style that put Chicago on the pop map long before the city became synonymous with rock. The Buckinghams may not have had the long-running legacy of some of their contemporaries, but their run of Top 40 hits in the late 60s made them a true fixture of the AM radio era and a proud chapter in the story of Midwest rock and pop.
