We did a whole week of songs with ladies names in the title, so one more day won’t hurt. Yesterday’s classic song of the day was Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne,” and todays’ classic song of the day with a lady’s name in the title is the similarly-named “Susan” by the Buckinghams. This little ditty, released in 1967, peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on the Cash Box Top 100.
“Susan” was written by Gary Beisbier and Jim Holvay, who wrote most of the Buckinghams’ hits, including former classic song of the day “Don’t You Care.” The group’s producer and road manager James William Guercio got co-writing credit on this one, primarily for adding that little atonal bit in the middle. (That bit was actually from Charles Ives’ piece, Central Park in the Dark, and the group apparently hated it, even if it gave the track that distinctive late-60s psychedelic sound.)
Like most of the Buckinghams’ hits, “Susan” blends basic ’60s pop with complex vocal harmonies and backing horn parts. As I’ve written before, the Buckinghams were the progenitors of the jazz-rock or horn-rock movement. That genre was driven by Mr. Guercio, who also produced Blood, Sweat and Tears’ self-titled second album and all of Chicago’s early discs. It all started with the Buckinghams, a fairly traditional five-piece rock band from Chicago that Guercio took hold of, added horns to, and made them a big deal. They had a slew of hits in late ’60s, including “Kind of a Drag” (#1 in 1966), “Don’t You Care” (#6, 1967), “Mercy Mercy Mercy” (#5 in 1967), and “Hey Baby (They’re Playing Our Song)” (#12 in 1967).
“Susan” was the Buckinghams’ last big hit. They broke up in 1970 but re-formed in 1980 and have been touring on the oldies circuit since then. After his Caribou Ranch recording studio in Colorado burned down in 1985, James William Guercio left the music business, got into cattle ranching for awhile, then oil and gas exploration, then purchased (and subsequently sold the Country Music Television (CMT) channel. He’s still alive today, aged 78.
