Carl Bonafede is an American musician and band manager.
Bonafede was born in the
Little Italy Chicago community on October 16, 1940. He appeared as a young boy on local television on ''Morris B. Sach's Amateur Hour'' singing and playing the
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...
. He appeared on an interview show, Ernie Simon's ''Curbstone Cut-up''. He sang his hit record "Were Wolf" on disc-jockey
Jim Lounsbury's TV show in Chicago. He went on to promote local bands with his weekly dances at local ballrooms including the
Aragon Ballroom, 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 Gem-tones, whose saxophone player,
Harry Manfredini, became a movie musical score arranger for the "
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year ...
" movies. He then turned to managing and promoting local teen bands (garage-bands in the early 60s). His most famous clients were
The Buckinghams
The Buckinghams are an American pop band from Chicago. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top-selling acts of 1967, charting their only five top 40 hits in the U.S. that year. The band dissolved in 1970, but re-formed in 1980 ...
and the all-girl group
The Daughters of Eve
Daughters of Eve were an American all-female garage rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1965. The group was formed and managed by Carl Bonafede, who was managing the Buckinghams as they were gaining national success. 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 (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...
. He also worked for the CASK Attractions agency.
As a young band manager Bonafede promoted many young teens in a new phenomenon – the
garage band
Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...
. One of these groups included The Fabulous Centuries. The Centuries consisted of
Nick Fortuna, Curtis Bachman,
Carl Giammarese
The Buckinghams are an American pop band from Chicago. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top-selling acts of 1967, charting their only five top 40 hits in the U.S. that year. The band dissolved in 1970, but re-formed in 1980 a ...
and Jerry Elarde. Carl Bonafede first crossed paths with
Phil Orsi
Phil Orsi (born June 14, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and musician.
Early life
Orsi was born and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. His passion for music began with the gift of a small radio from his grandmother. Orsi's father o ...
in 1964 when Phil was fronting Phil Orsi and the Little Kings at the Vogue Ballroom in Chicago. Another group with great vocal harmonies was known as The Pulsations.
John Poulos, Dennis Miccolis, George LeGros and
Dennis Tufano were members of The Pulsations. These two groups merged to form
The Buckinghams
The Buckinghams are an American pop band from Chicago. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top-selling acts of 1967, charting their only five top 40 hits in the U.S. that year. The band dissolved in 1970, but re-formed in 1980 ...
. One day, Sheldon Cooper, an executive at
WGN-TV
WGN-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the local outlet for The CW. It is owned and operated by the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is sister station, sister to the company ...
, witnessed a promotion of Carl's outside
Lane Tech High School across the street from WGN-TV's studios. Carl's discussion with Cooper led to 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 was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock an ...
studios in Chicago, Illinois to record "
Kind of a Drag
"Kind of a Drag" is a song written by Jim Holvay and recorded by the Buckinghams. It was the title track of their debut LP. The single reached #1 on the U.S. Hot 100 in February 1967, becoming the first #1 single within the new calendar year, re ...
" with the Buckinghams co-producer 'Dan Belloc and arranger Frank Tesinsky.
Jim Holvay of the local Chicago group
The Mob was the composer of "
Kind of a Drag
"Kind of a Drag" is a song written by Jim Holvay and recorded by the Buckinghams. It was the title track of their debut LP. The single reached #1 on the U.S. Hot 100 in February 1967, becoming the first #1 single within the new calendar year, re ...
".
As of 2017, Carl Bonafede aka "The Screaming Wildman" (a nickname given to him by a priest who witnessed Carl running a local parish teenage dance) still lives and works in Chicago in the Lincoln Park area, close to the lakefront.
Discography
The Daughters of Eve
USA 1779, 1966.
* "Hey Lover"
** Originally a modest hit for Debbie Dovale in 1963.
* "
Stand by Me"
** 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
"Help Me Girl" is a song performed by Eric Burdon in 1966. It was billed to Eric Burdon for his 1967 solo album, '' Eric Is Here'' which also featured drummer Barry Jenkins, the only group member besides Burdon to remain during the transition f ...
", a hit for
Eric Burdon
Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the rhythm and blues, R&B and Rock music, rock band The Animals and the funk band War (band), War. He is regarded as one of the Br ...
and
The Animals
The Animals, currently billed as Eric Burdon & the Animals (featuring original frontman Eric Burdon) and also as Animals & Friends (featuring original drummer John Steel (drummer), John Steel), are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Ne ...
earlier in 1967.
** Produced by Carl Bonafede and James Butler.
Spectra Sound 920, 1967.
* "Don't Waste My Time"
** Written by John Serafini.
* "He Cried"
** As popularised by
The Shangri-Las
The Shangri-Las were an American girl group of the 1960s, consisting of Mary Weiss, her sister Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss and twin sisters Marguerite "Marge" Ganser and Mary Ann Ganser. Between 1964 and 1966 several hit pop songs of theirs docu ...
, and previously a hit, as "
She Cried
"She Cried" is a song written by Ted Daryll and Greg Richards. It was initially recorded by Daryll in July 1961 but became a big hit when covered by Jay and the Americans for their 1962 album, ''She Cried''. In 1962, the song reached number five ...
", for
Jay and the Americans in 1962.
** Produced by Carl Bonafede, engineered by
Ron Malo.
Cadet 5600, 1968.
* "Social Tragedy"
** Written by James Butler, and subsequently recorded, as "Don't Let It Slip Away", by
Ral Donner
Ralph Stuart Emanuel Donner (February 10, 1943 – April 6, 1984) was an American rock and roll singer. He scored several pop hits in the US in the early 1960s, and had a voice similar to Elvis Presley. His best known song is his 1961 top ten hi ...
.
* "
A Thousand Stars"
** Introduced by The Rivileers in 1954, but popularised by
Kathy Young
Kathy Young (born October 21, 1945) is an American musician; she was a teen pop singer during the early 1960s, whose rendition of " A Thousand Stars", at age 15, rose to No. 3 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100.
Biography
A native of Southern C ...
and
The Innocents in 1960.
** Produced by Carl Bonafede, engineered by Gary Knipper and Ed Cody.
References
External links
The Buckinghams official web site*
ttp://thescreamingwildman.blogspot.com/ The Screaming Wildman Blogspot
Carl Bonafede BlogspotCarl Bonafede Official Web siteDiscogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonafede, Carl
American music managers
Record producers from Illinois
Musicians from Chicago
Living people
1940 births