The Buckinghams - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (A Collection) (1991)

The Buckinghams are an American rock band which saw enormous radio popularity in 1967, becoming one of the top-selling rock groups of that year. In 1965, four high school musicians in Chicago, Illinois -- bassist Nick Fortuna, guitarist Carl Giammarese, drummer Jon Poulos, and singer/guitarist Dennis Tufano -- formed a band they called The Centuries. They added keyboardist Dennis Miccolis, changed their name to The Pulsations and landed a job as the house band on a local (WGN-TV) variety show. The show's producer suggested they adopt a more "contemporary" (i.e. British) name, and thanks to the suggestion of a security guard at the television station, The Buckinghams were born.

The 18 track Mercy, Mercy, Mercy is an exemplary best-of disc, collecting all of the group's major hits, i.e. "Kind of A Drag," "Don't You Care," "Hey Baby (They're Playing Our Song)," and "Susan." Meanwhile, less familiar numbers like covers of Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," the Beatles' "I Call Your Name," and a vocal interpretation of the Cannonball Adderley jazz tune that provides the collection's title suggest that there was more substance to the band than its squeaky-clean hits let on.