The Guess Who
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The Guess Who are a Canadian band that loves to sing about
American women. While the Guess Who did have several hits in America, they were
superstars in their home country of Canada during the 1960s and early '70s. The
band grew out of vocalist/guitarist Chad Allan (born Allan Kobel) and guitarist
Randy Bachman's Winnipeg-based group Chad Allan and the Expressions, originally
known as first the Silvertones and then the Reflections. The remainder of the
lineup featured bassist Jim Kale, pianist Bob Ashley, and drummer Garry
Peterson. The Expressions recorded a cover of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates' "Shakin'
All Over" in 1965, which became a surprise hit in Canada and reached the U.S.
Top 40. When the Expressions recorded an entire album of the same name, its
record company, Quality, listed their name as "Guess Who?" on the jacket, hoping
to fool record buyers into thinking that the British Invasion-influenced music
was actually by a more famous group in disguise. Ashley had been replaced by
keyboardist/vocalist Burton Cummings, who became lead vocalist when Allan
departed in 1966. The Guess Who embarked on an unsuccessful tour of England and
returned home to record commercials and appear on the television program Let's
Go, hosted by Chad Allan. However, further American success eluded the Guess Who
until the 1969 Top Ten hit "These Eyes"; the recording session for the
accompanying album, Wheatfield Soul, was paid for by producer Jack Richardson,
who mortgaged his house to do so. Canned Wheat Packed by the Guess Who produced
three Top 40 singles later that year. In 1970, the Guess Who released the
cuttingly sarcastic riff-rocker "American Woman," which, given its anti-American
putdowns, ironically became their only U.S. chart-topper. The album of the same
name became their first U.S. Top Ten and first gold album, and the group
performed for President and Mrs. Nixon and Prince Charles at the White House.
(Pat Nixon requested that "American Woman" be dropped from the set list.)
The Guess Who were staring down a rocky road. Trouble was brewing on the
horizon, though. Guitarist Bachman, having recently converted to Mormonism, took
issue with the band's typical rock & roll lifestyle, leading to clashes with
Cummings. Finding the atmosphere unbearable, Bachman left the group in July 1970
and formed Brave Belt with Chad Allan, which later evolved into Bachman-Turner
Overdrive. His place in the Guess Who was taken by Kurt Winter and Greg Leskiw,
and the title track from their next album, "Share the Land," climbed into the
Top Ten later that year, and several more singles charted afterwards. The group
returned to the Top Ten one last time in 1974 with the novelty single "Clap for
the Wolfman," featuring dialogue by deejay Wolfman Jack. Burdened by shifting
personnel and loss of direction, Cummings broke up the band in 1975 and tried a
solo career. The lineup from the Guess Who's glory years reunited in 1983, and a
version of the group with constantly shifting musicians (occasionally original
members) continues to tour.
The Guess Who were always ready to comeback. The original members of The Guess
Who appeared sporadically over the ensuing years: Jim Kale continued the band
with new members through the late 70’s; Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings toured
together in 1983; there was a brief reunion from which an album and concert
video were released in 1985; and the band appeared together when they were
inducted into the Canadian Recording Arts & Sciences (CARAS) Hall of Fame in
1987.
The Guess Who are a Candian band that made a career singing about American
women. In 1999 The Guess Who returned to their Winnipeg roots, responding to a
personal request from the Premier of Manitoba, to appear at the closing
ceremonies of the Pan Am Games. The reunion was performed in driving rain before
a combined live and television audience of nearly a million people. The
excitement and personal enjoyment found in performing together again as The
Guess Who inspired Randy, Garry and Burton to tour across Canada along with
previous bandmembers Donnie McDougall and Bill Wallace. The Guess Who Running
Back Thru Canada Tour traveled to 24 cities from May 31 to July 15, 2000.
The Guess Who would return again. On April 25, 2006 Randy Bachman and Burton
Cummings re-united and performed hits from The Guess Who, and solo careers at
Club 279 in the Hard Rock Cafe in Toronto, Ontario in front of a small crowd of
about 150 - 200 people. This concert was not open to the public - you had to be
invited or win your tickets.
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