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The Guess Who

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The Guess Who
The Guess Who. (From left) Garry Peterson, Burton Cummings, Domenic Troiano, Bill Wallace.
Background information
Also known as	The Silvertones, The Reflections, Chad Allan and the Expressions
Origin	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Genre(s)	Rock
Years active	1962–1975, 1979, 1981–1983, 1990–present
Label(s)	Buddha, RCA, Paradiso, Sundazed
Website	http://www.theguesswhocafe.com/
Members
Carl Dixon Jim Kale Laurie MacKenzie Garry Peterson Leonard Shaw
Former members
Randy Bachman Burton Cummings Domenic Troiano (deceased) Kurt Winter (deceased) Chad Allan

The Guess Who is a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, that was one of the first to establish a major successful following in their own country while still residing there. Produced by Jack Richardson, C.M., they were the first Canadian rock group to have a No.1 hit in the United States (see 1970 in music). The Guess Who is mentioned in the song One Great City! by the Canadian Indie Rock band The Weakerthans

History

Early years

The Guess Who started out as a local Winnipeg band in 1960 called Chad Allan and the Reflections (later changed to Chad Allan & The Expressions). All the band members were born in Winnipeg. Chad Allan and the Expressions signed with Quality Records in 1962 and released several flop singles before releasing their first hit, a 1965 rendition of Johnny Kidd's "Shakin' All Over" that reached No. 1 in Canada and No. 22 in the U.S. However, in an attempt to build a mystique around the record, Quality Records credited the single only to "Guess Who?" It was hoped that some listeners might assume the "Guess Who?" identity was deliberately masking several famous performers working under a pseudonym -- given the "beat group" nature of the record, perhaps even members of The Beatles. It is debatable as to whether anyone was really fooled by this ruse, or if the record would have been a hit regardless of the artist credit. But the upshot was that, even after Quality Records revealed the band was 'really' Chad Allan & The Expressions, disc jockeys still announced the group as Guess Who?, effectively forcing the band to rename themselves. So on their first two albums the band was credited as both Guess Who? and Chad Allan & The Expressions.

Success

The immediate follow-ups to "Shakin' All Over" met with major success in Canada, but very little success elsewhere. Subsequently, Burton Cummings joined the band as keyboardist and co-lead vocalist (with Chad Allan) in late 1965. This line-up only lasted for a few months before Chad Allan left, making Cummings the new full-time lead singer. At this point, the band's name became The Guess Who? (The question mark would finally be dropped in 1968.) As the group's lineup changed, so did their sound. Cummings and guitarist Randy Bachman were now the band's main composers, and they moved away from Merseybeat-inspired rock to a sound that mixed rock, blues, and jazz. The 1969 ballad "These Eyes" was the group's first Top 10 US hit for their new label RCA Records. By the beginning of the 1970s, they had moved toward an edgier hard-rock sound with the album American Woman, the title track for which, "American Woman" (coupled with its B-side "No Sugar Tonight") was the group's only No. 1 hit in the U.S. "American Woman" also earned The Guess Who the honor of being the first Canadian band to have a No. 1 hit on the American charts. The Top 10 US hit "No Time" preceded "American Woman" by about three months. Differences between Bachman and Cummings led Bachman to leave the group during their unfinished 1970 album The Way They Were, return to Winnipeg, and form Brave Belt, which eventually evolved into the supergroup Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Bachman was replaced by two guitarists, fellow Winnipeggers Kurt Winter from the band Brother, and Greg Leskiw. Winter became the main songwriting collaborator with Cummings, and The Guess Who continued with more hit singles such as "Hand Me Down World", "Share The Land", "Hang On to Your Life" and "Albert Flasher". In 1972, they recorded their highly acclaimed album "Live at the Paramount" which was recorded at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle. This preceded an overseas tour in November-December 1972 to Japan, New Zealand and Australia. Leskiw left the band in 1972, to be replaced by Don McDougall, and bassist Jim Kale left in 1973 after his lifestyle could no longer support touring. Winter's former bandmate Bill Wallace came in to take over bass duties. Cummings, Wallace and Winter wrote the Guess Who's last big hit, "Clap For The Wolfman", which was an homage to disc jockey Wolfman Jack, who incidentally lent his own voice to the recording before McDougal and Winter left in 1974. Domenic Troiano would then become the new lead guitarist for the band, and Cummings' chief songwriting collaborator.

The Guess Who broke up in 1975. Cummings then went on to forge a successful solo career.

Reformations

After the initial break-up, one-time Guess Who bassist Jim Kale, on tour in Kenora, Ontario, found out from Cummings and Bachman that the name "The Guess Who" had never been registered. He promptly drove back to Winnipeg to register it, and maintains control of the band name to this day. Beginning in 1978, a 'reformed' Guess Who featuring Kale and other Guess Who alumni (but not Cummings, Bachman or Allan) began touring and recorded an album called "Guess Who's Back" to minimal attention. Another studio album followed in 1979. In 1983, Bachman, Cummings, Jim Kale and Garry Peterson (the "American Woman" line-up) reunited as The Guess Who to play a series of gigs and record the Together Again live album and video. After this reunion, Bachman and Cummings resumed their solo work, and Kale resumed touring with various musicians under The Guess Who banner. A new Guess Who studio album with vocalist Terry Hatty was released in 1995, but virtually no attention was paid to it in the mainstream press, and the few reviews of the album were almost all overwhelmingly negative. In May 1997 [1] with their hometown of Winnipeg facing a potential disaster flood that had already taken cities south of the border, Bachman and Cummings reunited in Winnipeg for the first time in 10 years in an emotional fund raiser for disaster relief organized by Tom Jackson. During the concert it began to rain, then thunder, then lightning. Through the rain Cummings kept singing (while the band crew tried to cover things in plastic), at one point Cummings acknowledging that if the audience didn't leave he wouldn't either, and he didn't until the lightning started to strike. It was a temporary pause, though, and the concert continued a short time later. In 1999, Cummings, Bachman, Peterson and Kale reunited once again, with the band leasing the rights to the Guess Who name from Kale. This led to a cross-Canada and US tour for the band beginning in 2000, although health issues of Kale's precluded his involvement. Nevertheless, he received a share of the band's earnings, and replacement Bill Wallace was paid out of other members' shares. A live album and DVD release followed the tour. Both the tour and the subsequent live releases were warmly received by fans and critics. In 2001, the band received honorary doctorates at Brandon University in Brandon, Manitoba. For lead vocalist Cummings, it was a privilege to receive the doctorate, since he did not graduate from high school. That same year the group was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. In 2003, the band (including Bachman and Cummings) performed a well-received set before an estimated audience of 450,000 at the Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto SARS benefit concert. The show was the largest outdoor ticketed event in Canadian history. In 2004, Kale once again started touring with his version of the Guess Who (referred to as the "Klones" by Cummings). This version of the group, including original drummer Garry Peterson (as of 2007), continues to play scattered dates, all in the USA. While still also performing individually and with their own bands, Bachman and Cummings, backed by Toronto's Carpet Frogs, have been touring together since 2005. Having failed to win the rights to use the Guess Who name, they have adopted the moniker Bachman Cummings. Bachman stated in a CBC interview on February 7, 2005 that it was unlikely he and Cummings would ever again tour as The Guess Who. On April 25, 2006, Bachman Cummings performed hits from The Guess Who, and solo careers at Club 279 in the Hard Rock Cafe in Toronto in front of a small crowd of about 150 to 200 people. This concert was not open to the public - one had to be invited or win tickets. A performance on CBC television that same year was released as a DVD, entitled First Time Around. Also in 2006, a CD entitled Bachman Cummings Songbook was released, a "best of" culled from the combined Guess Who, BTO and Burton Cummings catalogues. In 2007, Bachman & Cummings released an album of new recordings titled Jukebox, which covers tracks by some of their favourite artists from the 1960s. The track selection includes a new, laid-back recording of their own Guess Who hit, "American Woman". Bachman & Cummings also toured in 2007 playing tracks from the new album along with Guess Who, Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Burton Cummings hits. The tour ended with a November 12th date in Sault Ste. Marie's Steelback Centre.

Lineups

The Silvertones

1960 Chad Allan, (Allan Cobell), Bob Ashley, Brian Donald, Johnny Glowa, Jim Kale, Larry Wah, Gordon Murison(band named after his Silvertone Guitar)

Chad Allan & The Silvertones

1961 Chad Allan, Bob Ashley, Randy Bachman, Jim Kale, Garry Peterson, Carol West.

Chad Allan & The Expressions

1962 Chad Allan, Bob Ashley, Randy Bachman, Jim Kale, Garry Peterson
1964 Chad Allan, Randy Bachman, Jim Kale, Bob Ashley, Garry Peterson

The Guess Who

1965 Chad Allan, Randy Bachman, Jim Kale, Garry Peterson, Burton Cummings
1966 Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Bruce Decker, Jim Kale, Garry Peterson
1966 Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Jim Kale, Garry Peterson
1970 Burton Cummings, Jim Kale, Greg Leskiw, Garry Peterson, Kurt Winter
1972 Burton Cummings, Jim Kale, Donnie McDougall, Garry Peterson, Kurt Winter
1972 Burton Cummings, Donnie McDougall, Garry Peterson, Bill Wallace, Kurt Winter
1974 Burton Cummings, Garry Peterson, Domenic Troiano, Bill Wallace
1979 Bobby Bilan, Jim Kale, Vance Masters, Donnie McDougall, (Guess Who's Back LP)
1979 David Inglis, Jim Kale, Vance Masters, Donnie McDougall, Kurt Winter
1979 David Inglis, Jim Kale, Vance Masters, Donnie McDougall, Bobby Bilan
1981 Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Garry Peterson, Bill Wallace
1982 Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Jim Kale, Garry Peterson
1990 Terry Hatty, Jim Kale, Garry Peterson, Dale Russell, Leonard Shaw
1997 Carl Dixon, Jim Kale, Garry Peterson, Dale Russell, Leonard Shaw
1998 Carl Dixon, Garry Peterson, Dale Russell, Ken Sinnaeve, Leonard Shaw
1999 Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Jim Kale, Garry Peterson (one show)
2000 Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Jim Kale, Donnie McDougall, Garry Peterson (one show)
2000 Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings,Don McDougall, Garry Peterson, Bill Wallace (to end 07/31/03)
2004 Bobby Bilan, Carl Dixon, Jim Kale, Garry Peterson, Leonard Shaw
2006 Carl Dixon, Jim Kale, Laurie MacKenzie, Garry Peterson, Leonard Shaw (currently touring the U.S.).

Discography

Original studio albums

Credited to "Guess Who?"/Chad Allan and the Expressions (i.e. both names shown on the album cover)

1965 Shakin' All Over
1965 Hey Ho (What You Do To Me)

As The Guess Who?

1966 It's Time
1968 A Wild Pair (Split album: one side by "The Guess Who?"; the other by "The Staccatos", soon to become the Five Man Electrical Band).

As The Guess Who

1968 Wheatfield Soul
1969 Canned Wheat
1970 American Woman
1970 Share the Land
1971 So Long, Bannatyne
1972 Rockin'
1972 Wild One
1973 Artificial Paradise
1973 #10
1974 Road Food
1974 Flavours
1975 Power in the Music

Post Burton Cummings-era albums credited to The Guess Who

1978 Guess Who's Back
1979 All This for a Song
1995 Liberty (also issued with the title Lonely One)

Live albums

1972 Live at the Paramount (live)
1984 Together Again (live)
1986 The Best Of The Guess Who Live (complete concert from the Together Again release)
1998 The Spirit Lives On (Live)
1999 Down The Road (Live)
2000 Running Back Thru Canada (Live)
2004 The Best of Running Back Thru Canada

Compilations

1968 The Guess Who
1969 Sown and Grown in Canada
1971 Guess Who Play the Guess Who
1971 The Best of the Guess Who
1972 Shakin' All Over (re-issue)
1972 The History of the Guess Who
1973 The Best of the Guess Who (re-issue)
1973 The Best of the Guess Who Volume 2
1976 The Way They Were
1977 The Greatest Hits of the Guess Who
1988 Track Record: The Guess Who Collection
1992 These Eyes
1997 The Guess Who: The Ultimate Collection
1997 Razor's Edge
1999 The Guess Who: Greatest Hits
2000 Canned Wheat (Remastered with 2 bonus tracks)
2000 American Woman (Remastered)
2000 Live at the Paramount (Remastered with six bonus tracks)
2000 Share the Land (Remastered with two bonus tracks)
2001 This Time Long Ago
2003 Platinum & Gold Collection: The Guess Who
2003 The Guess Who: Anthology
2004 Wheatfield Soul/Artificial Paradise (Remastered, The Guess Who x2)
2004 So Long Bannatyne/#10 (Remastered, The Guess Who x2)
2004 Rockin'/Flavours (Remastered, The Guess Who x2)
2004 Road Food/Power in the Music (Remastered, The Guess Who x2)
2005 Let's Go
2006 Bachman-Cummings Song Book (The album contained tracks from The Guess Who, Burton Cummings, and Bachman-Turner Overdrive)

Hit singles

1965 - Shakin' All Over [CAN #1] [US #22]
1965 - Hey Ho, What You Do to Me [CAN #3] [US #125]
1965 - Tossin' and Turnin' [CAN #3]
1966 - Hurting Each Other [CAN #19]
1966 - Believe Me [CAN #10]
1966 - Clock on the Wall [CAN #16]
1966 - And She's Mine [CAN #32]
1967 - His Girl [CAN #19]
1967 - This Time Long Ago [CAN #30]
1967 - Flying On The Ground Is Wrong [CAN #36}
1968 - Of A Dropping Pin [CAN #97]
1969 - These Eyes [CAN #7] [US #6]
1969 - Laughing [CAN #1] [US #10]
1969 - Undun [CAN #21] [US #22]
1970 - No Time [CAN #1] [US #5]
1970 - American Woman [CAN #1] [US #1] [UK #19]
1970 - No Sugar Tonight [CAN #1] [US #39]
1970 - Hand Me Down World [CAN #10] [US #17]
1970 - Share the Land [CAN #2] [US #10]
1971 - Rain Dance [CAN #3] [US #19]
1971 - Hang on to Your Life [CAN #5] [US #43]
1971 - Broken [CAN #15] [US #77]
1971 - Albert Flasher [CAN #13] [US #29]
1972 - Sour Suite [CAN #12] [US #50]
1972 - Heartbroken Bopper [CAN #12] [US #47]
1972 - Runnin' Back to Saskatoon [CAN #9] [US #96]
1972 - Life in the Bloodstream [CAN #39]
1972 - Guns, Guns, Guns [CAN #58] [US #70]
1973 - Follow Your Daughter Home [CAN #20] [US #61]
1973 - Orly [CAN #21]
1973 - Glamour Boy [CAN #14]
1974 - Star Baby [CAN #9] [US #39]
1974 - Clap for the Wolfman [CAN #4] [US #6]
1975 - Dancin' Fool [CAN #14] [US #28]
1975 - Loves Me Like a Brother [CAN #21]
1975 - Roseanne [CAN #58] [US #105]
1975 - Seems Like I Can't Live With You, But I Can't Live Without You [CAN #81]
1975 - When the Band Was Singin' "Shakin' All Over" [US #102]
1976 - Silver Bird [CAN #63]

Filmography

1983 Together Again live concert with interviews.
2002 Running Back Thru Canada (Live with bonus tracks)
2003 Toronto Rocks - Two tracks only - with the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Rush and others.
2006 First Time Around (Bachman, Cummings), live concert from a CBC broadcast.
2007 Shakin' In Las Vegas (The Guess Who: Peterson, Kale), DVD of 4 new songs plus Shakin' All Over, from a live concert in Las Vegas.

Books

1995 American Woman - The Story of The Guess Who by John Einarson - Quarry Press, Ontario, Canada

Kevin Spacey sings along with "American Woman" in American Beauty.

The Guess Who on the big and small screens

"Undun" is heard briefly in the movie Jackie Brown, although it doesn't appear on the film's soundtrack.
"No Time" is heard in the scene where Steve Wozniak tells Steve Jobs that HP doesn't want the computer they created in Pirates of Silicon Valley.
"Glamour Boy" is heard in Don McKellar's Last Night.
"Share the Land" is briefly heard playing inside the car of Paul Kellerman (Paul Adelstein) on the show Prison Break.
"These Eyes" is sung briefly by Evan (Michael Cera) in the film Superbad, and moments later the original Guess Who version is heard playing on a police car radio.
"These Eyes" is used in the film Stay.
"Shakin' All Over" is heard in the film My First Mister in a scene between John Goodman and Leelee Sobieski.
"American Woman" is used in the film American Beauty, although it doesn't appear on the film's soundtrack.

Lester Bangs (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) in Almost Famous holding Live at the Paramount while wearing a Guess Who T-shirt

A karaoke version of "American Woman" is sung in The Cable Guy.
In Almost Famous, Lester Bangs, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, mentions the Guess Who, while wearing a Guess Who T-shirt. In director Cameron Crowe's extended "Bootleg" version of the film, Bangs talks longer about the band and mentions a live version of "American Woman." Also, a verse from "Albert Flasher" is sung by some of the girls in the scene where they are staying at a hotel.
Both the Lenny Kravitz and the Guess Who's versions of "American Woman" are in the movie Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. The Kravitz version appears on the film's original soundtrack, while the Guess Who version was released on a second soundtrack, More Music from and Inspired by Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Kravitz joined the band in a live performance of that song during the 1999 MuchMusic Video Awards.
"American Woman" was used in an episode of Due South.