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From the
freezing cold prairie town of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the Guess Who burst
upon the music scene in the late Sixties. When original lead singer, Chad Allen,
left the band to return to school, his replacement, the teenaged Burton
Cummings, would spearhead the band to international fame.
Cummings
and the rest of the band, guitarist Randy Bachman, bassist Jim Kale; and
drummer Gary Peterson would soon score a big hit with “These Eyes.” That song
would be included in the album, “Wheatfield Soul” (1968), the first Guess Who
album to make an impact outside of Canada.
With
keyboardist and lead singer Cummings as front man, the Guess Who would record a
string of hit singles which included “Undun” and “Laughing” from “Canned Wheat”
(1969) and “American Woman” and “No Time” from the “American Woman” (1970)
album. The track, “American Woman,” would become the band’s one and only No. 1
hit.
Randy
Bachman, a Mormon, would leave the band during the height of its success, fed
up with the excessive lifestyles of his band mates. He was replaced by
guitarist Kurt Winter, and the Guess Who kept on churning out hits. The album, “Share The Land” (1970), saw the title track,
“Share the Land,” “Hand Me Down World,” and “Hang On to Your Life” all become
hits. Despite earning a reputation as a “singles” band, the Guess Who produced
solid and consistent albums throughout this period.
The Guess
Who would continue to tour and record until 1975, occasionally scoring hit
singles and releasing decent albums, the best of which is “Live at theParamount
” (1972).
