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Randolph Charles Bachman ( ; born September 27, 1943) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. He was the writer and singer of several hit rock songs, including, "Takin' Care of Business", and "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet". Bachman also recorded as a solo artist and was part of a number of short-lived bands such as Brave Belt, Union and Ironhorse. He was a national radio personality on CBC Radio, hosting the weekly music show, Vinyl Tap. Bachman was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016.
At age 15, Bachman saw Elvis Presley play on Tommy Dorsey's television show and the sight of the guitar around Presley's neck inspired him. He learned three chords from his cousin, then started practising on a modified Hawaiian Dobro. At age 16, Bachman met Lenny Breau and during the next two years Breau taught Bachman finger picking. Breau also introduced him to Chet Atkins' music.
In 1959, Bachman bought a ticket to see Les Paul in concert at a Winnipeg supper club but could not get in as he was too young. He instead helped Paul set up before the show and also helped him reload everything into the car after the show. Still a budding guitarist at this point, Bachman asked Paul if he could teach him a guitar lick; Paul ended up teaching his version of "How High the Moon".
He was initially a good student at school until he took up the guitar, when he focused on that instrument to the exclusion of his education. He passed Grade 9 at Edmund Partridge Junior High School, but repeated both the 10th and 11th grades, initially at West Kildonan Collegiate. In his second year of Grade 11, he was placed in a class of students who mostly either "flunked or dropped out and came back", and was asked to be class president by the teacher, who thought he had "discipline and determination" because he had been playing violin since the age of five. He was expelled from West Kildonan in the middle of that year because of his "lack of studiousness", and finished his schooling at Garden City Collegiate. He went on to study business administration at what is now Red River College, but did not graduate.
In early 1970, the single "American Woman" hit No. 1 on the US Hot 100 charts, a first for a band from Canada. A group composition, the song critiques the "ghetto scenes" and "war machines" of the US, reflecting the Guess Who's experiences of extensive touring in large American cities. With the Vietnam War at its peak, many American men went to Canada to escape US military service. Bachman left the band at the height of its popularity, shortly after the release of American Woman. He has been quoted as leaving due to the other band members' lifestyle choices conflicting with his beliefs upon converting to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in addition to wanting to spend more time with his family members. He was also suffering health problems related to his gall bladder and needed to be under a doctor's care, something that was difficult to do while on the road.
Left with a three-member line-up, Brave Belt added Tim Bachman as a second guitarist. With this lineup, the members signed a record deal with Mercury Records and renamed the band Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Often referred to as "B.T.O." for short, they released their first self-titled album, Bachman–Turner Overdrive in May 1973. In December 1973, the band released their second album, Bachman–Turner Overdrive II. This album brought the band greater commercial success than their debut, with hits such as "Takin' Care of Business" and "Let It Ride", which charted at Nos. 12 and 23 in the US, respectively. In 1974, they released their third album titled, Not Fragile. The release hit No. 1 on the album charts in both Canada and the United States. The album contained the hits, "Roll On Down the Highway" and "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet", which charted at Nos. 14 and 1, respectively. With the latter, Randy had the rare accomplishment of recording an American chart-topper for two different Canadian bands; the other being "American Woman" while he was in The Guess Who.
The band remained on the charts through the mid-1970s with their next two albums, Four Wheel Drive and Head On. With these albums, they successfully had additional hit songs with "Hey You", "Take It Like a Man", and "Lookin' Out For No. 1". In late-1976, during the recording of their sixth studio album Freeways, some disagreements surfaced within the band. Bachman wrote all but one song and sang on every song but two, while some of the other band members felt that they did not have enough good material to record and wanted to delay the release. Upon its release, the album charted at No. 70 in the US, but had no hit singles. Randy Bachman officially quit the band in mid-March 1977. The rest of the band would continue to record and tour until the end of the decade, after Randy agreed to sell the rights to the "BTO" name to the remaining band members.
Later in the article From Rags to Riches and Back, Randy recalled building up a net worth of close to $10 million by 1977, only to go broke within four years, which he attributed to his divorce from his first wife Lorayne Stevenson and the court battles over custody of their children, as well as heavy investment in musical projects that did not become fruitful.
By 1988, Bachman-Turner Overdrive had reformed again, this time with the popular 1974–77 lineup. The band toured together until 1991, when Randy again departed.
In 1992, Bachman released his first solo album in 14 years, Any Road. Its personal songs included "Prairie Town", a remembrance of growing up in Winnipeg where he and Neil Young were teenage musicians at one time. Bachman recorded fast and slow versions of the song – representing winter and summer in Winnipeg, respectively, he said – featuring Young on vocals and guitar and Cowboy Junkies singer Margo Timmins on vocals. The accompanying videos were filmed in part in Young's barn in California.
Bachman rejoined The Guess Who for a reunion performance in Winnipeg at the end of the XIII Pan Am Games in August 1999.
In 2001, Bachman received an honorary Doctorate of Music from Brandon University in Brandon, Manitoba, along with the other members of The Guess Who. That year he won three SOCAN Classic Awards.. Chart Attack, November 20, 2001 In 2005, Bachman was awarded the Order of Manitoba, the highest award in the Province of Manitoba. He was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame for the first time, for his time with The Guess Who in 2001. In 2002, The Guess Who were recipients of The Governor General's Performing Arts Award, Canada's foremost distinction for excellence in the performing arts. By July 2003, Bachman left The Guess Who with singer Burton Cummings, only to form a new project called, Bachman Cummings.
In 2004, Bachman helped Kalan Porter on his debut album, 219 Days. He reportedly suggested that Kalan do a drone on the violin during "In Spite of It All". He was also featured performing a guitar solo near the end of the song, "And We Drive". During this period, Bachman has also released an album of original melodic-jazz songs titled, Jazz Thing.
By the summer of 2005, Bachman began hosting the coast-to-coast radio show Vinyl Tap on CBC Radio One. For the show, he played audio recordings, primarily Classic rock music, while reminiscing about personal encounters with famous artists and musicians from his 50-year career in rock music. The show ran for 16 seasons with its final episode on Canada Day, July 1, 2021, after it was cancelled by CBC, though Bachman said he planned to take the program to another broadcaster or turn it into a podcast.
On July 2, 2005, Bachman performed at the Canadian leg of the global Live 8 mega-concert organized by Bob Geldof. In 2008, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Bachman continued his career touring with the Randy Bachman Band, as well as the Bachman-Cummings Band. During this time he featured in a theater-styled show called "Every Song Tells A Story", where he performed live and unplugged with his band, often telling the stories behind writing his most famous from the 1960s and 1970s. Bachman and Burton Cummings performed throughout Canada as Bachman & Cummings in the summer of 2006, while on tour with The Carpet Frogs. Bachman and Fred Turner completed a new Bachman & Turner album that was released in September 2010. The album's single titled "Rollin' Along", was released in June 2010 on iTunes. The pair launched a two-year world tour (2010–11) under their Bachman & Turner moniker, beginning at the Sweden Rock Festival in June 2010. Other confirmed dates included the High Voltage Festival in London, UK, in July 2010 and the Manitoba Homecoming Event in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The pair released the next single, "Rock n' Roll Is the Only Way Out" on their official website.Wawzenek, Bryan. "The Gibson Interview with Randy Bachman (Part 1)" – Gibson.com.
In 2015, he released an album titled Heavy Blues from his newly-formed band, Bachman. The album was influenced by classic 1960s blues rock and features musical contributions from other musicians including: Neil Young, Joe Bonamassa, Peter Frampton, Robert Randolph, and Jeff Healey. Later in March 2018, Bachman released a tribute to George Harrison containing versions of the latter's hits. The album featured one original song titled "Between Two Mountains", and also featured Walter Trout on the album's version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".
Randy and Fred Turner continued to tour as Bachman & Turner through 2018, when Fred amicably retired.
He has mentioned in interviews that his guitar influences include Lenny Breau, Leslie West, Wes Montgomery, George Peterson, and Hank Marvin.
During his early Guess Who years, Bachman's Mormon religious beliefs conflicted with the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll lifestyle of the other band members. His son Tal Bachman later renounced the religion.
Bachman has struggled with obesity. He originally lost 60 pounds from 380 lb by diet and exercise. He became aware of the threat his obesity posed to his health during a performance at Winnipeg Stadium for the 1999 Pan American Games, realizing that his weight-induced back and knee pain was making touring impossible.
During an extended ground time following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Bachman began overeating again. At his next physical after the tour, his physician told him he was morbidly obese. He asked, "Doesn't morbid mean death?" The physician told him of the risks he faced as a result of his obesity. Bachman remembered that Carnie Wilson, the daughter of his friend Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, had successfully lost weight using bariatric surgery, and sought out her surgeon to help him. Following surgery, he lost 155 pounds by 2006, reaching his 225 lb target weight.
Bachman also had a successful operation on his shoulder in November 2007 to repair a torn rotator cuff, which he has blamed on his decades-long use of heavy guitars.
Bachman has 26 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.
Bachman is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.
In January 2023, Bachman announced on Twitter that his younger brother Robbie Bachman had died, but he did not specify a cause of death. In the statement, he also paid tribute to Jeff Beck, who died two days earlier, saying "maybe Jeff Beck needs a drummer!"
In May 2023, he announced in a tweet the deaths of his brothers Gary and Tim Bachman "in quick succession since the pandemic," leaving Randy as the only living member among the four Bachman brothers.
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