The History of Rock n Roll remembers ... The Guess Who. The Guess Who started out in Winnipeg, Canada in 1958 as Allan & the Silvertones – a group formed by singer-guitarist Allan Kobel (a/k/a Chad Allan). Key players in their early days included Randy Bachman (guitar), Jim Kale (bass) and Garry Peterson (drums). The band started recording in 1962 and went through several name changes before waxing a cover of Johnny Kidd & the Pirates’ UK hit “Shakin’ All Over” in 1965. After the Chad Allan version went to #1 in Canada, the track was licensed for American release to the Scepter label, which, as a promotional gimmick, refused to identify the act on the first singles sent to U.S. radio stations. Hoping that DJs might think that the recording was by a secret group of superstars --- maybe even The Beatles -- Scepter simply printed as artist credit on those first DJ copies the mysterious phrase “Guess Who?” Having no other way to identify the band, American DJs simply called the act “The Guess Who” – and the name stuck! In 1966 Chad Allen left and lead singer-keyboard man Burton Cummmings joined The Guess Who. Producer Jack Richardson, convinced the group had a bright future, mortgaged his home to finance the sessions for the bands “Wheatfield Soul” LP, which featured their 1969 million-seller “These Eyes.” After that came 19 more hits through 1975, including “Laughing,” “Undun,” “No Time,” :Hand Me Down World,” “Share the Land,” “Albert Flasher,” “Rain Dance,” “Dancin’ Fool” and “No Sugar Tonight.” The flip side of “No Sugar Tonight” in 1970 was “American Woman,” the first American chart-topper by a Canadian group since The Crew-Cuts’ “Sh-Boom” in 1954. Another notable Guess Who hit was “Clap For The Wolfman,” a 1974 single intended to feature a band member imitating the distinctive growl of legendary DJ Wolfman Jack. When no one in the Guess Who could pull that off, the Wolfman himself – who happened to be visiting the same city where the group was recording -- came by and contributed his own vocal. Randy Bachman left the Guess Who in 1970, eventually forming his own band, Bachman-Turner Overdrive (Takin Care of Business, You Aint Seen Nothing Yet, etc.). Other members came and went before Burton Cummings broke up the Guess Who in 1975. The next year Burton scored a Top 10 solo hit, “Stand Tall.” In the years since then there have been several Guess Who reunions featuring various combinations of new and old members. Jim Kale owns the rights to the name “Guess Who,” having secured it in 1977 after discovering that no one had bothered to register the name before! https://youtube/watch?v=dO8ahHedcnk
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 20:18:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015