Randy Bachman

Randy Bachman

Randolph Charles Bachman, OM, D.Mus (hon.) (born September 27, 1943, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) was lead guitarist and songwriter of the 1970s rock bands, The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Bachman was also a member of the band Brave Belt with Chad Allan and a band called Ironhorse, and has recorded numerous solo albums.

Personal Life

Bachman lives on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, near Vancouver Island, and has been married for many years to his wife Denise McCann. Bachman was a practicing Mormon for many years, but in an interview on CBC Radio One, noted that his family is now "more spiritual". His son Tal Bachman is a recording artist in his own right, and scored a worldwide hit in 1999 with "She's So High ."

2000s

In 2000, he made a guest appearance on The Simpsons as himself with his former Bachman-Turner Overdrive band-mate, C.F. Turner. Simpsons creator Matt Groening (whose father is originally from Winnipeg), is a well known BTO fan. Homer Simpson yells at Bachman to "get to the working overtime part" while playing "Takin' Care of Business".

In 2001 Bachman received an honorary Doctorate of Music from Brandon University in Brandon, Manitoba along with the members of the rest of the Guess Who. In 2005 Bachman was awarded the Order of Manitoba, the highest award in the Province of Manitoba. [1] Bachman, along with The Guess Who, was also the recipient of The Governor General’s Performing Arts Award, Canada's foremost distinction for excellence in the performing arts, in 2002.

Since the summer of 2005, Bachman is currently hosting the series Vinyl Tap on CBC Radio One, where he tells stories about music and musicians while playing appropriate recordings.

Randy helped Kalan Porter on his CD 219 Days. He suggested that Kalan does a drone on his violin on one of his songs, In Spite Of It All. He was also featured in his song, And We Drive, playing a guitar solo near the end of the song.

Bachman tours with his own band, the Randy Bachman Band and the Bachman-Cummings Band. He has also created a popular theatre show he calls "Every Song Tells A Story" featuring Bachman live and unplugged with his band, telling the stories behind the writing of his famous hits from the 1960s and 70s. Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings toured throughout Canada as Bachman & Cummings in the summer of 2006 with Toronto's The Carpet Frogs.

Randy Bachman has also released an album of original melodic jazz songs called "Jazz Thing" which is available at www.randybachman.com.

Bachman's coast-to-coast CBC Radio One show Vinyl Tap, featuring Bachman playing records and reminiscing about his personal encounters with famous artists and musicians from his 50-year career in rock, has been extended through 2007. It runs from 7-9 p.m. Eastern time every Saturday night and can be accessed via the CBC Radio One web site and Sirius channel 137.

Solo Discography

• 1970 Axe
• 1976 Survivor
• 1992 Any Road
• 1993 Bob's Garage (Live)
• 1996 Merge
• 1998 Songbook
• 2001 Every Song Tells a Story
• 2004 Jazz Thing
• 2006 Bachman-Cummings Songbook - Compilation that features tracks from the Guess Who, Burton Cummings, and Bachman-Turner Overdrive
• 2006 The Thunderbird Trax - A compilation of previously unreleased material recorded by Bachman and Cummings in Bachman's tool shed back in 1987
• 2007 Jazz Thing II
• 2007 Jukebox - Bachman & Cummings album which is also Cummings' first studio album in 17 years since Plus Signs. The album features covers of songs by such artists as Bob Dylan, The Shadows and The Beatles

Video Discography

• 2001 Every Song Tells a Story
• 2005 Live 8 Toronto - Performs Takin' Care of Business with The Carpet Frogs, Burton Cummings was scheduled to perform with Bachman, but was unable to attend.
• 2006 Jazz Thing Live in Toronto (Featuring Curtis Stiegers, Joel Kroeker, Tal Bachman, Stephan Moccio, and Denise McCann Bachman)
• 2006 First Time Around (with Burton Cummings and The Carpet Frogs as Bachman-Cummings Band)

See also

• Canadian rock
• Music of Canada

External links

• Randy Bachman's Official website
• Randy Bachman's Official Discussion Forum
• Official website for the Bachman-Cummings Band
• Randy's Vinyl Tap website
• Audio Interview recorded April 2007 in Toronto, Canada