Randy Bachman

At 80 years old, Randy Bachman physical status not available right now. We will update Randy Bachman's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

In 1960, Bachman and Chad Allan co-founded Al and The Silvertones in Winnipeg. By 1962, the band changed their name to Chad Allan and the Expressions and later to The Guess Who. In 1965, the Guess Who had a No. 1 hit in Canada with their cover of Johnny Kidd's "Shakin' All Over", which also charted in the US at No. 22. In 1966, Chad Allan left the band and Burton Cummings became the primary vocalist. Between 1966 and 1968, The Guess Who laboured mostly in their home country, releasing a few singles that managed to crack the Top 40 in Canada. In early 1969, the group finally broke through internationally with the hit song "These Eyes", co-written by Bachman and Cummings. The Guess Who released three successful albums over the next two years: Wheatfield Soul (1969), Canned Wheat (1969), and American Woman (1970), which brought them mainstream attention. Bachman wrote or cowrote (primarily with Cummings) most of the group's songs during this period.

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.

Before his departure from The Guess Who in May 1970, Bachman recorded an instrumental solo album for RCA Records, Axe, over three days in March 1970. The following year, he formed the country rock band Brave Belt with Chad Allan. Brave Belt released its first self-titled LP in 1971. Robbie Bachman was the drummer for Brave Belt, at barely 18 years-old. Fred Turner subsequently joined Brave Belt on bass and vocals, resulting in the band evolving into a heavier sound, which led to the departure of Chad Allan.

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 a 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 the jazz-oriented "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.

After his departure from Bachman–Turner Overdrive, Bachman recorded a second solo album titled, Survivor. This release failed to chart in the US. Following the solo album, he formed a new rock band with bassist/singer Tom Sparks, called Ironhorse. Ironhorse released their debut self-titled album in 1979. It contained the single "Sweet Lui-Louise", which charted at No. 36 in the US and No. 26 in Canada, and performed well in other parts of Europe including Italy. After the tour for this album, Tom Sparks left the band and was replaced by Frank Ludwig. The band released a second album in 1980 titled, Everything Is Grey. The release contained pop rock influences with greater use of keyboards than the first album. After BTO broke up in early-1980, Fred Turner and Randy formed a new band called Union, and released only one album titled, On Strike in 1981.

Later in the documentary 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. He credits these events 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.

Bachman rejoined The Guess Who in 1983 with Burton Cummings and other members of the American Woman era, for a publicized reunion. The band toured Canada and released a video of live performances. After The Guess Who reunion ended, Bachman rejoined Bachman-Turner Overdrive with Fred Turner, Tim Bachman, and Garry Peterson of The Guess Who taking over on drums. The reformed band released the self-titled Bachman-Turner Overdrive in 1984, as well as a live album in 1986, after which they opened for Van Halen during the 5150 tour in 1986. By 1987, Randy left the band.

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. Randy returned to The Guess Who for a reunion performance in August 1999, in Winnipeg at the end of the XIII Pan Am Games.

Bachman continued as a member of The Guess Who, and played with them on several tours. In 2000, he made a guest appearance on The Simpsons in an episode as himself, in a fictionalized reunion with his former Bachman–Turner Overdrive band-mates, C. F. Turner and Robin Bachman. Series creator Matt Groening, whose father is originally from Winnipeg, is a fan of the band. During their performance in the episode, Homer Simpson humorously yells "get to the working overtime part" while they perform "Takin' Care of Business".

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. 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.

Bachman was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame for the second time, albeit as a solo artist in 2012. In June 2015, he also received SOCAN's Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014, he released a home video package of his "Every Song Tells A Story" performances, which includes an occasional accompanying symphonic orchestra.

In 2015, he released an album titled Heavy Blues from his newly-formed self-titled 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, Randy Bachman released a tribute to George Harrison containing cover version 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.

Bachman appeared in a CBC television broadcast benefit called "Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble" on April 26, 2020, featuring various Canadian musicians and entertainers. Bachman made a brief one-minute appearance to thank the front-line Canadian workers and proceeded to play a short parody of "Taking Care of Business".

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