Randy Bachman: Peace, Love and Happiness …and Taking Care of Business

A founding member of two chart topping bands, CBC radio host, five decades of touring and experiencing some of the most fascinating times in Rock ‘n Roll, Randy Bachman is a master story teller and a renowned musical talent. There are few people in Canada, if not North America and much of the world that have not heard the likes of Taking Care of Business by Bachman-Turner Overdrive and American Woman by The Guess Who.

Bachman is out promoting his latest release right now – by George – by Bachman, Songs of George Harrison, with his son Tal Bachman.

And Tal, if you are unfamiliar with his name, had a #1 hit released in 1998 that is still widely played: She’s So High. Go find this song on your favourite music streaming service and I guarantee, you will have heard it before. It managed to win him several accolades including a Juno.

The set list for the tour consists of a couple songs from Randy’s new release including “Between Two Mountains“, which doesn’t quite follow the original George Harrison format. Instead, Randy puts his own twist into Harrison’s music to make it his own.

Hands down, I think Randy Bachman has some of the best song introductions I have ever listened to. They are actually interesting, humorous and make sense, as so many artists open songs with a rambling of words that rarely have any bearing on the song in question. One instance, Randy spoke about an incident while driving to New Orleans for Mardi Gras where BTO was to play with ZZ Top and the Doobie Brothers. On the drive from Winnipeg through the US in an American Motors’ station wagon, they were boxed in by transport trucks and eventually managed to confront one of the drivers at a truck stop where they needed fuel. The description of the conversation with the truck driver segued into the song “Let it Ride“.

Mirroring the truck driver example, there are more stories from Alice Cooper and Frank Zappa, to running in to an unexpected domestic dispute while looking for hippy hangouts on the west coast.

Not only can Randy introduce a song through words, but he played his guitar with a drumstick as part of an opening instrumental for American Woman; one of the nights musical highlights.

There are still several tour dates available in Ontario such as Peterborough and Brampton before the show moves out to the western provinces with a couple later appearances in the US. Be sure to catch him live, you will not be disappointed.

Not only can you find Randy on his official website, but you can also find him on Facebook. and over at CBC’s Vinyl Tap website.