Free Web Hosting Provider - Web Hosting - E-commerce - High Speed Internet - Free Web Page
Search the Web

The History of The Guess Who




While there is much history to 'The Guess Who' before 1964, I will start here to keep it somewhat simple. In 1964, the band was called 'The Reflections' and consisted of:

In 1965, they were now known as 'Chad Allan & The Expressions.' At this point keyboardist Bob Ashley quit the band, unable to handle the life on the road. Enter Burton Cummings. The new look of the band was: Burton Cummings piano skills and excellent voice soon made him the front man for the band, eclipsing Chad Allan. In 1966, knowing there wasn't room for both of them, Chad Allan quit the band. The new band now went by the name 'The Guess Who.' Bruce Decker was brought in to play rhythm guitar but didn't last past 1966. The quartet went on to have great success, producing hits such as 'These Eyes,' 'Laughing,' and obviously 'American Woman.' The band was now becoming an FM radio band, and started living the lifestyle of rock stars. In 1970, at the pinnacle of success in the music world, Bachman quit the band for "personal reasons," even though many believe he was kicked out. The band added two new guitarists to replace Randy, Kurt Winter and Greg Leskiw. Now with two guitarists instead of one, The Guess Who was able to fully transform into the FM rock band that Burton Cummings wanted to be. And it worked. This line-up produced three solid albums: the chart topping 'Share the Land,' 'Rockin',' and 'So Long, Bannatyne.' This lineup produced the majority of hard rock hits songs that they were famous for such as 'Share the Land,' 'Hand Me Down World,' 'Heartbroken Bopper,' and 'Hang on to Your Life.' But, once again the band wasn't without turnover. Leskiw, who usually was by himself on the road, grew further apart from the band. In 1972, he quit in the middle of a large tour, including Seattle, where they recorded 'Live At the Paramount.' The band recruited Donnie McDougall to fill Leskiw's spot. Not long after the 'Live At the Paramount' release, Jim Kale quit the band, too. He was unable to handle the road and the life of a rock band anymore. In June 1972, Bill Wallace was brought into the band to replace Kale. The new band was now: This was now the most talented lineup The Guess who had. Cummings, McDougall, and Wallace were all excellent singers and songwriters. However, this was also a low point for the band, unable to have a chart topping hit after two albums, 'Artificial Paradise' and '#10.' However, they recovered in late 1973 with 'Road Food,' which produced the hit 'Clap For The Wolfman.' But once again, The Guess Who had internal conflict and there was change. In 1974, Kurt Winter and Donnie McDougall were ousted from the band because of their failure to show up for recordings and their excessive partying. To replace them, Domenic Troiano. This new lineup was no where near as good as any of the previous lineups that included Burton Cummings. They produced two lack-luster albums and one half-hit 'Dancin' Fool.' Burton Cummings saw the poor quality of the new lineup and quit the band on September 14, 1975.

In 1979, different members were brought together to try and revive The Guess Who name. Kurt Winter was a part of this lineup for a very short while. The band was able to produce several songs worthy of being singles, but with Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman both at the height of their success outside The Guess Who, the viewers just simply refused to accept anything under The Guess Who name. The lineup was: In 1984, The Guess Who reunited. The original Guess Who. Cummings and Bachman set aside their differences and put together another tour. However, after less than a year they stopped touring. In 1999, the same Guess Who lineup was invited to open the Pan-Am Games. They saw something good and decided to tour the following year, except Jim Kale decided not to for personal reasons and Bill Wallace and Donnie McDougall were brought back for their 'Runnin' Back Thru Canada' tour. This band is still together today after playing SARSfest in 2003, but currently are not scheduled to tour yet in 2004.

So there it is, the history of The Guess Who. A couple brief notes:



Here's A Listening Of The Guess Who Band Personnel From The Begin To End (1962-1975)
Chad Allan - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar (1962-1966)
Randy Bachman - Lead And Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals, Sitar, Percussion (1962-1970)
Jim Kale - Bass, Backing Vocals (1962-1972)
Garry Peterson - Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals (1962-1975)
Bob Ashley - Piano (1962-1965)
Burton Cummings - Lead Vocals, Piano, Keyboards, Flute, Harmonica, Rhythm Guitar (1966-1975)
Bruce Decker - Rhythm Guitar (1966)
Kurt Winter - Lead And Rhythm Guitar (1970-1974)
Greg Leskiw - Lead And Rhythm Guitar (1970-1972)
Don McDougall - Rhythm And Lead Guitar, Vocals (1972-1974)
Bill Wallace - Bass, Euphonium, Vocals (1972-1975)
Domenic Troiano - Lead Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals (1974-1975)