The Guess Who

The Guess Who is a Canadian rock music band from Winnipeg, Manitoba that was one of the first to establish a major successful following in their own country as well as abroad in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were the first Canadian rock group to have a No.1 hit

History

The band was originally known as "Chad Allan & The Expressions" before their record label tried a stunt of hiding the name of the band with the words "Guess Who?" The reception proved so positive that the name stuck. As the group lineup changed, so did their sound. 1969's "These Eyes" was the group's first Top Ten hit under new group leader Burton Cummings. By the beginning of the 1970s, the group moved towards an edgier hard-rock sound with the album "American Woman", which featured among its tracks the title song (the only Number One hit the group had in the U.S.), "When Friends Fall Out" (a short ditty that was sort of a cross between Strawberry Alarm Clock, Jefferson Airplane and the Lennon Sisters), "No Sugar Tonight", and the Top Ten hit "No Time".

Related Topics:
Record label - Burton Cummings - Jefferson Airplane

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Group differences led Randy Bachman to leave the group, return to Winnipeg, and form Brave Belt, which eventually evolved into the hit group Bachman Turner Overdrive. The Guess Who continued with more hit singles such as "Share The Land" and "Clap For The Wolfman" (an homage to disc jockey Wolfman Jack, who incidentally, lent his own voice to the recording).

Related Topics:
Randy Bachman - Bachman Turner Overdrive - Wolfman Jack

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The Guess Who broke up in 1975, but a new incarnation has since been formed and continues to tour in the tradition of the group and sound Cummings made famous.

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Jim Kale in a moment of brilliance while on tour in Kenora, Ontario finds out from Cummings and Bachman that the name of the band has never been

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registered and drives back to Winnipeg to register it. This is the reason Cummings and Bachman can't use the name unless they hire Kale, which they refuse to do because of his unreliable nature on tour.

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In 2001, a year after the Guess Who went on a cross-Canada national tour, the band received honourary doctorates at Brandon University in Brandon, Manitoba. For lead vocalist Cummings, it was a privilege to receive the doctorate, since he did not graduate from high school.

Related Topics:
2001 - Brandon University - Brandon, Manitoba

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