It sounds like Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman have finally reached the boiling point regarding other members of The Guess Who use of the name.
They have filed a $20 million lawsuit to reclaim the name of the band they helped guide into the biggest Canadian rock and roll band of The Top 40 Era. (At one point, The Guess Who were outselling all other Canadian acts COMBINED!!!) And yet somehow they're STILL not considered Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame material by the powers that be. (To quote "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "MORONS!") Maybe this new action and attention will finally make things right in that regard as well.
On the surface, Bachman and Cummings only wrote a handful of songs together ... but it was this material (tracks like "These Eyes," "Laughing," "No Time," "American Woman," "No Sugar Tonight) that launched them into the consciousness of fans all over the world. (Each of those tunes made The National Top Ten here in The States.)
Drummer and Bassist Garry Peterson and Jim Kale acquired the name in 1977. (Bachman left right at their peak in 1970.) Bachman and Cummings filed a federal suit in Los Angeles Monday Morning (10/30), stating that the current lineup "has used the band’s name, photos of the original lineup, and recordings that Bachman and Cummings performed on to give the false impression that Plaintiffs are performing as part of the cover band.”
“They’ve taken mine and Randy’s history, the history of The Guess Who, and stolen it to market their cheap ticket sales in their fake bullshit shows,” Cummings told Rolling Stone. “It takes away everybody’s legitimacy.”
(Ironically, two emails before I opened this one was an email from The Genesee Theatre, offering presale tickets to see The Guess Who at their theater on December 28th.)
This has been a real stickler point for decades. When the full band reunited for a tour in 2001, they were able to tour as The Guess Who because Peterson and Kale were onboard. A couple of years ago, Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings had lined up a series of concerts here in The States, billing themselves as Bachman Cummings. But then Covid hit (and we lost our second row center seats when the show was cancelled!!! No, I will NEVER forgive the world for that!!!)
Although Peterson and Kale did not comment on The Rolling Stone article by the time I was writing this, Rolling Stone pulled an old quote from Kale from a 2012 interview he did in The Winnipeg Free Press stating “Cummings signed off on the name in 1977 … and he hasn’t stopped his pissing and moaning ever since. What the hell do you think I was going to do, start a scrapbook? Here I was, with a whopping grade 10 education and I don’t have a trade and I’m too old for a paper route. I gotta make a living.”
Meanwhile, it's the fans that are getting hurt. They're being duped into thinking it's the real band when, in fact, the guys that wrote and sang these songs are nowhere to be found. It really all boils down to "Truth In Advertising" ... and if the current band is using music recorded by the REAL band in their advertising commercials, then they are deliberately misleading the public to shell out their hard-earned money to see (what Bachman and Cummings refer to as) "nothing more than a cover band."
Even the "faux" Guess Who band has disintegrated from there. Kale left in 2016 and Peterson only appears periodically, meaning that most of the time there isn't a single original member of The Guess Who on stage anymore. (In all fairness, Burton Cummings is NOT an original member of the band ... he joined in 1967 ... but their biggest hits started when he came onboard. Even after Randy Bachman left, Cummings continued to lead the band up the charts for nine more Top 40 hits before he left to start a solo career.)
They're all getting older ... one has to wonder how much longer they can tour ... but Cummings has been a big attraction as a solo act for decades now ... and Randy Bachman just recently reformed Bachman-Turner Overdrive, who had seven Top 40 Hits of their own in the 1970's.
If they win this lawsuit, will the two of them regroup as The Guess Who and continue to tour together again? Or is it more a matter of owning the trademark and the rights to the name?
What would make them happy? Bachman says, “The ideal solution is that Peterson says he’ll retire and we pay him a percentage off the top, and we can lease the name forever or we buy it outright and we’re free to go on.”
All of this remains to be seen ... but The Guess Who are certainly Front And Center right now in Classic Rock News!!! (kk)
The new Stones album may have the most vinyl variations of any in history ... even more than a Taylor Swift album!
I am a lifelong fan of the Milwaukee Brewers. Here is one of 32 major league stadium versions.
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I agree with you ... the music is very good ... the best since Tattoo You.
Phil Nee
The Rolling Stones just became the first recording artist in history to place an album in The Top Ten of Billboard Magazine's Top 200 Albums Chart in SEVEN consecutive decades!
The Stones have scored Top 10 Albums in the '60's, '70's, '80's, '90's, '00's, '10's and now '20's, thanks to "Hackney Diamonds."
In fact, "Hackney Diamonds" is The Rolling Stones' 38th Top Ten LP, also a record amongst all recording acts. (According to Billboard, Barbra Streisand is second with 34, followed by Frank Sinatra and The Beatles, who are each tied with 32. (Odds are The Beatles will move into a tie for second place once their 1962 - 1966 and 1967 - 1970 revamped sets are released on November 10th. They really should count these as new Top 10's some both compilations will feature an expanded track listing ... it'll be interesting to see how they handle that.)
As for The Stones, here's how they racked up their record breaking number:
They scored thirteen Top Ten Albums in the 1960's: 2 x 5; The Rolling Stones, Now!; Out of Our Heads; December’s Children [And Everybody’s]; Big Hits [High Tide and Green Grass]; Aftermath; Got Live If You Want It!; Between the Buttons; Flowers; Their Satanic Majesties Request; Beggars Banquet; Through the Past, Darkly [Big Hits Vol. 2] and Let It Bleed ... twelve more ‘70's: ‘Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!; ’ Sticky Fingers; Hot Rocks 1964-1971; Exile on Main St.; More Hot Rocks [Big Hits & Fazed Cookies]; Goats Head Soup; It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll; Made in the Shade; Metamorphosis; Black and Blue; Love You Live and Some Girls ... six in the ‘80's: 'Emotional Rescue;' 'Tattoo You'; ‘Still Life’ [American Concert 1981]; Undercover; Dirty Work and Steel Wheels ... three in the ‘90s: Voodoo Lounge; Stripped and Bridges to Babylon ... two in the 2000's: Forty Licks and A Bigger Bang); one in the 2010's (Blue & Lonesome) and now one, so far, in the 2020's. Hackney Diamonds. (The Stones made mention during their Jimmy Fallon interview that they actually recorded 23 tracks while working on their latest album ... which could imply that they've already got the better part of their next album all ready to go and in the can!)
And, just in case you're wondering, NINE of those 38 Top Ten LPs went all the way to #1: Out of Our Heads, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main St., Goats Head Soup, It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll, Black and Blue, Some Girls, Emotional Rescue and Tattoo You ... which means that "Hackney Diamonds" has the potential to be their 10th #1 Album. (kk)
Speaking of Billboard, here's this from Tom Cuddy …
25 Biggest Hits of the ‘60s, According to Billboard
https://247wallst.com/special-report/2023/10/28/biggest-hits-60s-billboard/
Another list that simply doesn’t hold water in my book. How does “Twist And Shout,” despite being released twice, outrank “Hey Jude” (#1 for nine weeks) and 7-week #1 Records like “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and “I’m A Believer?” Where are “Windy” and “The Letter?” How does “Theme from ‘A Summer Place,’” a 10-week #1 place below “Sunshine Of Your Love” by Cream, “Sixteen Reasons” (?!?!?) by Connie Stevens and “North To Alaska” which was barely a blip at the time compared to songs like “Big Bad John,” “Never My Love,” “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” “Yesterday” and “Satisfaction.” And what happened to “I Can’t Stop Loving You” by Ray Charles, one of the biggest hits of the decade?
Several
of the songs on this list charted twice … but not necessarily in the ‘60’s,
which greatly distorts their merit. (“Do
You Love Me” by The Contours, “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett, “Stand
By Me” by Ben E. King, “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers, which is
their #1 ranked song, etc.) And I’m
betting whoever compiled this list didn’t take into account that Neil Sedaka’s
recordings of “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” are actually two completely different
recordings and tempos whose points shouldn’t be added together. I just can’t buy into this ranking. (In all fairness, “Wipe Out” and “The Twist”
DID both chart twice during the ‘60’s … and are therefore deserving of their
inflated status. But still ... "Wipe Out" a bigger hit than "Hey Jude" or Percy Faith's "Summer Place"? In what universe? ONLY in the universe of Billboard constantly trying to rewrite history from a more contemporary point of view. If you're going to distort the view, why not add in points for every cover version of a '60's song, too, when determining the biggest hits of the decade. I'd be willing to bet that about 1200 other songs would rank higher than "Finger Poppin' Time!!!" Yet they show it as the 25th Biggest Hit of the Decade. You can't change the facts ... but the new generation are being handed the wrong idea by people who weren't even there when it happened.)
And while I’ll agree that being #1 for a couple of weeks doesn’t always mean it was a bigger record than one that spent six weeks at #2, this list boasts THIRTEEN songs … better than HALF the list … that never made it to #1 at all (including one that peaked at #11!)
If we’re going to generalize, then I put more faith in our list of The 200 Biggest #1 Hits of the Beatles Era, found here: http://forgottenhits.com/the_top_200_1_hits_of_the_beatles_era_1964_-_1970
Yes, it eliminates the first four years of the decade (and tacks on 1970), but it’s a mathematical calculation that adds ALL of each record’s weeks at #1 together to come up with a “total impact” factor. Here, “I Want To Hold Your Hand” is the undisputed #1 Record of this era 24 total weeks at #1 between the three major trade publications.
Or, if working off a point system and calculating every position achieved during every week of the ‘60’s (but NOT factoring in points for songs that recharted AFTER the decade), may we recommend Dan Isbell’s book “Ranking The ‘60’s” (available here:
Here’s how THEY rank The Top 25 Hits of the decade:
# 1 – THE TWIST – Chubby Checker (their #2)
# 2 – HEY JUDE – The Beatles (their #13)
# 3 – THEME FROM “A SUMMER PLACE” – Percy Faith (their #15)
# 4 – TOSSIN’ AND TURNIN’ – Bobby Lewis (their #9)
# 5 – I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND – The Beatles (did not make their list)
# 6 – AQUARIUS / LET THE SUNSHINE IN – The Fifth Dimension (did not make their list)
# 7 – I’M A BELIEVER – The Monkees (did not make their list)
# 8 – ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT? – Elvis Presley (did not make their list)
# 9 – SUGAR, SUGAR – The Archies (their #10)
#10 – I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE – Marvin Gaye (did not make their list)
#11 – IT’S NOW OR NEVER – Elvis Presley (their #22)
#12 – I CAN’T STOP LOVING YOU – Ray Charles (did not make their list)
#13 – LOVE IS BLUE – Paul Mauriat (did not make their list)
#14 – CATHY’S CLOWN – The Everly Brothers (did not make their list)
#15 – I’M SORRY – Brenda Lee (their #12)
#16 – TO SIR, WITH LOVE – Lulu (did not make their list)
#17 – BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY – The Four Seasons (did not make their list)
#18 – SUGAR SHACK – Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs (did not make their list)
#19 – BIG BAD JOHN – Jimmy Dean (did not make their list)
#20 – HONKY TONK WOMEN – The Rolling Stones (did not make their list)
#21 – PEOPLE GOT TO BE FREE – The Rascals (did not make their list)
#22 – EVERYDAY PEOPLE – Sly and the Family Stone (did not make their list)
#23 – SATISFACTION – The Rolling Stones (did not make their list)
#24 – ROSES ARE RED – Bobby Vinton (did not make their list)
#25 – RUNNING BEAR – Johnny Preston (did not make their list)
Now, I’ve studied a LOT of charts over the years … and looked at all kinds of rankings, weekly, year-end and accumulative lists like these and more … and all I can tell you is that when ranking the ‘60’s, you are FAR more likely to find titles like “Satisfaction,” “Big Bad John,” “Sugar Shack,” “To Sir With Love,” “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” “I’m A Believer” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand” near the top of the list than you are titles like “Finger Poppin’ Time,” “Sixteen Reasons,” “North To Alaska,” “Monster Mash,” “Hello Dolly,” “Limbo Rock,” “Exodus” and “Moon River.”
That’s taking nothing away from these great hit records … they’re just not the “cream of the crop” that Billboard Magazine would have you believe. (kk)
>>>Hard to believe that Taylor Swift just celebrated the 17th anniversary of her first chart album. (kk)
And did you know that within the last few days, she has "officially" become a Billionaire according to several reliable sources?
For instance, Bloomberg Billionaires Index, wrote "Swift's total net worth is now at $1.1 billion, thanks to a record-breaking Eras Tour."
CB ( which stands for "Chuck Billionaire Boy!" )
HA! I wish! ( I think . . . )
>>>Matthew Perry passed away. He was only 54. (kk)
I read his book "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing" within this last year. It's a no-holds, straight ahead account that never lets up about his dismal battle of addiction. While seriously written overall yet in a conversational manner, there are also some Perry/Bing lines here and there that do lighten up a brief moment in his remarkably sad story. My favorite was when he was just beginning to date Julia Roberts and after they had only spoken on the phone a number of times, (Perry says) she was to come over to his apartment.
She rang the bell and when Perry opened the door, he writes, "There was a smiling Julia Roberts on the other side. I believe I said something like, 'Oh, that Julia Roberts!”
But even with those occasional moments of levity, this book is a real, deeply personal, honest insight into the dark depths of the life of a Championship Druggie. His story never really gets better throughout as much as a Matthew Perry/Chandler Bing reader might continue to hope.
CB
I never picked up the book … got the jist of it by reading all the excerpts in “People,” which were quite extensive … and depressing enough on their own. A sad battle indeed, which he fought for forty years. (Perry admits to starting drinking at the age of 14 … and then doing anything and everything to excess from that point forward, the richer and more famous he became.) He apparently felt that he could never be “funny enough” and that so much “was expected of him” that he became afraid of failing … that he would let his fans down if he didn’t always comeback with the quick, sarcastic quip. (I also read where the only season of “Friends” that he performed sober was Season 9 … not, coincidently, the season for which he was nominated for an Emmy. Yet it STILL wasn’t enough acceptance and self-worth to make him quit.) It took facing near certain death while lying on a hospital gurney … and lapsing into a coma for two weeks before the point was truly driven home.
I’m guessing that all of this constant abuse was enough to wear out his heart. New reports say the Perry played two hours of pickleball that afternoon and then sent his assistant out to pick up a new iPhone and pair of prescription glasses. When the assistant returned, he found Perry “unresponsive.” Earlier reports said he had drowned in his jacuzzi, which may or may not be true. How does one drown in a jacuzzi? Well, I guess if your heart gives out and you slump over, that’s how.
I’m sure we’ll hear more as investigations and autopsy are carried out … but at first glance it looks like there was no foul play or direct drugs involved, although reports also said that he had a large amount of prescription drugs in the house.
Still, it’s a shame to see some our tv heroes who appear to have it all still find that it isn’t enough to be able to live a happy and successful life. Far too many have questioned “Why Me?” over the years, feeling undeserving of their sudden and abundant success. (The first person I thought about after hearing about Matthew Perry’s death was Cory Monteith of “Glee” fame … another person who battled drugs and his inner demons his whole life thru.)
You can catch “Friends” pretty much 24/7 on cable these days … it really was a classic sitcom. (Perry said he couldn’t stand to watch himself on the screen as his weight fluctuated by as much as forty pounds between and during seasons … knowing full well why.) Yet he continued to find work on other programs, meaning television big wigs still believed in his star potential.
I’m told his book is “must reading” for anyone fighting their own battles with drugs and alcohol … and is reportedly why he wrote it in such graphic detail … his hope was to save others from what he had been through. Hopefully, some will listen and find a better path to a better end. (kk)
HERE'S A SPECIAL TO FORGOTTEN HITS ...
MICKY DOLENZ and his band in the Halloween spirit over this past weekend. Micky's in-store at Wuxtry Records is this Friday, November 3rd, in Athens, Georgia, to support his DOLENZ SINGS R.E.M. ep - also out Friday (7a Records).
DIS
>>>Halloween is Tuesday … which means we’ve already hit the end of October. Can it be more than a few minutes away before 24/7 Christmas Music programming starts?!?! (kk)
On a different forum years ago, I complained about a station that made the switch, pre-empting their usual weekend repeats of "Casey Kasem's American Top 40" (they gave them up more recently), citing a song the station had just played, "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen/We Three Kings" by Barenaked Ladies and Sarah MacLachlan ... "Can I get an oy vey?" I asked.
Ever since, I've referred to that whole reformatting by stations as "oy vey season."
--BF
Here in Chicago, The Lite better than TRIPLES its ratings as soon as they flip over to an All Christmas format … making you sick of this music 6-8 weeks before the holiday. Too bad … this used to be something I really looked forward to … in moderation. Now radio has even found a way to ruin Christmas for me! (lol)
Then again, stations now also exist that play nothing but Christmas music 365 days a year … which I guess is all right … if you are ever in the mood to hear some, you know just where to flip … and then you can turn it off again when you’ve heard the same song for the 30th time that day (even if it is by different artists)
To each his own, I say … I will flip it on now and then when I want to feel in a little more festive mood … but I also know my limits!!! (kk)
Denny Laine did not make it home from the hospital in time for his birthday (October 29th) He is still bedridden hooked up to machines … but his wife says that he is getting stronger every day … and wants to be able to play the guitar again.
A few weeks back we told you about a benefit fund-raiser concert that has been set up to take place on November 27th at The Troubadour. It sold out immediately and will feature friends and fellow musicians Denny Seiwell and Laurence Juber, both of whom played alongside Denny in Wings, Susanna Hoffs, Micky Dolenz, Peter Asher, Jeremy Clyde, Joey Molland, Joe Bouchard, Paul Shaffer and Albert Lee, with more expected to get onboard. The house band will be Laine’s bandmates Jules, Erik Paparozzi and Brian Pothier. Beatles Channel Breakfast With The Beatles Host Chris Carter will MC the live event.
Best Classic Bands is reporting that Paul McCartney has been in contact with Laine’s wife regarding Denny’s health. (Macca has taken a lot of flack for not stepping in and footing the $100,000 medical bill that his wife Elizabeth Hines has been trying to raise thru a Go Fund Me Page. Reports are that she’s barely halfway there.)
Denny’s wife told The Beatles Channel that a mutual friend reached out to McCartney on their behalf. “Paul is one of the first people that did help,” she said. “He and his office are in the loop. I sent Paul a ‘thank you’ text because he doesn’t have to do that. We don’t expect him to do that. We don’t feel like he’s obligated in any way to do anything. He doesn’t have to do this. He’s doing it out of the kindness of his heart.
According to Best Classic Bands, Hines avoided quantifying exactly what McCartney has done, instead noting, “I sent him the text to thank him for his generosity and he texted me back the next day. He was very sweet and said ‘anything to help you through your difficulties.’ Some people think [he’s obligated]. We don’t.”
Those who may want to send a belated birthday or get well soon card should mail it to: Get Well Denny Laine, c/o Dan Ealey, PO Box 88, Cookeville, TN 38503. (kk)
Magnolia Films is releasing Denny Tedesco’s follow up film to “The Wrecking Crew,” “Immediate Family” in theaters around the country on December 12th and Video On Demand on December 15th.
We’ve seen nothing but positive reviews for this film, which looks very interesting. (Watch the trailer below) kk
A Halloween closer from Mike Wolstein ...
