Guess Who’s coming to The Niswonger

“A thoroughly entertaining evening of great rock & roll. The Guess Who played hit after hit and had the audience up on their feet … made us feel young again.”–Shirley Stary, VP of arts programming for Lakeside Chautauqua.

Just who are these rockers that are lighting up stages across the country? It’s The Guess Who! Here’s a little story about some Canadian rockers who have worked their way back to Ohio. 

While The Guess Who did have several hits in America, they were superstars in their home country of Canada during the 1960s and early ’70s. The band was founded by vocalist/guitarist Chad Allan and guitarist Randy Bachman, originally known as first the Silvertones and then the Reflections. The remainder of the lineup featured bassist Jim Kale, pianist Bob Ashley, and drummer Garry Peterson. The Expressions recorded a cover of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates’ “Shakin’ All Over” in 1965, which became a surprise hit in Canada and reached the U.S. Top 40. 

So just how did they get their name? When the Expressions recorded an entire album of the same name, its record company, Quality, listed their name as “Guess Who?” on the jacket, hoping to fool record buyers into thinking that the British Invasion-influenced music was actually by a more famous group in disguise. 

The Guess Who didn’t experience American success until the 1969 Top 10 hit “These Eyes.” In 1970, the Guess Who released “American Woman,” which became their only U.S. chart-topper. The album of the same name became their first U.S. Top 10 and first gold album, and the group performed for President and Mrs. Nixon and Prince Charles at the White House. 

Trouble was brewing on the horizon, though. Guitarist Bachman took issue with the band’s typical rock & roll lifestyle, leading to clashes with Cummings. Finding the atmosphere unbearable, Bachman left the group in July 1970 and formed Brave Belt with Chad Allan, which later evolved into Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

His place in The Guess Who was taken by Kurt Winter and Greg Leskiw, and the title track from their next album, Share the Land, climbed into the Top 10 later that year, and several more singles charted afterwards. The group returned to the Top 10 one last time in 1974 with the novelty single “Clap for the Wolfman,” featuring dialogue by deejay Wolfman Jack. Sadly, Cummings broke up the band in 1975 and tried a solo career. But that wasn’t the end for this classic rock band.

The lineup from The Guess Who’s glory years reunited in 1983, while the current band configuration continues to rock venues and entertain fans around the world, bringing them to Van Wert this Sunday night at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center.