It seems as if 2026 is the year that Canadians really take to the stages of their neighbor to the south. After all, we’ve already seen previously-unthought-of reunion tours from Triumph (with countrymen April Wine in tow) and Rush.
And now even The Guess Who. This time with prime creative forces Burton Cummings (lead vocals/keyboards) and Randy Bachman (guitar/vocals) onstage together for the first time in 23 years.
So, when Cummings appears on screen via Zoom from his home, the question must be posed: Was there some secret meeting of Canadian Classic Rockers to plot out this sonic conquest?
Cummings lets out a laugh at the thought of some Avengers-with-a-Maple-Leaf –logo style gathering. “Well, we don’t really see each other because everybody’s working all the time. But no, there’s no overall Canadian thing. Some groups have lasted long enough to still draw people. And that’s what makes me so excited.”
The Guess Who were a reliable hitmaking machine in the late ‘60s/early ‘70s with tracks like “These Eyes,” “Undun,” “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature,” “No Time,” “Laughing,” “Hand Me Down World,” “Share the Land” and their signature tune, “American Woman.” In addition to Cummings and Bachman, bassist Jim Kale and drummer Garry Peterson rounded out the classic-era lineup.
As to where they got that unique moniker, all but Cummings were in a previous group called Chad Allan and the Expressions. In 1965, they released a cover of “Shakin’ All Over” (originally by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates) that went to No. 1 on the Canadian charts. In order to stir up interest—and perhaps lead listeners and DJs to believe it was actually by an English group—the label credited the performers as “Guess Who?” But even after the ruse was revealed, the name still stuck. And the now classic quartet kept it, dropping the question mark.
“So far we’ve done 10 shows and two weeks and everywhere we’ve went, we can feel that love from the crowd. It’s a joyous time. I’m feeling this ‘Welcome Back’ thing, especially in the U.S. And I tell you this, the band is rocking!” Cummings offers.
“When I look over at Randy, I know he feels the same way. We’ve known each other for 61 years. I’m 78 now! A lot of the memories come back.” The Guess Who will play August 8 at the Smart Financial Centre in Sugar Land. Former Eagle Don Felder opens.
The current set list includes most of the hits, some deep cuts, and a sprinkling of Cummings solo material and anthems from Bachman’s later group, Bachman-Turner Overdrive (“You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet,” “Takin’ Care of Business”).
But this run of dates in particular has a purpose. It’s not called “The Takin’ It Back Tour” for no reason.
“We’re refocusing on the Guess Who history and trying to erase the stain that that fake band put out there,” Cummings says. “That fake Guess Who ruined so much for us.”
A yes, the “fake” Guess Who.
In Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare famously asked “What’s in a name?” Well, if you’re Burton Cummings, the answer is quite a bit, actually. Enough to where he was truly putting his money where his mouth was to make a point, even if it meant cutting off a free-flowing source of cash.
By the mid-‘70s, Cummings had left the Guess Who for a solo career and Bachman revved up BTO. Shockingly, the band’s very name had never actually been trademarked, so Kale claimed it in the late ‘80s. And beginning in 2006, with Peterson aboard, their version of the Guess Who toured relentlessly.
But by 2023, Kale had retired and Peterson only made infrequent appearances onstage, leaving no original or classic members for most of the performances. This angered Bachman and Cummings, who filed suit for false advertising when some promotions indicated (or could be interpreted) that the two of them were part of current shows by using old photos or original recordings.
Then, Cummings dropped a bomb the next year: terminating his licensing agreement with music publisher BMI that covered music venues. This meant that not only would the then-named Guess Who not be able to perform any songs that Cummings wrote or co-wrote—meaning the bulk of their set list—nobody could perform the songs without the possibility of a lawsuit.
It was a ballsy move because it also meant Cummings would not be able to earn any royalties, which also included TV, movie, and radio placements. After legal arbitration, Bachman and Cummings reclaimed rights to the band’s name.
“Our lawyer, she came up with that brilliant idea of how to do it,” Cummings says of pulling the permissions. “I’m not sure that other bands won’t follow the same thing now if they own the songs, because there’s too many fake bands out there. That’s what bothered me and Randy the most. These clowns would take our albums that we made to meet and greets and sign our pictures. Give me a break!”
The rest of the current Cummings/Bachman-led Guess Who band includes Tim Bovaconti and Joe Augello (guitars), Jeff Jones (bass), Sean Fitzsimmons (drums), and Nick Sinopoli (percussion/vocals).
Cummings adds that since this seven-man configuration includes three guitar players, it allows them to recreate songs from the records that they couldn’t before because Bachman played multiple parts.
Burton Cummings has also had a healthy solo career, though only two U.S. Top 40 hits with “Stand Tall” (1976) and “You Saved My Soul” (1981).
His last full-length effort was 2024’s A Few Good Moments. And at 17 tracks running 54 minutes, with most of the new material penned by Cummings, it pointedly showed him as a still-active creative force. He even covered Texas boys The Arc Angels with their “Shape I’m In” (“I love that band! They were really rocking!” he says).
“The passage of time affects the songwriting. I’m not writing teenage love songs anymore, like ‘Oh, I miss my baby’s blonde hair and ruby red lips.’” he says. “That album is more about aging and its effect on me and looking at the world. It’s more observational than maybe what I’ve done before.”
One that that has not changed over the years is Cummings’ interest in and commitment to nature and nature preservation (for this interview, he’s sporting a T-shirt with a wolf on it).
He says he often takes drives around his hometown of Moosejaw, Saskatchewan just to look at the wheatfields and appreciate the outdoors. The natural world and endangered species are also the subject of one Guess Who fan-favorite that’s on the current set list: “Guns, Guns, Guns.”
“American hunter, bring ’em up the north side/Run, take the money, here’s a bullet for your boyfriend/Eagle all gone, and no more caribou/You be the red king, I’ll be the yellow pawn,” Cummings’ lyrics say. “God speed mother nature/Never really wanted to say goodbye.”
He says the tune was inspired by a real-life incident whose occurrence would be unfathomable today.
In the early ‘70s, Cummings found himself on an airplane flying home after an American tour when a bunch of hunters boarded, probably headed for the Canadian wilderness.
“I looked up and there were six rifles leaning up against the cockpit door!” he says, still incredulous decades later. “I wrote the song after seeing that pretty shocking sight. And when I do my nature posts [on social media] about animals and plants and flowers and birds, I always end with GSMN—God Speed Mother Nature. From that song.”
As for playing in Texas over the years, Cummings has fond memories of doing shows in El Paso, then slipping over the border to Juarez, to “have some tequila and raise hell for a few hours.”
Besides songwriting, Cummings has two books of poetry out. But says he’s not interested in writing a memoir. “I started a couple of times and showed it to a couple of publishers, but all they wanted was the dirt. I’ve got enough enemies already. I don’t need to make more!” he says.
Finally, things get a little hairy when we ask this: Since Burton Cummings had (and still has) one of the most distinctive mustaches in Classic Rock…what would it take for him to shave it off?
“It’s become part of my look. I don’t even like talking like that because it sounds like 16 Magazine and it’s about the Monkees!” he laughs. “I kept it because it’s comfortable, and I even see posters with me and this mustache. It’s part of who I am!”
The Guess Who play at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 8, at the Smart Financial Centre, 18111 Lexington. For more information, call 281-207-6278 or visit Us.Atgtickets.com. $29.50-$284.50 plus service fees. Don Felder opens.
For more on The Guess Who, visit TheGuessWho.com.
