By Abbe Davis, June 2026 TRR

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​​When I was a kid, I heard plenty of music in our home. My brother, Gary, always had music blaring through the house. He introduced me to Rock music. I heard The Beatles, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Steely Dan, Cat Stevens, Jefferson Airplane, Bad Company, Nazareth, Little River Band and more. My ears bounced after whatever they could soak up. At that time, there was no hiding and no autotune on vocals. One lead singer out there that got to me was unique because he could do the subtleties of a ballad, and in the next tune he was belting out strong rock vocals. Anytime I heard him I wasn't used to a solid balladeer and a powerful rock voice, too. 

 

That singer/songwriter was none other than Burton Cummings from the Guess Who. Passionate, skilled voice, and excellent songwriting. Their band, also featuring Randy Bachman as co-writer on many of the songs, has given us great singles and albums for decades. The bossa nova “She’s Come Undone,” “American Woman,” “These Eyes,” “Laughing,” “No Time,” “Share the Land,” “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature,” and the list goes on. Their songs still hold up. 

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By 1970, The Guess Who had sold more records than the entire Canadian music industry combined. They were the first Canadian group to reach #1 on Billboard and the first to earn a platinum album for U.S. sales of over 1 million copies. Rolling Stone magazine has hailed The Guess Who as “one of rock’s most consistently fascinating maverick bands.” 

 

In 1976, Burton won a gold record for his solo debut single “Stand Tall,” produced by legendary hitmaker Richard Perry who has also worked with Barbra Streisand, Carly Simon and Ringo Starr. Burton continued on with over a dozen hit singles and albums including “I’m Scared.” He has earned five Juno Awards for Best Male Vocalist and Best Album. His 1978 album Dream of a Child was the first quadruple platinum-selling album by a Canadian artist. Through the ‘80s and ‘90s, he kept touring, and also joined Beatles drummer Ringo, in the Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band. In 1980, in the film Melanie, Burton earned a Genie Award for Best Original Song with the single, "You Saved My Soul." 

 

The success of Lenny Kravitz’ cover of “American Woman” in the hit feature film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me brought renewed attention to The Guess Who. The group reunited in 1999 for the closing ceremonies of the Pan-American Games with a television audience numbering in the tens of millions.

 

Described as Canadian Rock ‘n Roll royalty, Burton remains true to himself and his own way to rock. The Guess Who is currently on their Takin' It Back Tour, reunited.  They are making stops thru Canada and in June they are on tour in the US thru August. This tour will feature support from Don Felder (formerly of the Eagles). Also on tour with Bachman and Cummings are guitarists Tim Bovaconti and Joe Augello, bassist Jeff Jones, percussionist Nick Sinopoli, and drummer Sean Fitzsimons. The tour is one that longtime fans have been waiting for, their music is timeless, and I was very excited to catch some time with Burton.

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by: Abbe Davis, May 2026

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Abbe: Burton Cummings! Wow, this interview means a lot to me. I have grown up listening to your music, learning to belt along to your songs as a singer and songwriter. I’ve loved your music for so long.

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Burton: Ha. Thank you very much for having me, and I am very flattered by this. Thank you very much.

 

Abbe: I want to congratulate you on your upcoming “Taking It Back Tour.” A reunion with Randy Bachman after twenty-three years. It runs all summer thru August, also shows with Don Felder, guitarist formerly of the Eagles, right?

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Burton: Yes, it started at the end of May in Moncton, and then the US shows begin in June and it runs thru August.

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Abbe: That is just great. All of these reunions. How do you feel about that?

 

Burton: Well, here’s the thing. When we combine with Don Felder it’s gonna be two or three hours of hit records. It’s gonna be a tremendous show for the fans with a lot of recognizable songs. It’s just gonna be fun! Fun for everyone.

 

Abbe: I’m excited for all of you. Randy Bachman described this tour as a "Springsteen kind of marathon show" with a setlist of around 30 hit songs. How are you getting ready for that?

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Burton: I’m ready. I sing all of the time. This is not daunting and scary to me at all. We’ve been rehearsing and the band is rockin’. We’ve got three lead guitar players now. We're doing stuff that we never did in the old days, because Bachman would do a lot of guitar tracks in the studio but we could never do those songs live. Now we have three lead guitar players and we’re doing a lot of deeper cuts that we never did decades ago, so it’s a lot of great stuff that we’re doing live.

 

Abbe: Wow, that is awesome. Do you and Don Felder have time to ever reminisce about things?

 

Burton: Randy and I spoke to Don Felder at length the other day. We’re all very friendly. It’s gonna be terrific. Don’s looking forward to it and so are we.

 

Abbe: That’s great. I want to take you down memory lane now. I wanna go thru your own history, and ask you some things about what you’ve shared in past solo concerts, in your Up Close and Alone series and also, A Few Good Moments. You’ve shared that your mom forced you to play classical piano as a kid. I know sometimes parents do that, but why was it so important for her to have you learn classical piano?

 

Burton: Well, my mother and her two sisters, my aunt Molly and my aunt Pat, they all played piano. My mother thought that it was just natural that I should take lessons. I think she never thought in a million years that it would catch on, that I would end up being a professional musician my whole life. I was always fascinated with records. My mother had records when I was a little kid and she would play the 78’s for me, before she went to work in the morning. I was fascinated with records even before I was in kindergarten. I wanted to make records when I was just four years old.

 

Abbe: That’s wild. You knew. When did you begin to sing?

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Burton: I sang in the St Martin’s Anglican Church in Winnipeg for two or three years. Then, I also had the lead tenor role in two different Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. I did the tenor lead in HMS Pinafore and then the tenor lead in Trial By Jury, so those were monstrous undertakings as a teenager, and it got me used to performing in front of people.

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Abbe: I know those operettas. They are a challenge. Were you ever shy about performing?

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Burton: I don’t really recall being shy about performing. I was shy about girls, but I don’t recall ever being shy about performing.

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Abbe: So I guess that you never did music to get the girls? I have heard many musicians say they got into music for that.

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Burton: That was never on my mind as much as just impressing people with the music. We were very young, I was just fourteen when I got into my first band, The Deverons. I was working up chords and figuring out how to present them at age fourteen.

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Abbe: That is young. As a teen, who did you listen to the most?

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Burton: The biggest example for me, if I idolized anyone, was Fats Domino. He was my hero and he played piano. He pounded piano and sang and wrote his own songs. He was a phenomenal performer. I saw him live when I was sixteen. They came to Winnipeg. I also liked early Elvis, too, before he came back from the Army. But when he came back and made those silly movies, I didn’t like him anymore. I also liked Gene Vincent, sort of a bad boy in rock ‘n roll and he was great.

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Abbe: Did you ever get to see Elvis perform live?

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Burton: I did but I’d rather not talk about it. It was terribly disappointing. I went to see the King of Rock ‘N Roll and he opened his show with Snowbird, by Ann Murray. I was not duly impressed. But Elvis has made a tremendous impact on everybody. It’s not for me to criticize Elvis Presley, but I didn’t like the show. I really didn’t.

 

Abbe: Hm. Who knows. We all know Elvis had his own personal tragedies. Sad, cause we could have heard more from him had he had a healthier team around him, and had he gotten or wanted help. He is still the king.

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Burton: Well fortunately, Abbe, we have the records forever. Early records, the music, and we can always enjoy those.

 

Abbe: Very true. I still love the video and Elvis in Jailhouse Rock. Let’s go back to your experiences. On your solo tour you’ve shared how, in the 1960's and 1970's, The Guess Who completed massive world tours across Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand using zero technology but "one single, ancient American Express card." I love this. At that age, to me that would be like managing rock ‘n roll animals. Did you guys just spend like crazy or what?

 

Burton: No. We weren’t like some of the other bands. I have read about Guns N' Roses and Joe Cocker, and all of those bands who were half crazy. We weren’t that crazy at all. They tried to market us like teen idols, but we weren’t that. We were only concerned about the music. I wasn’t in it for the money or the girls. For me, it was about impressing the audience with the music from a very young age.

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Abbe: How did it go whenever you’d bring a new song to Bachman or the Guess Who?

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Burton: Well, it was always scary bringing a new song to the band. Ya never knew what the reaction would be. Randy and I hit it off as writers pretty early. We wrote “These Eyes” and “Laughing” and, one of my favorites, “No Time.” We do “No Time” live now and it still kills people. People love that song! “No Time,” for some reason, one of the most popular Guess Who songs ever, and one of my favorite songs, too.

 

Abbe: I love it. I feel like I’m at a carnival whenever I hear the fun changes. I love your vocals and the backups. How did you both work at it? How long did it take to write?

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Burton: Well, here’s how that one happened. He came over and I was still living at home. I hadn’t left home yet. I was still so young. He came over and I was sitting at my mom’s piano, and he had that guitar riff (sings intro guitar riff) I liked that riff.

And he started singing “No time left for you,” and I thought, “That’s pretty good,” so I started answering over him (sings it beautifully) “On my way to better things,” and you know, we traded. That was a truly great example of co-writing. We were throwing pieces at each other and suddenly the song was finished in about an hour.

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Abbe: Ha. I love it!

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Burton: Before “No Time” we had, “These Eyes” “Laughing” and “Undone,” and they were softer songs, but “No Time” was a rock ‘n roll song and we started getting taken more seriously as a band after “No Time.”

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Abbe: I've always loved the recorded ending, your vocal, oh it slays. 

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Burton: Well, thank you very much.

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Abbe: It’s just you understand, when you belt out a song, or give it feel, what it takes and just putting the feeling in is so important. That’s a big thing. I’m sure that is why you have liked other people. The spirit is just flying right out of them.

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Burton: Well yeah, when we were young we learned about the power of hit records. We opened one night in Winnipeg for Jefferson Airplane. We thought we were pretty good, but then, when Jefferson Airplane came out and played, nobody even remembered that we had been on. So, we learned about the power of hit records very young.

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Abbe: Did you ever get to speak with them at all that day?

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Burton: Oh, yeah but it was just in passing. When you’re playing a show with other people you don’t get to hang around much. You know, one band goes on, they finish, the other band goes on. It was just a “Hello, how’re ya doing?” and then we sat and watched them.

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Abbe: Did you enjoy their show?

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Burton: Oh, yeah but it was the power of hit records. We didn’t have hit records yet. We were on as spectators.

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Abbe: What did you play?

Burton: We were a cover band. We were playing all of the stuff that was on Hit Parade on the radio. The Stones, the Zombies, Elvis, The Hollies, and the Kinks. All of that stuff.

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Abbe: It is so interesting how it was back then. I love your story about the curling rink. How you actually wrote “American Woman” at a gig there. You were seeking a Gene Vincent record, wandering around, and the band was on stage playing, but by some miracle a kid was recording it when you got to the stage to ad lib lyrics?

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Burton: No. There are so many rumors that are just fairytales. Not true at all.

 

Abbe: So how did it really go?

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Burton: I was just trying to get some Gene Vincent records from this kid and the boys started up the second show of the night, so I had to run in, and they were already playing the riff (sings it beautifully). I just started singing whatever came into my head and I was just trying to make things rhyme.

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Abbe: Another great riff, great song, ha.

 

Burton: It was never meant to be political. I was just rhyming. War machines, ghetto scenes, colored lights can hypnotize. So, a very happy accident ended up being number one on Billboard for three weeks.

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Abbe: So, this at a curling rink, is that true?

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Burton: Yeah, yeah. We used to play everyplace. Everyplace that would have us. A curling rink at Ontario.

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Abbe: That’s a funny gig. It's not like in the US. (I go for it, and I make a stupid joke) Do they curl first, or after you guys go on?

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Burton: (he thinks I’m clueless as can be) You have it all wrong. You are reading the wrong info. They wouldn’t have curling the same night as a rock show.

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Abbe: Right, right. Was it crowded that night, when you wrote “American Woman” at the curling rink?

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Burton: No, it was like 150 or 200 people. There was no tape that we bought from some kid later. I hate these fairytales, I really do.

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Abbe: I should have done more research on that. Things get out there online with wrong info a lot.

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Burton: Then I have to correct it all with you.

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Abbe: Yeah, it happens. “American Woman” was a great hit and then Kravitz covered it. Great song. Which brings me to this question. Can we talk about you and Randy Bachman regarding performing rights with the Guess Who?

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Burton: It was such a long, arduous legal process. I don’t even wanna talk about it. It took ages. There was a fake band using our songs to draw people to their fake shows. They were using our name and records and there was nobody in that band, in the end, that had been on our records. We have the name back and that’s where the story ends.

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Abbe: Wow, that’s messed up that they even did that.

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Burton: We are touring as the Guess Who and we sound better than ever. That’s what I think. We sound better than ever.

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Abbe: This makes me think of what is going on with music now. There are so many tribute bands out there. Do you think that that is good?  Would you yourself want to go see a tribute band? Is that your thing, or are you against it?

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Burton: No. No. I’m totally against it. I hate these acts that go on and use the name and they weren’t on the record. I detest that and I’d do anything I could if I could stop it, but we’ve at least stopped it with our name and our history. I’m glad we did that.

 

Abbe: I am, too. I’ve gone to see concerts and I get there and I ask, where are the actual people? It is really a cover gig when they do that.

 

Burton: That is not how it is with us. When you hear about the Guess Who it’s gonna be the real guys.

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Abbe: As it should be! Correct me if I am wrong, your first show back together with Randy was at Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls in January 2026. What was it like for you?

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Burton: It was tremendous and the fans went nuts. The response from the audience was fantastic. With every show it just keeps getting better. The people are loving the fact that Randy and I are together. We are doing the songs that we put together and wrote. I’m looking forward very much to the new gigs coming up. It’s great.  Abbe, I have to get going, I hate to say it. I have an appointment to get to or I’ll be late.

 

Abbe: I have to just say, I know you’re in a rush, but I have always loved the song, “I’m Scared.”

 

Burton: My mother’s favorite song ever was that one. She thought it was the best thing that I ever wrote. Thank you very much.

 

Abbe: When I hear that one, it always gets to me. Thank you very much for all of your music. I’ve loved it all.

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Burton: Thank you very much, Abbe, for having me. I’m looking forward to the tour.​​​