#53: When Friends Fall Out by the Guess Who

City: Calgary, AB
Radio Station: CKXL
Peak Month: July 1968
Peak Position in Calgary ~ #6
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “When Friends Fall Out”
Lyrics: “When Friends Fall Out”

Randolph Charles Bachman was born in 1943 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. When he was just three years old he entered the King of the Saddle singing contest on CKY radio, Manitoba’s first radio station that began in 1923. Bachman won the contest. When he turned five years he began to study the violin through the Royal Toronto Conservatory. Though he couldn’t read music, he was able to play anything once he heard it. He dropped out of high school and subsequently a business administration program in college. He co-founded a Winnipeg band called Al & The Silvertones with Chad Allan in 1960.

In 1962 the band became Chad Allan and the Reflections after some lineup changes. In addition to lead singer and guitarist, Chad Allen, and Randy Bachman on guitar, the keyboard player was Bob Ashley, on bass guitar was Jim Kale, and the drummer was Gary Peterson. Born in Winnipeg in 1943, Kale was still 18-years-old when he joined Chad Allen and the Reflections. Garry Denis Peterson was born in Winnipeg in 1945. He was 17-years-old when he joined the band. In 1962 they released “Tribute To Buddy Holly”, followed in 1963 by “Shy Guy” and in 1964 “Stop Teasing Me”. Later in 1964 the band changed its name to Chad Allen and the Expressions.

They had a hit in Canada in 1965 called “Shakin’ All Over”, a cover version of the original by the UK’s Johnny Kidd And The Pirates in 1960. Quality Records label credited the “Guess Who?” as the recording artist in an attempt to disguise the fact that the group was Canadian. Quality thought the record would be better received if they were thought to be a British Invasion act. The actual name, Chad Allan and the Expressions, was revealed a few months later. However, radio DJs in the United States and Canada continued to announce the group singing “Shakin’ All Over” as Guess Who?. This prompted a name-change to The Guess Who?

In 1965 The Guess Who? had a #3 hit the Canadian RPM singles chart with a cover of the 1961 Bobby Lewis hit “Tossin’ And Turnin'”. They repeated the feat with their third national Top Ten hit in Canada with “Hey Ho, What You Do To Me”.

Burton Cummings was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1947. When he was sixteen he dropped out of high school. In 1962, while only fifteen, Cummings founded a band named the Deverons. All members of the band learned to play by ear. Cummings played piano, saxophone and lead vocals. Their high school dance concerts comprised of covers of songs from the late 50’s and early 60’s including “This Time” by Troy Shondell, “Wild Weekend” by The Rebels, “Sheila” by Tommy Roe and “Only Love Can Break A Heart” by Gene Pitney. The Deverons released a couple of singles and Cummings got some positive word-of-mouth and reviews in the local Winnipeg papers. This was pretty exciting for bandmates who still all lived in their parents homes.

In January 1966 Cummings was asked to join The Guess Who?, when keyboardist Bob Ashley left the group. By May 1966 Burton Cummings became the lead vocal for the group when Chad Allen left to pursue solo work and host the CBC TV show Let’s Go. In 1966 The Guess Who? had a fourth Top Ten single on the Canadian charts titled “Believe Me“.

Next up, The Guess Who? released “His Girl”, a number-two hit in Vancouver in August 1967. The Guess Who? tried to tour in the UK themselves in 1967 in support of “His Girl”. However, they didn’t have the proper documentation to perform in Britain. As a result, “His Girl” only ended up spending one week on the British singles charts. A follow up single, “This Time Long Ago”, was a Top 20 hit in Vancouver later in ’67.

In the fall of 1967 The Guess Who? were hired as the house band for The Swingers, a local CBC radio show in Winnipeg. They also were hired as the house band for the TV show Let’s Go, also on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. That show was hosted by their former band-mate, Chad Allan. The group got exposure on the 39 weeks the show aired in both seasons (1967-68 and 1968-69). The Guess Who? performed hits on the Canadian charts like “Touch Me” by The Doors, “Time of the Season” by The Zombies, “You Keep Me Hanging On” by Vanilla Fudge, “White Room” by Cream and “Along Comes Mary” by The Association. They also were able to debut some of their own compositions including “Of A Dropping Pin, “Lightfoot, and “These Eyes”.

Meanwhile, in the fall of ’67, The Guess Who? released “Flying On The Ground Is Wrong”. Their next single was titled “When Friends Fall Out”.

“When Friends Fall Out” was written by Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings. The song offers metaphors for what happens when friends fall out: 1) lone wolves howl, 2) the dark moon is out, 3) when you fall there is no net (to catch you).
The song ends with “so nice to be home again where I belong.” Perhaps after the friends fell out, they found a path to smooth things over.

“When Friends Fall Out” peaked at #9 in Calgary, and charted in Winnipeg and Grand Forks (ND).

In the summer of 1969 the Guess Who had their second #1 hit in Canada with “Laughing”. The B-side, “Undone”, was also a Top 30 hit. In January 1970 the band charted “No Time” to #1 across Canada. This was followed by the anti-war anthem “American Woman”. Though Burton Cummings would later state the song was just about preferring Canadian women to American women, the lyrics speak of larger issues: “I don’t need your war machines. I don’t need your ghetto scenes.” “American Woman” became the band’s biggest hit, and ironically was heard by some listeners as a song of adoration of American women. The Guess Who were invited to perform at the White House in July 1970. However, Pat Nixon instructed the band not to play “American Woman”, given her concern the lyrics would be understood as anti-American and anti-war. The latter being objectionable for a nation still at war in Vietnam. The B-side, “No Sugar Tonight” made the disc a double-sided number-one hit in Canada.

On February 8, 1970, the Guess Who performed in concert in Calgary at the Apollo Theatre. Randy Bachman left the Guess Who in May 1970. He was replaced by Kurt Winter, born in 1946 in Winnipeg. He was in a band called Brother. Gregory Leskiw, also born in Winnipeg in 1946, was from the band Wild Rice. Leskiw had begun learning guitar at the age of 12. Both Winter and Leskiw played guitar in the Guess Who.

Following upon their monster hit, the Guess Who had another Top Ten hit in Canada with “Hand Me Down World“, which climbed to #10 on the RPM Canadian singles chart in 1970. In the winter of 1970, The Guess Who had another Top Ten hit in Canada with “Bus Rider”/”Share The Land”.

In 1971 the Guess Who had another Top Ten hit in Canada with “Hang On To Your Life”. The song’s lyrics offered a message advising against taking illegal drugs. The album version of the song concluded with Burton Cummings reading Psalm 22: 13-15. It included these words: “my bones are out of joint… My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.”

The next single release in 1971 by the band was the non-album disc “Albert Flasher”/”Broken“. The followup single, “Rain Dance” became the twelfth Top Ten single for The Guess Who in Canada. The B-side, “Sour Suite” was also a Top 20 hit in Canada. In the fall of 1971, The Guess Who released “Life In The Bloodstream”, which peaked at #4 in Vancouver. All three songs were from the Guess Who’s eighth studio album So Long Bannatyne. 

In 1972 the band had more Top Ten hits in Canada with “Heartbroken Bopper” and “Running Back To Saskatoon”. The Guess Who went on tour with Three Dog Night in November and December 1972 to Japan, New Zealand, and Australia. The following year “Follow Your Daughter Home” and “Glamour Boy” kept the band on Top 40 radio. On August 14, 1973, the Guess Who appeared in Calgary at the Stampede Corral.

The next single release for the band was “Star Baby“.

In 1974 The Guess Who pulled out of their international sales slump with a Top Ten hit across the continent, “Clap For The Wolfman”, a tribute to the famed rock ‘n roll DJ. The single also climbed into the Top 20 in the Netherlands (#11), South Africa (#14) and Belgium (#18).

After their album, Road Food, the band went back into a slump with fans taking a pass on further album releases into 1975-76.  The Guess Who officially split up in October 1975. Burton Cummings went solo. On May 17, 1978, the Guess Who performed in concert in Calgary at the Stampede Corral.

The Guess Who appeared concerts in Calgary on June 27, 2000, and August 11, 2001, both at the Saddledome.

Over the decades since their breakup, The Guess Who have performed at reunion concerts and tours. Meanwhile, former bandmate Randy Bachman, quit the band in 1970. He went on to form Bachman-Turner Overdrive, which was commercially very successful through the mid-70s. Bachman subsequently launched a solo career. Since 2005, Randy Bachman has been a host of Vinyl Tap,a show on CBC Radio where he plays sets of pop tunes and discusses some of the details he knows about the performers and musicians he’s met. In 2008 Randy Bachman was awarded the Order of Canada.

After he left the Guess Who, Randy Bachman released a solo album called Axe, and formed a band called Brave Belt. This included his brothers Robbie and Tim and Chad Allan. Fred Turner then replaced Chad Allan. By 1973 they were billed as the Bachman-Turner Overdrive. In the mid-70s the BTO would have a half a dozen Top Ten hits in Canada and a #1 internationally with “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”. Bachman also had a solo career and co-hosted Vinyl Tap on CBC.

April 20, 2024
Ray McGinnis

References:
Contributions from John Einarson and Burton Cummings, The Guess Who, Manitoba Music Museum, Winnipeg, MB, 2012 and 2016.
Ivor Levene, “Rearview Mirror: Burton Cummings Reflects on The Guess Who,” Relix.com, New York City,  June 20, 2016.
Leslie Michele Derrough, Burton Cummings of the Guess Who (Interview), Glide, January 26, 2015.
“The Guess Who – concerts – Canada,” setlist.fm.
“Burton Cummings – concerts – Canada, ” setlist.fm.
Randy Bachman,Vinyl Tap, CBC, Toronto, Ontario.
Randy Bachman Bio, Randy Bachman.com.