BTO VS Guess Who In This Corner...
Bachman and Burton still in the ring? This time around we've got the Bachman side of the story — but CREEM is willing to give equal time and billing to Guess Who's starbaby, Burton Cummings. Although it's been almost five years since Randy's not-so-happy ending with the Guess Who, rumors still fly about the "real" reason for his exit.
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BTO VS Guess Who In This Corner...
Bachman and Burton still in the ring? This time around we've got the Bachman side of the story — but CREEM is willing to give equal time and billing to Guess Who's starbaby, Burton Cummings.
Although it's been almost five years since Randy's not-so-happy ending with the Guess Who, rumors still fly about the "real" reason for his exit. Randy firmly attests that a bum gall bladder pulled him off the hit parade, but other sources are inclined to disagree. Here's Randy's explanation:
"I had to go in the hospital for an operation when my band were on top of the national charts with the number one hit, "American Woman." The guys couldn't wait for me to recuperate then, and I couldn't tell them whether I'd need three months or six months to get back on my feet. But the reasons were purely medical. Sure I had a lot of other reasons to leave. After 10 years everybody wants to do their own thing, and everybody gets sick of each other."
When Randy returned to good health, the press had picked up the story that Bachman had been given the boot. It seems Burton and the boys were spewing stories like Randy was forceably trying to push his clean Mormon ways on the band — no drinking, smoking, or doping; and he was trying to play boss with the Guess Who's business affairs.
Why go out and fight Bruce Lee and get your face knocked off when you can run away? ##
Is this a rock and roll feud?
Randy tends to blame the flare up on the press: "RCA people passed onto the press all these hot stories about our break-up. The people in the press were looking for something smutty and dirty, so they printed the stories and magnified the thing further. I doubt that half of the things printed were ever said, but once they're printed they hurt you. I really never got to the stage of throwing dirt back at the Guess Who. But for the past four years Burton's been saying everything he wanted about me. Me, I figured I wouldn't fight it. They were one of the top five groups in the world, and who was I, some schmuck back in Canada trying to get a group together. People would say "who are you to do this and this to Burton Cummings of the Guess Who." I figured there was no point in throwing any stones at anyone. I was just waiting for it to subside. A lot of the things said made whoever was saying them look pretty foolish because they were carrying on this one sided vendetta and they were being ignored, man. There was no point in me trying to go back and say worse things about him, it s just punk. I wasn t complying with the fight knowing I would lose — it was kind of the smart thing to do. Why go out and fight Bruce Lee and get your face knocked off when you can run away? You don't save face from running away, but you save your face.
TURN TO PAGE 78.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35.
B
"If people want to compare BTO with the Guess Who, I'd like them to do it on a higher level and not in the smut we can say about each other, because I could really lay some neat things on you about them."
Thanks, Randy. You already did.
