CTV News reports: “Robbie Bachman, drummer and co-founder of Canadian rock group Bachman-Turner Overdrive, has died [on January 12], his brother confirmed on Twitter.”
Rock star Randy Bachman joined the Mormon Church in the 1960’s. His son, Tal, also a rock musician, was brought up in the church but left as an adult. Randy has said that he and Monson and Ballard were friends back in the day, when they were young. “It’s OK to be Mormon and hip” Randy says. (Yeah, maybe if you’re a literal rock star and a convert).
https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/robbie-bachman-bachman-turner-overdrive-drummer-and-co-founder-dead-at-69-1.6229558Excerpts:
“In 2014, Bachman and other members of Bachman-Turner Overdrive were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame by astronaut Chris Hadfield at that year's Juno Awards in Winnipeg. Bachman filmed the induction on-stage with a handheld video camera.
"When would I ever be inducted to the Juno Hall of Fame? One time, and it's all on here," he said in an interview afterward with CTV News Winnipeg. Bachman lost the video camera at some point after the awards show, however when he asked staff at the Fairmont Hotel in Winnipeg about it the next day, he was touched to learn someone had returned it.
“Speaking to CTV News Winnipeg, he questioned where else in the world besides Canada – which he described as "so friendly, so polite, so honest" – would someone return "a $2,000 video camera?"
(I just included the lost camera part because I like the quote about Canada, not that it’s part of the main story).
For background on Randy, who eventually left Mormonism - from Salt Lake City Weekly (2002):
https://www.cityweekly.net/utah/choose-the-rock/Content?oid=2129069Excerpts:
“Randy Bachman stunned the entire rock world by struggling 10 long years with his band The Guess Who and then leaving it during the height of its popularity.
“The Guess Who, homegrown in Winnipeg, Canada, had sold more records than the entire Canadian recording industry by 1970, even outselling the Beatles that year. They were initially big in England with one of their first singles, “His Girl,” reaching the Top 20. The Guess Who’s breakthrough single in the United States, “These Eyes,” grew to monster proportions, reaching No. 3 on the charts and selling 1 million copies. The American success backlashed into their native country and forced Canadian rock stations, who had initially rejected them because they were from Canada, to start playing the songs.
“The Guess Who were most noted for their classic rock hits, “American Woman,” “These Eyes,” “Laughing,” “No Sugar Tonight,” “Shakin’ All Over” and “No Time.” So the big question, of course, is, why did Randy Bachman leave?
“Bachman, who had a young family at the time, made the decision to take a break from music for a while and turn his full attention to his wife and child. His young son, Tal, who was later to also have a successful career in pop-rock, had just been born. He had another daughter on the way. There were also several more reasons.
“Bachman was a convert to the LDS church in 1966, before the explosion of The Guess Who. In his teens and early 20s, everyone around him was partying, but Bachman always stayed curiously aloof. When he joined the church, he says, the Word of Wisdom was not a problem.
“When I first joined, you know, I was a new convert and I wanted to share with my bandmates what I had discovered,” says Bachman. “I was like, look, there really is a prophet on the earth today, tried to show them the Book of Mormon, encouraged them to cut down on drinking—I was enthusiastic, a little preachy. Of course they wanted nothing to do with it.”
“Today, Randy is the ultimate anti-washed-up rock star. He still writes and records his own stuff and produces other acts regularly. He’s currently in his third summer of touring with The Guess Who—the first reunion in 30 years. He’s in his second marriage and he has eight children and 13 grandchildren. He has a daughter at BYU.
“I have always kind of felt like I am in this weird limbo,” says Bachman. “I go to church and sometimes feel like a biker. But it is wonderful to be welcome wherever I go to church in other cities and countries.”
“Bachman used to teach LDS firesides in Canada during the ’70s when Thomas Monson and Russell Ballard were young men and leaders of the LDS church in Canada. Monson was the East Canadian Mission President.
“They were friends of mine, I knew them,” says Bachman. “They used to always tell me, it’s OK to look like you look and to have a beard and long hair because you bridge the gap. You show people that it’s OK to be Mormon and ‘hip.’”
From CBC re Robbie:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/robbie-bachman-death-
1.6713264
“‘We rocked the world together” says brother Randy Bachman, who tweeted the news on Thursday.”
“Robbie Bachman, the self-taught drummer who co-founded Bachman-Turner Overdrive, has died at age 69.
“The younger Bachman — born Robin Bachman — played drums to hits Takin' Care of Business and You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, helping establish the band as a formidable force in Canadian music during the 1970s.
“Robbie Bachman's stage presence was unforgettable, his brother said.”
Unfortunately, a rift occurred between the brothers for years but fortunately “they eventually reunited for a Canadian Music Hall of Fame induction in 2014 when BTO's original 1974 lineup — the Bachman brothers, Turner, who was the vocalist, and guitarist Blair Thornton — agreed to perform together at the Juno Awards.”
“We were a loud band” Randy said” [of Bachman-Turner-Overdrive].
I heard Randy and fellow musicians play at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010. No kidding it was loud. I could feel the ground pulsating under my feet. My intro to live rock music. Wow!
Nothing is certain but death and taxes, so they say. We’re each just a will-o-the-wisp in the history of the world. But some of us manage to make a mark. Or a noise. Hopefully for the general good.
Making music is a good way to interact with fellow humans and bring them pleasure. Even if they have to stand way back or at least cover their ears. :)
RIP Robbie