Celebrated singer and guitarist Randy Bachman will take the stage at Mill Race Park in Columbus as someone far more simple than a rock legend who has recorded multiple major hits with two different bands, while selling some 40 million discs.
No, come Sept. 1 at the free, annual Our Hospice of South Central Indiana Labor Day weekend concert, he initially will be Randy Bachman, a huge, forever fan of The Beatles. And that partly explains why he expects to open the free show with perhaps three reworked George Harrison tunes from Bachman’s latest release, “By George,” to mark Harrison’s 75th birthday earlier this year.
“I knew I couldn’t possibly reproduce the lightning in a bottle that he and The Beatles created with (producer) George Martin,” Bachman said, speaking from a hotel in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, on his current tour. “So I just tried to do my own lightning bolt, creating different grooves for his songs.”
The innovative album — doubters should listen to his minor-key, reggae version of “Here Comes the Sun” — serves as convincing evidence that, even at age 74, Canadian native Bachman is hardly slowing his pace or simply driving a nostalgia bus into yesteryear for sentimental fans.
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Yet, he also remains a realist.
Which is why he promises to play nearly all his hits from his ‘60s days with The Guess Who and the smashes from his ‘70s days with Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
In fact, when faced with the question, he comically reels off a string of the tunes rapid fire over the phone. With The Guess Who:
“She’s Come Undone”
“Shakin’ All Over”
“These Eyes”
“No Sugar Tonight”
“American Woman”
“No Time”
“Laughing”
“Undone”
Then, with the ensemble known to many just as BTO:
“Takin’ Care of Business”
“Let It Ride”
“You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet”
“Roll On Down the Highway”
If you’re looking for a hit parade, then Bachman is marching in something of a rare procession with the two groups.
“It’s like attending two of the greatest colleges instead of one,” he said.
These days, he includes some slight in-concert narration when relaying his supergroup experiences.
“Almost every song has a little (explanatory) prelude,” Bachman said. “There’s no real script. So I tell the stories a little differently every night.”
His aunt took him to almost every major concert that came to his native Winnipeg, Canada, since the time he was 7 years old: Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, The Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Supremes, The Champs and others. At the time, he was a classical violinist who soon would switch to the guitar.
And it has been his jazzy rock guitar work that has impressed many beyond his songwriting skill.
Greensburg guitarist Tim Dooley, who plays in several Columbus area groups, including Night Owl Country Band, grew up as a big fan of Bachman, The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
“I still listen to those records,” Dooley said. “Randy Bachman is a great guitarist, in my book. I loved how he used softer, clean guitar sounds along with hard, distorted guitars. Fabulous.”
In the past 20 years, Bachman has joined The Guess Who’s reunion tours, performed for several years with former bassist sidekick Fred Turner and, most recently, traveled with his own four-piece band that includes son Tal (who charted his own 1999 huge pop hit with “She’s So High”). In fact, his boy is expected to front the group to present his single.
An oversized screen will form a backdrop on the stage, offering a visual journey through the years.
And what a journey it has been. Musically, Bachman’s stories are laced with legendary names from Neil Young to Pete Townsend, plus an added note or two that he still plays rock festivals before 15,000 to 40,000 people. His energy level during the phone conversation seemed caffeinated, but Bachman for years has been a fairly strict Mormon. He said what people are hearing is exuberance.
“It’s so amazing to still be able to do something that I love,” he said. “It’s fantastic.”
Personally, his reminiscing revolves heavily around family and his eight children and 26 grandchildren, including attending rock concerts and more with them occasionally. He was just in England with one segment of his kids and grandkids, then in Iceland, and he grew animated considering son Tal’s upcoming birthday.
Besides, he still feels plenty young and relevant.
“You can still be a hip guy even with the grandkids because Lenny Kravitz just did one of your songs,” he said, “or because Kelly Clarkson just did ‘American Woman’ on the Country Music Awards.”
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Who: Headlining act Randy Bachman, formerly of The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, with opening act The Why Store.
What: 32nd Annual Our Hospice of South Central Indiana Labor Day weekend concert.
When: Welcome at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 1. Opening band at 7 p.m. Headliner at about 8:30 p.m.
Where: Mill Race Park, 50 Carl Miske Drive, in downtown Columbus.
Admission: Free. Money for hospice is generated through the sale of items such as raffle tickets and food.
Information: ourhospice.org
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