Song:You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet
Album:Gold
I think most music fans are aware that Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) are a spinoff of the legendary Canadian group The Guess Who. BTO had a great run in the 70s. You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet was their biggest hit. When Randy Bachman left The Guess Who in 1970, the original plan was to produce an album for his former Guess Who bandmate Chad Allan. This turned into Brave Belt who recorded two albums for Reprise Records. Randy's brother Robbie Bachman played drums and then Neil Young suggested bassist C.F. "Fred" Turner. Tim Bachman joined as second guitarist. After two albums, Allan left and the band name was changed to Bachman-Turner Overdrive. The first BTO album was actually the third Brave Belt album. They signed with Mercury Records who suggested the name change. BTO II was their breakthrough album especially the hit single Takin' Care Of Business which Bachman had written for The Guess Who a few years earlier. Tim Bachman left and was replaced by Blair Thornton. Then they scored a #1 hit in 1974 with You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet. Bachman says the song was a gag and was never intended to be released. It's based on The Who's Baba O'Riley. The gag is that brother Gary Bachman stutters. Mercury was looking for a hit single for the 1974 album Not Fragile. Bachman told Mercury's Charlie Fach that You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet was a gag on Gary because of his stuttering. But Fach wanted to hear it anyway and he liked it and thought it was the hit he was looking for. So it was added to the album. When radio stations started to play You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet as an album track, Mercury released it as a single. The rest is history. And Bachman tried to prevent the single release because the song embarrassed him. But he relented because sometimes dumb songs are hits. Bachman left BTO in 1977 but the group continued for a couple of years. He recorded a solo album and BTO split up in 1979. This 2CD budget comp is definitive. BTO first reformed in 1983 and have reunited occasionally over the years. They don't seem to be active right now. Here's Bachman-Turner Overdrive performing You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet. This was released as a promo video in 1974.
It may have indeed been a dumb song, but the group was very good. I like the song "Hey You" and there are a few others I really liked from that group. The Guess Who and BTO were played a lot while I was growing up in the 70's. Both groups had a good run.
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