Welcome to our Fan Group for Burton Cummings, Leader of the Guess Who and great solo artist. All fans are invited to request membership in the group, but to be accepted we need to be able to send you a message and ensure that you are a real person. If you have a different net presence please send a message direction to Kevin or Nancy.
A Group for the Faithful, those Burton Cummings fans that are about the music and not about negativity. We want to hear the songs, hear the music and hear the words......and hear from the man himself.
Please note that while Burton does visit this room from time to time, the admins are not in direct contact with him, and cannot pass on messages or greetings
Please note any off topic items may be deleted at the discretion of the admins. Any negative comments will result in immediately deletion and consideration for temporary or permanent ban from the group.
Some folks have asked about the difference between this group and the other Faithful group called simply The Faithful. Many of our members are also members there. Basically this group is for sharing things that are specifically Burton or Guess Who oriented, discussing concerts, songs, albums, pictures etc. The other group is looser and is a place where people who have found each other through Burton can share and communicate about Burton and other areas of their life.
BURTON CUMMINGS; THE MAN & HIS MUSIC
Born December 31, 1947 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Burton Lorne Cummings spent his childhood years in the Cummings family bungalow at 79 Lansdowne where he often sat on the front porch steps with a close friend listening intently to hit songs on his portable radio...songs that became first and powerful impressions for a young and budding musician. Never would he have believed the journey that life and his music were about to embark upon.
He soon befriended classmates of his youth who shared a love of music and so many hours were spent in each other’s household basements tape recording their vocal and instrumental sessions and buying 45 rpm record singles and shaping a mindset that allowed them to dream of one day performing themselves. Those dreams would soon become a reality when they formed a band and began playing at their own high school, St. John’s High right there in Winnipeg. In his early teenage years Cummings became a self-affirmed musician tinkling the ivories of a friend’s family piano.
By age 14 Burton Cummings had joined local band “The Deverons” who fashioned their sound from R & B and within a matter of months Cummings was fronting the band which set out on the local school dance circuit. The response of their audience became a powerful motivation for the band to forge new beginnings with the release of two recorded singles on the REO record label. The first single “Blue Is The Night “/ “She’s Your Lover” was recorded at a radio station in Winnipeg and later at the Kay Bank Studios in Minneapolis they recorded “Lost Love” / “Feel Alright”.
By age 18 Cummings, with boyish good looks and charm found his way into the popular band Chad Allan & The Impressions. Some time later Chad Allan left the group and the remaining members adopted the band name “Guess Who”. Their record company released “Shakin’ All Over” with just “Guess Who” on the label intent on attracting the attentions of radio media. This initiative succeeded and the name stuck. This wholly Canadian band was to eventually go on to unprecedented success in the Canadian music scene and ultimately became renowned globally.
Cummings would soon become lead singer for the rising band. It was 1966 and The Guess Who were fast becoming a household name. The band soon secured a two year engagement as house band for a CBC show called ‘Let’s Go’.
Their tenure would take them through a decade of stellar hit recordings that Cummings wrote or co-wrote including “These Eyes” which Cummings has since reflected changed their lives forever; “American Woman” which went to No. 1 on Billboard in 1970; “No Time”; “Share The Land”; “Laughing”; “New Mother Nature”; “Clap For The Wolfman” to name but a few of this iconic band’s huge hits. Randy Bachman co-wrote and performed with the band for several years before moving on to pursue other endeavors of his own.
Burton Cummings went solo with his career in 1976 recording such greats as “Stand Tall”, “You Saved My Soul”, “Break It To Them Gently”, “Dream Of A Child” and “My Own Way To Rock”, a critically acclaimed hit single which would seem suited as thematic testament to his entire career. This was all followed by his “Up Close And Alone” tour which in turn was followed by a record release by the same title hosting a live compilation of his solo performances. Cummings again received critical acclaim for the tour and album which featured just him and his piano.
The Guess Who would reunite from 2000 through the summer of 2003. Cummings, Randy Bachman and drummer Garry Peterson began the tour with Jim Kale (bass) making a guest appearance and eventually Donnie McDougall and Bill Wallace would re-join the group through the remainder of their tour through Canada and the U.S. where their, by then, historic set list of huge hits were re-lived in sold out concert venues across both nations.
Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman then partnered to record and tour together along with their Toronto-based tour band The Carpet Frogs. They recorded “The Thunderbird Trax” in the early 1980’s though not released by the artists until 2006 and was only available at concert venues and on the internet. Later, “First Time Around”, a CBC TV Special was released on the Sony MGB record label in 2006. In 2007 Cummings/Bachman released “Jukebox”, a collection of songs from the 1960’s that were a great influence on them both.
Cummings would then embark once again on a solo career and in 2008, some fourteen years after his last recording, he would join his current Toronto based tour group The Carpet Frogs to record and release “Above The Ground”, a compilation of 19 tracks of original songs that he alone wrote in recent years and some that were written many years ago. This dynamic and richly diverse record project has received critical acclaim. Following the release of “Above The Ground” Cummings and The Carpet Frogs embarked on a Canada/U.S. tour called “In Your Back Yard” which saw sold-out venues throughout cities on both sides of the border.
Among the host of awards and honours bestowed upon Burton Cummings are an honorary doctorate from the University of Brandon (Brandon, Manitoba); induction to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame; twice (unprecedented) named to the Canadian Walk of Fame; Prairie Music Hall of Fame; multiple Juno award winner; Officer of the Order of Canada; Order of Manitoba; Governor General’s Performance Arts Award; Broadcast Music Industry (BMI) awards and over one million airplays of his great hits over the years.
Burton Cummings’ career has spanned over five decades and his iconic story continues today. New recordings are in the planning, more concert venues on the tour circuit. The singer/songwriter/musician/producer’s sound has commanded a longevity that few can boast. His voice sounds stronger than ever and his boundless energy continues to thrill his audience. The man and his music remain a household word and his tight, energized sound with superlative instrumental and vocals with The Carpet Frogs combined with his charismatic presence on stage remain a constant in his life.
To this day Burton Cummings continues that endearing connection with his audience that he has made for fifty years. Young and old alike stand in ovation with tears in their eyes. In more recent years he has also endeavored to connect with his fans and friends online through MySpace and now Facebook blogging where the incredible celebration of the man and his music continues. Fondly referred to as “The Faithful” by Cummings, a core group of closely knit friendships have been forged right here on this page, a lengthy list of perhaps Cummings’ most strident supporters and fans through the decades who assemble here to share in respect and admiration all that this man has accomplished. Burton Cummings, indeed, has his own way to rock.
© Don MacIver 2012; All Rights Reserved