When looking over the musical acts that played Expo '74, there are plenty of legends whose time has long since passed, like Ella Fitzgerald and Liberace. But there's also one act that's still rocking out a half century later — Canadian classic rock standouts Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
On Aug. 6, 1974, at the Spokane Coliseum, Expo caught the band at its absolute chart-topping peak; tickets were $5 ($5.50 on the day of the show). Today the band is still led by frontmen Randy Bachman and C.F. Turner and continues to have a blast on the road. While generations of bands have come and gone since BTO first formed (right after Bachman's previous band, the Guess Who), there's a virtue to outlasting the vast majority of them.
Before BTO stops for a show at Northern Quest on July 24, we caught up with Bachman, now 80, to reflect on the World's Fair, his hit-making son joining the band and alternative uses of the word "Gonzaga."
INLANDER: Do you have memories of playing Expo '74?
BACHMAN: I do, because in '74 we had the No. 1 album and single in Not Fragile and "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet." We're celebrating the 50th anniversary of that right now on tour. I remember the World's Fair very well, because obviously, it's the World's Fair.
My mother-in-law came to visit because her son-in-law was playing the World's Fair. And backstage after the [concert] was over, there were all these [folks wanting] autographs. And this really phenomenal blonde comes up to me and says, "Can I have your autograph?" And I say, "Sure," and she hands me a Sharpie. And she pulls down her blouse and has a bare breast. And as I'm signing her breast, my mother-in-law walks through the dressing room and sees me signing this girl's nakedness. And I couldn't explain it. I just said, "Sometimes we gotta do that."
She's my ex-mother-in-law, and now you know why.
Did y'all end up staying around for a bit?
We stayed there quite a few days because my brother-in-law was there [stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base]. I liked Spokane a lot. I like the university there, and I had a shirt for years... gee what's the name...
Gonzaga?
Yeah! I loved that. In fact, I gotta get one when I'm back there. I wore a Gonzaga shirt forever, and people would say, "What is that? Is that an Indian word?" But I just loved the name, because Gonzo came out on [The Muppet Show] and this was an extension on Gonzo in Gonzaga. To me it's a crazy word that means anything you want. "This guy is totally Gonzaga" or "That chick is totally Gonzaga!" I mean, it's almost like the F-bomb. You can use it in many different contexts and it has different meanings. I love Gonzaga.
"I noticed an incredible switch in the people and in the media that rock and roll is back, the '70s are back and guitar is back."
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When you hit a milestone like the 50th year of having this No. 1 record out, what are your feelings as you're reflecting back and still getting to play that music for excited crowds?
It's totally a dream come true. The first dream when you're in a band is you hope to make a record and maybe hear it on the radio. When you hear it on the radio, you pull over your car. And you're crying, you waited and tried and practiced and wrote and done everything to get on the radio, and suddenly you're on the radio.
I lost my three brothers to COVID in the last three years, so the band's evolved to my son Tal joining on second guitar and vocals. And he had a big hit, "She's So High," a couple decades or so ago. So when he does that song, wow, it updates all of BTO to like current pop rock status.
We just finished 10 days on the road. Every day was a sellout. Every day is people between 12 and 90, standing up, going crazy. And I noticed an incredible switch in the people and in the media that rock and roll is back, the '70s are back and guitar is back.
How cool is it for you to have your son Tal in the band?
There's a picture when he's 2 years old, playing drums. My brother Robbie was the drummer, and would sit Tal on the drums and tell him what to play. So when Tal was 2, he was playing BTO. He became my drummer many times. Now he's playing guitar and keyboard on stage, and it's just great to have him in the band. He's been there all along, kind of grew up with the music. He knows all the Guess Who stuff, he knows all the BTO stuff — not because he's heard it, he's lived it. He's kind of like my younger Mini-Me. [Laughs]
What do you think has been the key to your longevity?
A wise man told me this once: The three most important days of your life are the day you were born, the day you know why you were born — like what you were destined to do — and today, because you're alive another day to celebrate those other two blessings.
I've been doing music my whole life. I didn't do it to make money or to party or to get chicks. I did it because I was born to do it. I just do it. I get up every single day and write songs. I still practice guitar one to two hours a day. It's what I do. And it's really amazing to do what you do and absolutely love it, whether you're getting paid or not. ♦
Bachman-Turner Overdrive • Wed, July 24 at 8 pm • $30-$390 • All ages • Northern Quest Resort & Casino • 100 N. Hayford Road, Airway Heights • northernquest.com
