Burton Cummings

Burton Lorne Cummings (born December 31, 1947) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for leading The Guess Who during that band's most successful period from 1965 to 1975, and for a lengthy solo career.

Cummings has been inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and has been cited as one of the most influential performers in Canadian rock music. He has also been named as an officer of the Order of Canada and Order of Manitoba. The Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg is named in his honour.

Career

Early years

Cummings was born and raised in Winnipeg by his mother and maternal grandparents, after his father left the family during his infancy. He attended St. John's High School but dropped out at age 17 to pursue a career in music; the school granted him an honorary diploma in 2010.

In 1964 Cummings joined local R&B band the Deverons (not to be confused with an American group called the Devrons) on piano and vocals. The Deverons released two singles locally in Winnipeg. In early 1966, shortly after his 18th birthday, Cummings joined another regionally successful band, Chad Allan & The Expressions, to replace departed keyboardist Bob Ashley.Einarson, John.'' American Woman: The Story of The Guess Who''; Quarry Press, Ontario, Canada, pp. 35–39 Cummings also took on lead vocal duties in conjunction with group leader Chad Allan.

This group had been subjected to a record company publicity stunt in which their 1965 hit single "Shakin' All Over" was released anonymously with the message "Guess Who?" to trick listeners into thinking it was by a famous British Invasion band. Disc jockeys announced the single as being by someone called "Guess Who?", forcing the group to accept the nickname; their latest releases had been issued under the name Chad Allan & The Expressions with "Guess Who?" displayed prominently on the covers."American Woman".

With The Guess Who

Just a few months after Cummings joined Chad Allan & The Expressions, Allan left his namesake band, leaving Cummings as the sole singer. The band's name was changed to simply The Guess Who, with Cummings becoming one of the band's primary songwriters in conjunction with guitarist Randy Bachman. Their first album under this name was '' It's Time'' in the summer of 1966.

The band became internationally successful upon the release of their album ''American Woman'' in 1970, which reached the top ten in several countries and made The Guess Who the first Canadian band to achieve a number one single in the United States. Bachman then left The Guess Who, and Cummings continued to lead the band through several more internationally successful albums. Cummings and drummer Garry Peterson were the only consistent members of the band during this era. Cummings disbanded The Guess Who in 1975 due to songwriting disagreements with guitarist Dominic Troiano.

Solo career

After leaving The Guess Who, Cummings embarked on a solo career; his self-titled debut solo album was released in 1976 and reached the top ten on the Canadian albums chart. The single "Stand Tall" was an international hit and sold more than one million copies in the United States. In 1977 he was presented with a Juno Award as best male vocalist. Also in 1977 he provided backing vocals for the Eric Carmen album ''Boats Against the Current,'' and released his second solo album ''My Own Way to Rock''.

His 1978 album ''Dream of a Child'' sold more than three million copies in Canada, making it one of the country's highest-selling albums up to that point. Due to a dispute with his record label, his 1980 album ''Woman Love'' was not released in the United States but was another substantial hit in Canada that earned Cummings another Juno Award. The 1981 album ''Sweet Sweet'' was much less successful. Cummings also dabbled in acting during this period, with an appearance in the film ''Melanie