Burton Lorne Cummings (born December 31, 1947) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for leading
The Guess Who
The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1965. The band originated in 1962 and achieved an international hit single with a cover of "Shakin' All Over" in 1965 under the name Chad Allan and the Expressions. After c ...
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
The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (''Panthéon des Auteurs et Compositeurs canadiens'') is a Canadian non-profit organization, founded in 1998 by Frank Davies, that inducts Canadians into their ''Hall of Fame'' within three different categori ...
, 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
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
and
Order of Manitoba
The Order of Manitoba (french: Ordre du Manitoba) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Instituted in 1999 when Lieutenant Governor Peter Liba granted Royal Assent to The Order of Manitoba Act, the order is administe ...
. The
Burton Cummings Theatre
The Burton Cummings Theatre is a theatre located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Built by local impresario Corliss Powers Walker, it was originally known as the Walker Theatre. The building was renamed after singer-songwriter and Winnipeg native B ...
in Winnipeg is named in his honour.
Career
Early years
Cummings was born and raised in
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
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
"Shakin' All Over" is a song originally performed by Johnny Kidd & the Pirates. It was written by leader Johnny Kidd, and his original recording reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in August 1960. The song is sometimes credited to Frederick ...
" was released anonymously with the message "Guess Who?" to trick listeners into thinking it was by a famous
British Invasion
The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...
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
The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1965. The band originated in 1962 and achieved an international hit single with a cover of "Shakin' All Over" in 1965 under the name Chad Allan and the Expressions. After c ...
, with Cummings becoming one of the band's primary songwriters in conjunction with guitarist
Randy Bachman
Randolph Charles Bachman (; born September 27, 1943) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. Bachman recorded as a solo artist and was part of a num ...
. 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
"American Woman" is a song by Canadian rock band the Guess Who, released January 1970, from the album of the same name. It was later released in March 1970 as a single backed with "No Sugar Tonight", and it reached number one for three weeks ...
'' 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
The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...
as best male vocalist. Also in 1977 he provided backing vocals for the
Eric Carmen
Eric Howard Carmen (born August 11, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and keyboardist. He was first known as the lead vocalist of the Raspberries. He had numerous hit songs in the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Rasp ...
album ''
Boats Against the Current
''Boats Against the Current'' is a 1977 album by Eric Carmen. The title is taken from a line in the novel ''The Great Gatsby'' by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” It was ...
,'' 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
Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".
After an extended break from recording, Cummings released the live album ''Up Close and Alone'' in 1997, featuring songs from throughout his career performed on solo piano. Cummings then convened another reunion of The Guess Who for an extensive nostalgia tour from 2000 to 2003. In July 2003 the group performed before an estimated audience of 450,000 at the
Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto
Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto was a benefit rock concert that was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 30, 2003. It was also known as "Toronto Rocks", "Stars 4 SARS", "SARSStock", "SARSfest", "SARS-a-palooza", the "SARS concert", or, more ...
SARS
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''sever ...
benefit concert
A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...
. The show was the largest outdoor ticketed event in Canadian history.
In 2004, Cummings released the one-off single " With God on Our Side", a Bob Dylan cover, which reached no. 29 on the Canadian singles chart. In 2006, Cummings and Randy Bachman started a new duo project backed by the Canadian rock band The Carpet Frogs, but were unable to use the name The Guess Who, which had been trademarked by bassist
Jim Kale
Michael James Kale (born August 11, 1943) is a retired Canadian musician, best known as the original bassist for the rock band The Guess Who. He also served in the band Scrubbaloe Caine. In 1987, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of ...
. The project became known as the Bachman-Cummings Band or simply Bachman-Cummings, and performs occasionally whenever both men are available. They released the covers album ''
Jukebox
A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...
'' in 2007 and most recently performed live in 2020. They have been selected to perform for a celebration of Manitoba's 150th anniversary, to take place after delays caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
The Carpet Frogs have also served as Cummings's solo band. In 2008 Cummings released his first all-new solo album in 18 years, '' Above the Ground.'' In 2017 he released a book of poetry titled ''The Writings of B. L. Cummings'', which sold successfully in Canada. He returned to solo performances in 2019, with shows featuring cover songs and original songs from throughout his career with The Guess Who and as a solo artist.
Awards
Throughout his career, Cummings has won five RPM Awards, six
Juno Awards
The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...
Genie Award
The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...
.
In 2001, Cummings and the rest of The Guess Who received honourary doctorates from Manitoba's
Brandon University
Brandon University is a university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, with an enrollment of 3375 (2020) full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon Co ...
, which Cummings considered a singular honour as a high school dropout. That year Cummings also won three SOCAN Classic Awards.
On December 30, 2009, Cummings was named an officer of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
by
Governor General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
Michaëlle Jean
Michaëlle Jean (; born September 6, 1957) is a Canadian stateswoman and former journalist who served from 2005 to 2010 as governor general of Canada, the 27th since Canadian Confederation. She is the first Haitian Canadian and black person ...
, to mark a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to community, and service to the nation. On June 28, 2011, Cummings was awarded with a star on
Canada's Walk of Fame
Canada's Walk of Fame (french: link=no, Allée des célébrités canadiennes) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields. It is a ...
; he had previously received a star as a member of The Guess Who in 2001. He was inducted into the
Canadian Music Hall of Fame
The Canadian Music Hall of Fame was established in 1978 by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) to honour Canadian musicians for their lifetime achievements in music. The award presentation is held each year as part of the ...
in 2016, and received a
SOCAN
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collects ...
lifetime achievement award in 2018.
Personal life
Cummings married Cheryl DeLuca on September 22, 1981. He has never had any children. He lived in
Sherman Oaks
Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, for many years until moving to
Moose Jaw
Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians ...
,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
, in 2017. He is part owner of the Winnipeg-based restaurant chain Salisbury House. In May 2018 he was involved in a serious car accident in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, requiring physical and mental therapy and the cancellation of several weeks of performances.
Discography
Albums
Singles
Film Music
*''
California Dreaming
"California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in 196 ...
'' (1978)
**"Among the Yesterdays" (Music by
Fred Karlin
Frederick James Karlin (June 16, 1936 – March 26, 2004) was an American composer of more than 130 scores for feature films and television movies. He also was an accomplished trumpeter adept at playing jazz, blues, classical, rock, and mediev ...
/ Lyrics by Robb Royer)
**"Keep it in the Family" (Music and Lyric by Cummings)
*'' Voices'' (1979)
**"I Will Always Wait For You (Theme From Voices)" (Written by
Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "MacArthur Park", "Wichita Lineman", "Worst ...
)
**"On a Stage" (Written by Jimmy Webb)
**"Drunk as a Punk" (Written by
Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "MacArthur Park", "Wichita Lineman", "Worst ...
)
*''
Melanie
Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".
Jukebox
A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...
'' – Bachman & Cummings album that features covers of songs by artists such as
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
,
The Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...
and
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
See also
*
Canadian rock
Rock music of Canada is a wide and diverse part of the general music of Canada, beginning with American and British style rock and roll in the mid-20th century. Since then Canada has had a considerable impact on the development of the modern po ...
*
Music of Canada
The music of Canada reflects the diverse influences that have shaped the country. Indigenous Peoples, the Irish, British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has also subsequently been ...
Internet Broadway Database
The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade assoc ...