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 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 ...

. He also served in the band

Scrubbaloe Caine Scrubbaloe Caine was a Canadian rock music group, active from 1970 to 1975.
at

...

. In 1987, 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 ...

as a member of The Guess Who.

Career

Kale joined the local

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 ...

band Chad Allan and the Reflections in 1962; that band later evolved into

. Kale was the band's bassist during its most successful period up to 1972, appearing on several hit singles and albums and co-writing the band's best-known song, "

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 ...

", which reached no. 1 in Canada and the United States. Kale left The Guess Who in 1972 after the '' Live at the Paramount'' album, going on to join

Scrubbaloe Caine Scrubbaloe Caine was a Canadian rock music group, active from 1970 to 1975.
at

...

. Scrubbaloe Caine was nominated for the 1974 Juno Award for Most Promising Group, losing to

Bachman–Turner Overdrive Bachman–Turner Overdrive, often abbreviated BTO, were a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, founded by Randy Bachman, Robbie Bachman and Fred Turner in 1973. Their 1970s catalogue included five top-40 albums and six US top-40 single ...

featuring Kale's former bandmate

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 ...

. Kale left Scrubbaloe Caine in late 1974. Meanwhile, The Guess Who had broken up in 1975, and in 1977 the CBC invited former members to participate in a reunion concert. Group leaders Bachman and

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 ...

were not interested, but allowed Kale and several other former members to use The Guess Who's name for the event. Kale discovered that the band name had never been trademarked in Canada, and acquired ownership. He formed the first of many new line-ups of The Guess Who and toured the nostalgia circuit under the name. Kale's nostalgia line-ups of The Guess Who have been frequently criticized by Bachman and Cummings. Kale led shifting nostalgia-oriented line-ups of The Guess Who regularly until 2016, and released several new albums under that name which received little notice. He was sometimes joined by original Guess Who drummer Garry Peterson. Kale also participated in a reunion of the classic Guess Who line-up with Peterson, Cummings, and Bachman in 1983, and another in 1999. After a break from 2000 to 2004, when a Cummings/Bachman reunion line-up toured extensively, Kale revived his nostalgia tour version of The Guess Who and continued touring with shifting line-ups until his retirement in 2016. He was replaced by

Rudy Sarzo Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont (born November 18, 1950) is a Cuban American hard rock/ heavy metal bassist. He remains best known for his work with Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also played ...

, and the band has continued under the leadership of Garry Peterson.

References

1943 births Living people The Guess Who members Canadian rock bass guitarists Musicians from Winnipeg 20th-century Canadian bass guitarists 21st-century Canadian bass guitarists {{Canada-guitarist-stub