"Undun" is a song recorded by Canadian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

group

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 ...

. It spent two weeks at #21 on the Canadian Singles Chart in November–December 1969 and reached #15 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart and #22 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was written by

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 ...

after hearing

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 ...

's "

Ballad in Plain D "Ballad in Plain D" is the tenth track of Bob Dylan's fourth album, '' Another Side of Bob Dylan'', and—at 8 minutes, 18 seconds—the longest song on the album. The song recounts the circumstances surrounding the disintegration of Dylan's relat ...

", which included the phrase "she was easily undone". Bachman's song tells the story of a girl he had seen at a party who, after consuming

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

, slipped into a coma. The song takes its structure from new jazz guitar chords Bachman had learned from his friend and neighbour

Lenny Breau Leonard Harold Breau (August 5, 1941 – August 12, 1984) was an American-Canadian guitarist. He blended many styles of music, including jazz, country, classical, and flamenco. Inspired by country guitarists like Chet Atkins, Breau used fingers ...

. During the Guess Who's 2000 reunion tour, Running Back Thru Canada, Bachman's former bandmate

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 ...

declared the song to be one of Bachman's finest compositions and "one of the best songs ever written by any Canadian songwriter". Bachman himself has stated that "Undun" is his favourite song from his time as a member of The Guess Who."Undun by The Guess Who"
Songfacts The original 4:17 version of "Undun", complete with a country guitar section at the end, appeared on The Guess Who's 1969 album, ''

Canned Wheat ''Canned Wheat'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band the Guess Who, released in September 1969. It peaked at number 91 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Albums chart. Two of the band's hits were taken from the album: "Laughing" and "Undun". ...

'', and an edit was initially released as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of the single "

Laughing Laughter is a pleasant physical reaction and emotion consisting usually of rhythmical, often audible contractions of the diaphragm and other parts of the respiratory system. It is a response to certain external or internal stimuli. Laughter ...

" which peaked on August 23, 1969. The song gained popularity when disc jockeys started turning the "Laughing" record over.

Cultural extension

The song plays in the background of a fight scene between

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

and

Bridget Fonda Bridget Jane Fonda (born January 27, 1964) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in ''The Godfather Part III'' (1990), ''Single White Female'' (1992), ''Singles'' (1992), ''Point of No Return'' (1993), '' It Could Happen to You'' ( ...

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...

's 1997 film ''

Jackie Brown ''Jackie Brown'' is a 1997 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, based on Elmore Leonard's 1992 novel ''Rum Punch.'' It stars Pam Grier as Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who is caught smuggling money. Samuel L. Ja ...

''. Numerous jazz and other musicians have recorded "Undun". These include

Hennie Bekker Hennie Bekker (born 1934) is a Juno award, Juno-nominated, Zambian-born composer, arrangement, arranger, Record producer, producer and keyboardist based in Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His work includes jazz fusion, film score, film scoring ...

Steve Cole Steve Cole (born August 17, 1970) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist. He is also a professor/adviser of music business at the University of St. Thomas. Early career and education Cole was born in Chicago, Illinois and began to play music ...

, The Phil Dwyer Septet,

Kurt Elling Kurt Elling (born November 2, 1967) is an American jazz singer and songwriter. Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford, Illinois, Rockford, Elling became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran chur ...

Ranee Lee Ranee Lee, CM (born October 26, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York City) is an American jazz singer and musician who resides in Montreal, Quebec. She is also an actor, author, educator and television host. Referred as “''Montreal's Queen of Jazz,''� ...

Sophie Milman Sophie Milman (born 1983) is a Russian-born Canadian jazz vocalist. After emigrating from Russia in the early 1990s, Milman, who is Jewish, spent most of her childhood years in Israel where she listened extensively to jazz. Her family later emigr ...

Hugo Montenegro Hugo Mario Montenegro (September 2, 1925 – February 6, 1981) was an American orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks. His best-known work is interpretations of the music from Spaghetti Westerns, especially his cover version of Ennio M ...

, and

Alexander Zonjic Alexander Zonjic (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Зоњић; born April 30, 1951) is a flutist born in Windsor, Ontario, who performs both light jazz and classical compositions in the United States, based in Detroit, Michigan. He is the s ...

.Alexander Zonjic, ''Doin' the D''
Retrieved March 6, 2015

Personnel

– vocals, flute *

– guitar *

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 F ...

– bass *

Garry Peterson 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 ...

– drums

Charts

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1969 songs 1969 singles Songs written by Randy Bachman The Guess Who songs Hugo Montenegro songs Song recordings produced by Jack Richardson (record producer) Songs about drugs RCA Victor singles