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Garry Peterson

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Garry Peterson
Peterson in 2008
Peterson in 2008
Background information
Born (1945-05-26) May 26, 1945 (age 79)
Winnipeg, Canada
GenresHard rock, psychedelic rock, blues rock, garage rock
InstrumentDrums
Years active1949–present
Formerly ofThe Guess Who, Bachman-Turner Overdrive
SpouseKimberley Peterson

Garry Denis Peterson[1] (born May 26, 1945) is a Canadian-American drummer. He has been in The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive.

Biography

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He was born in Winnipeg, and his father (also a drummer) got him to start playing the drums at age two, and professionally when he was four years old.[2] In 1950, when he was five, he played drums for Peggy Lee at the Chicago Theatre.[3][4] At nine years old, he joined the American Federation of Musicians.[4] Garry was a child prodigy drummer, and backed Lionel Hampton, The Four Lands, Ames Brothers, and The Andrew Sisters.[5] His influences are Ringo Starr, David Garibaldi, Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa.[6] He is also inspired by jazz and classical music, and played in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for one season.[4]

Peterson met Randy Bachman in junior high school, where they were both on their baseball team.[7] They, with another friend, formed the band The Embers in 1958. Garry and Randy Bachman from the band The Embers[8] met Chad Allan, Bob Ashley, and Jim Kale from Al & The Silvertones who were the bands "biggest rivals", and became Chad Allan and the Reflections. They later changed to The Guess Who. The Guess Who charted fourteen Top 40 singles in the United States and more than thirty in Canada.[9] These songs include “American Woman”, “These Eyes”, “Laughing”, “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature”, and “No Time”.

Peterson in 1970

Peterson performed congas, drums and other percussive instrument on Randy Bachman's solo album Axe in 1970.[10] Peterson, Cummings and Bill Wallace all played on Rick Neufeld's 1974 album Prairie Dog. Between 1981–1982, he played drums on albums for Richard Stepp, Herman van Veen, and Nancy Nash.

The Guess Who stopped in 1975, and Garry formed an unsuccessful band with Roy Kenner called Delphia.[11] He later worked jobs in a hotel and as an insurance salesman.[12] He backed Burton Cummings for a while, until 1983, when he decided to leave Cummings to join Bachman–Turner Overdrive.[7] Peterson plays on their 1984 Bachman–Turner Overdrive album. Although he was not a member at the time, Garry played percussion, drums and backing vocals on BTO's first album, also called Bachman–Turner Overdrive from 1973.[13]

Garry was kicked off of the bands tour after breaking his ankle in an Ice hockey accident.[14] Garry had received a phone call from Tim Bachman saying that the band “no longer required” him.[14] Peterson’s booting from BTO was an especially dark time for him, as he lost his house since he was receiving no income, and Burton Cummings never forgave him for ditching him to go with Bachman.[14]

A year after leaving Bachman—Turner Overdrive, he went back to The Guess Who. Since then, he had toured with Kale, but was the sole original member in the Guess Who from Kale retiring in 2016 until the Guess Who ended in September 2024. The last time all four original Guess Who members performed together at the closing ceremonies of the Pan American Games at Winnipeg Stadium on August 8, 1999.[15] A 2003 performance at the Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto SARS benefit concert with a capacity of 450,000 is now recognised at the largest outdoor ticketed event in Canadian history.[16]

From 2023 onwards, Bachman and Burton Cummings have been getting into legal battles with the new Guess Who featuring Garry Peterson. These battles include a Cease and desist and accusations of false advertising.[17] As a result of a court agreement, as of April 2024, Peterson’s Guess Who can not perform songs written/co-written by Cummings or Bachman. Garry was the only original Guess Who member touring with the new version currently from 2016, but in recent years was on occasion absent from concerts because of health reasons, causing those gigs to contain no original members on stage, with the oldest serving member in the band on stage only dating back to 2008.[17] The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records show that since 2006, Peterson and Kale co-own the rights to the "Guess Who" name only during live performances and not for studio releases.[18]

Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman won the long running Guess Who lawsuit in September 2024, ended Garry's Guess Who group.[19]

Born in Canada, Garry now lives in the United States, Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife Kimberly Ann Peterson.[20] He and Kimberly met at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex when Bachman-Turner Overdrive were playing there.[7] Peterson has Dual citizenship of Canada and the United States.[6] He has leg problems, and sometimes uses a wheelchair or a Mobility scooter when having to walk long distances.[4]

Awards

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Garry has received many honors as a part of the Guess Who. These include, an induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (1987), induction into the Canada's Walk of Fame (1999), and receiving the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement for their contributions to popular music in Canada (2002).[21][22][23]

Discography

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The Guess Who

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The Guess Who discography

Randy Bachman

[edit]
Year Album
1970 Axe

Bachman–Turner Overdrive

[edit]
Year Album
1973 Bachman–Turner Overdrive
1984 Bachman–Turner Overdrive

Burton Cummings

[edit]
Year Album
1980 Woman Love
1981 Sweet Sweet
1984 Heart

Richard Stepp

[edit]
Year Album
1981 Richard Stepp

Herman van Veen

[edit]
Year Album
1982 Voor Kinderen

Nancy Nash

[edit]
Year Album
1982 Letting Go

References

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  1. ^ "Garry Peterson". drummercafe.com. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  2. ^ "Legendary band… The Guess Who, Interview with Garry Peterson of The Guess Who! - AthensCalling.gr". 2017-04-24. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  3. ^ "Band – The Guess Who". 2024-07-16. Archived from the original on 2024-07-16. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  4. ^ a b c d Dietroit (2014-07-21). "MOTORCITYBLOG: A Downtown Chat with Garry Peterson of The Guess Who Band by MCB's Sandy Hopkins". MOTORCITYBLOG. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  5. ^ "Garry Peterson: The Guess Who's Drummer - Listen Now!". talkaboutlasvegas.com. 2019-10-27. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
  6. ^ a b "Interview: Garry Peterson (The Guess Who) | Hit Channel". 2018-08-12. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
  7. ^ a b c PRESSLEY, LEIGH (1995-10-06). "CHANGE OF TEMPO: MUSICIAN REDEFINES LIFE OF A ROCK STAR". Greensboro News and Record. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  8. ^ Preston, Scott (2008-10-20). "Interview with Garry Peterson from The Guess Who". Cincy Groove. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  9. ^ "The Guess Who Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & Mo..." AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  10. ^ Axe - Randy Bachman | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 2024-07-27
  11. ^ "Roy Kenner Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More ..." AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  12. ^ Einarson, John. American Woman: The Story of The Guess Who; Quarry Press, Ontario, Canada, p. 191
  13. ^ Bachman-Turner Overdrive [1973] - Bachman-Turn... | AllMusic, retrieved 2024-07-27
  14. ^ a b c Heatleypublished, Michael (2016-12-17). "From rags to riches and back: The turbulent story of Bachman-Turner Overdrive". louder. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  15. ^ "'Best ever' Pan Am Games end". 2008-05-10. Archived from the original on 2008-05-10. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
  16. ^ "CBC News Indepth: SARS Benefit". 2009-07-27. Archived from the original on 2009-07-27. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
  17. ^ a b Millman, Ethan (2023-10-30). "'Fake Bullshit Shows': Guess Who Co-Founders Sue Ex-Bandmates". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  18. ^ "Guess Who". uspto.gov. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  19. ^ Millman, Ethan (2024-09-04). "The Guess Who End Decades-Long Legal Battle: 'An Impossible Task'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  20. ^ Guggenheimer, Paul (2022-11-04). "Garry Peterson playing Palace Theatre with The Guess Who". TribLIVE.com. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  21. ^ "JUNO Awards". 2010-12-31. Archived from the original on 2010-12-31. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  22. ^ "The Guess Who | Canada's Walk of Fame". 2008-12-14. Archived from the original on 2008-12-14. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  23. ^ "Award Recipients - Governor General's Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA)". ggpaa.ca. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
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