Blair Thornton | |
|---|---|
 Thornton in 1974 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | July 23, 1950 Vancouver, Canada |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist |
| Years active | 1970–present |
Blair Montgomery Thornton (born July 23, 1950) is a Canadian guitarist and songwriter most widely known for his work with the rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO). He also played in the band Crosstown Bus prior to joining BTO.
Thornton was a guitarist in later lineups of the Nelson, BC band Crosstown Bus. The band had released one album, High Grass, on MCA Records before Blair's arrival. [1]
Thornton joined BTO in early 1974 during the supporting tour for the Bachman-Turner Overdrive II album, replacing Tim Bachman shortly after that album was released. Thornton made his live debut with BTO at a March 1974 televised event for Don Kirshner's In Concert program hosted by Don E. Branker. [2]
Thornton's first album with BTO was the highly successful Not Fragile LP, released in the fall of 1974. Upon Thornton's arrival, BTO began incorporating "dual-lead" guitar solos into many new songs, with Thornton playing the lead guitar parts along with primary lead guitarist Randy Bachman. [3] Such solos were not a major feature on the band's first two albums. In interviews years later, Randy noted that Blair Thornton was a welcome addition:
He was known for playing in the Eric Clapton/Bluesbreakers style. [He] was more advanced on the guitar than my brother Tim, who was basically a rhythm player who left all the lead to me. Blair brought in a new style. We now had twin lead guitars, and that made my job a lot easier; it gave us more versatility. [4]
As a songwriter, Thornton contributed two compositions to the Not Fragile album: "Givin' It All Away" and an instrumental called "Freewheelin'" that also wound up as the B-side of the No. 1 hit "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet". He also co-wrote three songs for the follow-up 1975 album, Four Wheel Drive , including the title track (with Randy Bachman), [5] and co-wrote the Top 40 hit "Take It Like a Man" (with Fred Turner) for the late 1975 album Head On . Two other songs on Head On, "It's Over" and "Wild Spirit", also credit Thornton as a co-writer.
Following Randy Bachman's departure from the group in 1977, Thornton took over as primary lead guitarist on their next two albums: Street Action (1978) and Rock n' Roll Nights (1979), also contributing several compositions. Thornton rejoined the "classic" Not Fragile line-up (Randy Bachman, Robbie Bachman, and Fred Turner) in 1988 for a reunion tour. In 1991, Randy Bachman left the group again and this time was replaced by Vancouver guitarist-singer Randy Murray. This version of BTO proved to be the most enduring, as they toured together until the latter part of 2004.
In 2014, Thornton along with original band members Fred Turner, Robbie and Randy Bachman were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. [6] Thornton currently enjoys a quiet semi-retirement with his wife, Shane.
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Not Fragile |
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| Four Wheel Drive |
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| Head On |
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| Freeways |
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| Street Action |
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| Rock n' Roll Nights |
|
| Trial by Fire: Greatest & Latest |
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| B.T.O. Japan Tour Live |
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| Best of Bachman–Turner Overdrive Live |
|
| King Biscuit Flower Hour: Bachman–Turner Overdrive |
|
| Single | Year |
|---|---|
| "Gimme Your Money Please"/"Little Gandy Dancer" | 1973 |
| "Blue Collar" | |
| "Stayed Awake All Night" (UK-only release) | |
| "Down and Out Man" (Japan-only release) | |
| "Let It Ride" | 1974 |
| "Give It Time" (France-only release) | |
| "Takin' Care of Business" | |
| "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" | |
| "Not Fragile" (France-only release) | |
| "Roll On Down the Highway" | 1975 |
| "Hey You" | |
| "Quick Change Artist" (Canada-only release) | |
| "Down to the Line" | |
| "Take It Like a Man" | 1976 |
| "Away from Home" (UK-only release) | |
| "Lookin' Out for #1" | |
| "Gimme Your Money Please" (reissue) | |
| "My Wheels Won't Turn" | 1977 |
| "Life Still Goes On (I'm Lonely)" | |
| "Shotgun Rider" | |
| "Down, Down" (Germany-only release) | |
| "Down the Road" | 1978 |
| "Jamaica" | 1979 |
| "Heartaches" | |
| "Wooly Bully" | 1989 |
| "The House of the Rising Sun" (Europe-only release) | 1996 |
| Year | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Most Promising Group of the Year | Won |
| Contemporary Album of the Year | Won | |
| 1975 | Group of the Year | Won |
| Best Selling Album of the Year | Won | |
| 1976 | Group of the Year | Won |
| Best Selling Album of the Year | Won | |
| Best Selling Single of the Year | Won | |
| 1978 | Group of the Year | Nominated |
| 2014 | Canadian Music Hall of Fame Inductee |
Randolph Charles Bachman 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 number of short-lived bands such as Brave Belt, Union and Ironhorse. He was a national radio personality on CBC Radio, hosting the weekly music show, Vinyl Tap. Bachman was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016.
Bachman–Turner Overdrive, often abbreviated BTO, are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, founded by three brothers: Randy Bachman, Robbie Bachman and Tim Bachman; along with Fred Turner, in 1973. Their 1970s catalogue included seven top-40 albums and 11 top-40 singles in Canada. In Canada they have six certified platinum albums and one certified gold album; in the US they have five certified gold albums and one certified platinum album. The band has sold nearly 30 million albums worldwide and has fans affectionately known as "gearheads". Many of their songs, including "Let It Ride", "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet", "Takin' Care of Business", "Hey You" and "Roll on Down the Highway", still receive regular play on classic rock stations.
Brave Belt was a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba originally consisting of Randy Bachman (guitar/vocals), his former Guess Who bandmate, Chad Allan (vocals/keyboards), and Randy's brother Robbie (drums). Randy also provided bass tracks for the recording of the band's first album, Brave Belt. But C. F. "Fred" Turner was added shortly after as bassist for the supporting concerts.
"Takin' Care of Business" is a song written by Randy Bachman and first recorded by Canadian rock group Bachman–Turner Overdrive (BTO) for their 1973 album Bachman–Turner Overdrive II. The lead vocal is sung by Randy.
Not Fragile is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive (BTO), released in 1974. It proved to be the group's most popular studio album, and reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200.
Head On is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive, released in December 1975. On the original vinyl release, the outer album cover expanded into a 24x24 inch poster featuring all four members of the band at that time. It was re-released in 2003 on Repertoire Records in conjunction with Mercury Records. The re-release featured the bonus track "Down to the Line", which was released as a single in 1975 but not included on the vinyl nor the original Mercury CD release of Head On.
Freeways is the sixth studio album by Canadian rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive, released in 1977. It was the last album that Randy Bachman would be a part of with BTO until seven years later when a "reunion" Bachman-Turner Overdrive studio album was made and released in 1984. This is also the last studio album to be made with the band's classic and most successful Not Fragile line up. It was the first BTO studio album to become a commercial failure, featuring the first BTO single that did not chart. Randy Bachman wrote every song besides "Life Still Goes On", while only two of the album's eight songs featured Fred Turner as the lead vocalist.
Street Action is the seventh studio album by Canadian rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive (BTO), released in 1978. It was the first BTO album released after the 1977 departure of co-founder Randy Bachman. As part of an agreement upon leaving, Randy requested the rights to the full Bachman surname to use for his pending solo album, then sold the rights to "BTO" and its trademarks to the remaining three band members. Thus, the band was required to release its next two albums using only BTO as the band name, and not Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
Rock n' Roll Nights is the eighth studio album by Canadian rock band BTO, released in 1979. This record was one of three BTO albums that did not feature co-founder Randy Bachman. Rock n' Roll Nights is also one of the two albums from this band to feature Jim Clench, formerly of April Wine. This LP generated worldwide sales of only about 350,000 copies, though a single from the album called "Heartaches" managed to reach #60 on the U.S. charts and cracked the Top 40 in Canada. Rock n' Roll Nights is a rare find on CD, as it was released only for a short time on that format in 1990.
Bachman–Turner Overdrive is the ninth studio album by Canadian rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive, released in 1984. It is the last BTO studio album of original material to date and the only one without Robbie Bachman on drums. He disputed some of the agreements for the recording and reunion, including the choice of Tim Bachman instead of Blair Thornton, and declined to join. Garry Peterson, who was Randy Bachman's bandmate in The Guess Who, plays drums on the album. The album was originally released on Compleat Records, but it is currently in print under the Sun Record label. The leadoff song, "For the Weekend", was released as a single and also included an accompanying music video. Reaching #83 in the Billboard Hot 100, "For the Weekend" was the last BTO single to chart by any formation of the band.
Charles Frederick Turner is a Canadian rock bassist, vocalist and songwriter, and was a founding member of the 1970s rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive (B.T.O.). He is credited on most B.T.O. albums as "C.F. Turner".
Timothy Gregg Bachman was a Canadian guitarist and vocalist best known for his work with rock bands Brave Belt and Bachman–Turner Overdrive (BTO). Bachman was one of the four founding members of BTO, a group that have sold nearly 30 million albums worldwide and also featured his brothers Randy (guitar/vocals) and Robbie (drums), as well as Fred Turner (bass/vocals).
Robin Peter Kendall Bachman was a Canadian drummer and the youngest brother of guitarist, singer and songwriter Randy Bachman. He was the original drummer for both the Brave Belt and Bachman–Turner Overdrive bands. He was most often credited as "Robbie" or "Rob" on the liner notes of Brave Belt and BTO albums.
Charles Randall "Randy" Murray is a Canadian rock guitarist and vocalist, and was a long-serving member of Bachman–Turner Overdrive. From 1989 to 1992 he taught music, did custom recordings and held a radio talk show in Prince George, British Columbia. From the late 1970s to 1989, Murray was a fixture on the B.C./Alberta music scene. He was a member of the BTO line-up that was fronted by Tim Bachman while there were two versions of the group in the late 1980s, and again from 1991 until 2005, making this line-up the longest enduring of all the various Bachman-Turner Overdrive, B.T.O. and BTO incarnations. He began full time work as the Communications and Development Associate at the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster’s Cathedral Church in Vancouver, January 2006 and was subsequently appointed Communications Officer for the Anglican diocese July 15, 2009, retiring December 15, 2023. Murray continued performing around his hometown of Vancouver sporadically but retired from public performance in 2017.
Four Wheel Drive is the fourth studio album by Canadian rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive, released in 1975. It peaked at No. 1 in Canada on the RPM national albums chart on October 4 and again on October 18, 1975 while hitting No. 5 on the U.S. Pop Albums chart. The most popular single from the album, "Hey You," was written by Randy Bachman. It reached No. 1 in Canada, holding the top position on the RPM national singles chart for two weeks in June, 1975, and No. 21 on the U.S. charts. Some reviews stated the song was directed at Bachman's former Guess Who bandmate, Burton Cummings. "Quick Change Artist" was released as a single in Canada only, and reached No. 13 on the RPM chart.
Best of Bachman–Turner Overdrive Live is an album of concert material from a 1985 Bachman–Turner Overdrive performance in Tallahassee, Florida. The album was released on Curb Records in 1994, and should not be confused with All Time Greatest Hits Live, which was a 1990 re-release of the 1986 album Live Live Live, featuring other material sourced from the same concerts.
Best of B.T.O. is a compilation album by Bachman–Turner Overdrive that contains material from their first five studio albums. "Gimme Your Money Please," a cut from the band's 1973 debut album, was released as a single in 1976 to support this greatest hits package.
The Anthology is a 2-disc set that contains previously released and unreleased material of Bachman–Turner Overdrive studio and live recordings. In addition, the first two songs on Disc One are from BTO's precursor group, Brave Belt.
Bachman–Turner Overdrive Gold is a compilation album by Bachman–Turner Overdrive. It was released in 2005 by Mercury Records.
Bachman & Turner was a musical project formed by Randy Bachman and Fred Turner, which followed the dissolution of Bachman–Turner Overdrive.
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