The Guess Who: It Took Me 50 Years to Realize Their Greatness

By Dom Nozzi

The Guess Who is a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, best known for its blues rock and psychedelic rock hits from 1968 to 1975.

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 changing their name to the Guess Who, they found their greatest success in the late 60s and early 70s, under the leadership of singer/keyboardist Burton Cummings and guitarist Randy Bachman, with hit songs including "American Woman", "These Eyes", "No Time" and many others.

During their most successful period, the Guess Who released eleven studio albums, all of which reached the charts in Canada and the United States. They may be best known for their 1970 album American Woman, which reached no. 1 in Canada and no. 9 in the United States, while five other albums reached the top ten in Canada. The Guess Who charted fourteen Top 40 singles in the United States and more than thirty in Canada.

I never thought much about the greatness of the Guess Who for most of my life. But in about 2020, I started noticing YouTube suggestions for me that featured Guess Who songs. It was only as a result of these suggestions that it eventually occurred to me -- 50 years after I first started hearing the band -- that they had performed an impressive number of superb songs. Here is my list of what I consider to be their best.

Shakin’ All Over (1965)

These Eyes (1968)

Undun (1969)

No Time (1969)

Laughing (1969)

American Woman (1970)

Share the Land (1970)

No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature (1970)

Hand Me Down World (1970)

Clap for the Wolfman (1974)