Come next May 26 in Moncton, N.B., Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman will kick off a national tour under the name The Guess Who. The last time they played a show like this was July 30, 2003 for SARSfest in Toronto. Why so long? Because each of them left The Guess Who before it was done.
Randy exited in 1970 and Burton in 1975, and the group carried on with bass player Jim Kale and drummer Garry Peterson. It was Kale who realized that there was no clear ownership of the name "The Guess Who," so he filed for its trademark in the U.S. in 1986 without telling Burton or Randy. The group continued without its two main players and songwriters.
And it got weirder. Kale stopped appearing with The Guess Who in 2016 and Peterson was semi-retired, appearing with the band only once in a while. Fans turning up to see the band saw and heard a performance from musicians who had no connection to the original group. The name was the same. The songs were the same. The members of the band were not. Story continues below advertisement In 2023, both Cummings and Bachman sued to get the name back, saying that this version of The Guess Who was "nothing more than a cover band," and did nothing to disabuse audiences of the fact that Cummings and Bachman were no longer with the group. Kale and Peterson fought back, arguing a form of "you snooze, you lose," saying that the statute of limitations on trademark disputes had long passed.
The good news is that everything was settled in September 2024. The trademark is now owned jointly by Cummings and Bachman, enabling them to embark on this 2026 tour officially as The Guess Who. More on Entertainment More videos Jelly Roll reveals new look after shaving beard for 1st time in 10 years Trump calls Jimmy Kimmel a 'bum' after host's Epstein files monologue Dolly Parton shares 'health challenges' after missing Dollywood event Country music star plans petition calling for ban on Alberta coal mining Saturday Sips: The perfect cup of tea and food pairing Gardening Tips: Holiday decor ideas for your front door Kelowna girls part of historic Vancouver hockey launch Minute at the Movies: Nov. 21, 2025 This is an example of the "band vs. brand" debate that's only getting louder, something that I first starting writing about in 2022. How many original members does a band need in order for it to legitimately market itself as that group? Two? One? None? Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. Musical nostalgia continues to be a major moneymaker, and artists are still touring into their 70s and even 80s. However, members of those acts are being claimed by the calamities of old age, if not the Grim Reaper.
The Rolling Stones will continue to be The Rolling Stones as long as Mick and Keef are there. Fleetwood Mac without Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham? That's cutting it close. ZZ Top with just Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard? They've been able to pull it off. Story continues below advertisement And I have no doubt that Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson will be just fine as a reunited Rush, although it will be tough for many fans to see the band onstage without Neil Peart. Was it tough watching The Who with just Pete and Roger? For me it was.
There are dozens of bands with only one original member remaining: Bush (frontman and leader Gavin Rossdale), Danzig (Glenn Danzig), Everclear (Art Alexakis), Jethro Tull (Ian Anderson), Megadeth (Dave Mustaine), Ministry (Al Jourgensen), Queens of the Stone Age (Josh Homme), Soul Asylum (Dave Pirner), The Cure (Robert Smith), The Beach Boys (Mike Love), Boston (Tom Scholz), Emerson Lake and Palmer (drummer Carl Palmer), and Deep Purple (drummer Ian Paice) are just a few examples.
Then we have what can charitably be called "successor bands." Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley have said many times that the KISS experience is so big that it doesn't matter who's onstage in the costumes. There's a version of The Allman Brothers band that's still playing gigs but doesn't include a single member of the original group formed by Duane and Gregg back in 1969. This current iteration is being promoted an entity that's keeping the spirit of the Allman Brothers alive, something that has the full endorsement of the Allman families. Trending Now 'Lost Canadians' legislation is now law, aims to fix citizenship rule Carney says U.S. peace plan for Ukraine needs 'more work'; expert calls it a 'disaster' Next will bring a double-headliner road trip featuring Foreigner and Lynyrd Skynyrd, two bands that have been inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Double Trouble Double Vision tour will feature some version of Foreigner that might not include guitarist Mick Jones, the last remaining original member. He hasn't toured with the group sinc