The Guess Who

The Guess Who is a Winnipeg rock music band that was one of the first to establish a major successful following in their own country as well as abroad in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were the first Canadian rock group to have a No.1 hit in the United States.

The Guess Who started out as a local Winnipeg band in 1962 called Chad Allan and the Reflections (later changed to Chad Allan and the Expressions). Each of the members of the band were born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Burton Cummings replaced Chad Allan as singer and keyboarder, and leader of the band in 1965. The band signed with Quality Records, and had first hit with “Shakin’ All Over", which reached #1 in Canada and #22 in the U.S. Strangely the name The Guess Who came when on the album for the record “Shakin’ All Over”, when radio stations refused to play their music because they were Canadian. The record company then pulled a stunt, putting a plain white cover with the words “Guess Who?” on it, trying to capitalize on curiosity. The plan worked and the album sold over 2 million copies, and after that the group got its name, The Guess Who. As the group's lineup changed, so did their sound. 1969's "These Eyes" was the group's first Top Ten hit under new group leader Burton Cummings and their new label RCA Records. By the beginning of the 1970s, the group moved towards an edgier hard-rock sound with the album American Woman, whose title track, "American Woman" was their only #1 hit in the U.S., and the Top Ten hit "No Time".