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FROM ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE:​

The Battle Over Classic Rock Band the Guess Who Just Went Nuclear​

“I'm going to lose some money, but the name is worthless without those songs,” Burton Cummings says as he gives up some royalties to prevent band from playing
BY ETHAN MILLMAN





APRIL 11, 2024
the-guess-who-lawsuit

The classic era Guess Who lineup of Burton Cummings, bassist Jim Kale, guitarist Randy Bachman, and drummer Garry Peterson in 1966. MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES
FOR THE PAST six months, Burton Cummings, founding singer and songwriter of classic rock group the Guess Who, has been in a bitter legal dispute to wrest control of his old band’s legacy. Now he’s adopting an aggressive and relatively unheard of approach to make that happen: giving up on certain royalties so the band can’t play his songs.
As Rolling Stone previously reported, Cummings and original Guess Who guitarist Randy Bachman sued the current iteration of the Guess Who (as well as the band’s original drummer and bass player Garry Peterson and Jim Kale) last October, alleging that the group that currently holds the Guess Who trademark is “a cover band” using the original group’s recording in ads “in an effort to boost the Cover Band’s ticket sales for live performances and to give the false impression that Plaintiffs are performing.”
That case is still ongoing, and a federal judge denied the band’s motion to dismiss the founders’ suit earlier this week. But as the suit continues, Cummings has taken a nuclear action, terminating the performing rights agreements for all the Guess Who songs he wrote, removing the copyright protections that allow the band (or anyone else) to perform hits like “American Woman,” “These Eyes,” and “No Time” at a concert. In effect, he shot himself in the foot to try to shoot the band in the face.


“I’m willing to do anything to stop the fake band; they’re taking [Bachman and my] life story and pretending it’s theirs,” Cummings tells Rolling Stone. “They’re not the people who made these records, and they shouldn’t act like they did. This doesn’t stop this cover band from playing their shows, it just stops them from playing the songs I wrote. If the songs are performed by the fake Guess Who, they will be sued for every occurrence.”
Cummings’ strategy is both very aggressive and particularly rare. Two music attorneys with no affiliation to the case tell Rolling Stone they’d never seen such a strategy before. Cummings’ attorney Helen Yu spent several months working to get the license properly terminated. She adds that part of why it’s so unheard of for artists to consider such a strategy is that often, writers don’t own the publishing, which is required to pull both ends of the license.

“Not a lot of artists are both the writer and the publisher on their songs, and Burton Cummings fortunately is, so this is a very rare case where the artist can take this action,” Yu says. “And I think this situation shows the direct nexus between their false advertising and who they say they are.”
The move is focused on agreements set through groups called performing rights organizations (PROs). The termination targets all the venues the band would play. Almost every concert venue in the country has blanket agreements with various PROs such as BMI and ASCAP, who collect royalties on behalf of songwriters for the public performances of their works. If a venue has licensing agreements in place, the venues’ artists are free to cover any song from the PROs’ repertory.
But when Cummings and his publishing company Shillelagh Music terminated their performance agreement with their PRO, they removed the venues’ permission to house any performances of the songs Cummings wrote. Cummings’ counsel sent a note to the band’s lawyers earlier this week explaining that as of April 1, “none of the venues in which The Cover Band is currently scheduled to Perform possess the requisite license needed to publicly perform” Cummings’ songs, and that “Should the individual members of the Cover Band publicly perform any of Shillelagh Music’s Compositions, Shillelagh Music intends to institute legal action to protect its copyright interests.”


The strategy, to the group’s chagrin, seems to be working, at least for now. Two shows were canceled over the weekend, with the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in Cyprus Lake, Florida, announcing that the show was canceled “due to an unforeseen issue with the music licensing.” The Sunrise Theatre in Fort Pierce, Florida, similarly made a last-minute cancellation Wednesday night, also citing the licensing dispute.

By Thursday morning, the Florida Theatre in Jacksonville, the Saenger Theatre in Mobile, Alabama, and the Peabody Auditorium in Daytona Beach, Florida — who would’ve hosted the Guess Who’s next three shows — announced cancellations as well. Tickets for shows beyond those dates remain on sale as of this article’s publication.
An attorney for the Guess Who didn’t respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment regarding the shows. In December, the band took to social media calling Cummings’ and Bachman’s suit “meritless.” In a memorandum, the band argued that “there is no dispute that Defendants lawfully own ‘The Guess Who’ trademark,” and that Consumers who see an ad for a concert by the Guess Who would not reasonably assume that Bachman and Cummings are performing merely because they were in the band many years ago.”
Assuming the group does play the classic-era songs at their upcoming shows, both the band and the venue they played at could be on the hook for legal recourse, Cummings and his team tell Rolling Stone.
But like most nuclear options, Cummings’ strategy doesn’t come without the risk of some mutually assured destruction. While terminating the rights complicates the current Guess Who’s performances, it may also significantly hit Cummings’ own earnings. Aside from working with concert venues, PROs also collect royalties from when songs are played on the radio, on TV shows, or even when they’re played in the background at restaurants or shopping malls. With the license terminated, Cummings will likely lose out on seeing those royalty payments. And that’s not just on the versions he recorded, but on covers such as Lenny Kravitz’s Grammy-winning “American Woman” cover.
But Cummings is hoping that what may amount to a flesh wound for him would be a mortal injury for the group he says is tarnishing his legacy. “Yes, I’m going to lose some money, but we’re going to find out what’s worth what. I will not have this fake band going on any longer,” Cummings says. “I’m going to lose some money, but … the name is worthless without those songs. So what are they going to do? ‘Hey, the Guess Who Is playing but we can’t do “Share The Land” or “American Woman,” we can’t do “These Eyes.”’ Nobody’s gonna be there.”


The termination is the latest development in a decadeslong dispute that bubbled over with last year’s lawsuit. The fight began when the band’s original bassist, Jim Kale, obtained the trademark to the Guess Who name in 1986, as the band hadn’t secured the trademark before then. From then on, Kale had organized several tours using the Guess Who name featuring a heavily rotating lineup.
By the late 1980s, the Guess Who’s original drummer, Garry Peterson, joined the band as well. Kale retired in 2016, leaving Peterson as the only original member left. But he doesn’t play every show, Bachman and Cummings alleged, meaning some shows feature no original members of their band.
Since Cummings filed the suit, he says that the band had removed his access to the Guess Who’s Spotify for Artists page. (When the suit filed last fall, the band’s Spotify page showed a picture of the current Guess Who lineup, but as of publication, it’s now a picture of the old band.)
Cummings also tells Rolling Stone that within the past month, the band’s lawyers said they’d “sue me if I ever even say I was ever in the Guess Who.” “You know how ridiculous this is? What next, can I not say I was born and raised in Winnipeg? That I’m Canadian?”
Cummings didn’t specify how much he expects to lose by foregoing the performance royalties, nor did he say how much of a loss he’s willing to take. But he seems willing to ride it out for the foreseeable future to try and force the band to stop.

“How much is my life’s work worth? You can’t put it in dollars and cents,” he says. “It’s wrong what they’ve done and for years, nobody did anything about it. But we’re doing something now, and this may set some precedents because there are other acts out there that aren’t real either.
“This is about way more than just money, I wouldn’t have pulled the catalog if it wasn’t,” Cummings adds. “This is about the legacy of the songs and the fact that the cover band is doing anything they can to erase me and Bachman from the history of the group. I see advertisements for their shows, and it’s me singing ‘American Woman.’ What they’re doing is fraud because they’re using real songs from the real guys to push their fake band. I’m protecting the name of The Guess Who, I’m trying to protect what we did.”
 
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Cummings made most of his money a long time ago when vinyl was king and the original band was on tour and on TV. And he’ll make money again when he sells the catalog(after all, that is what they do these days, isn’t it?). But I am impressed by his taking a stand.
 
I caught the Randy Bachman Burton Cumming tour when they came through Portland several years ago at the Starry Night theater,we got to hear some great songs from both of them.What made it really special for me was Joe Cocker was their opener and it wasn't long after that he died.
 
I wasn’t t a fan of the band in any era, but they came to our area pre-pandemic when Rudy Sarzo was in the band and it was enjoyable enough. (I was a Sarzo fan from his original Quiet Riot days.)

We don’t get a lot of bands here, so even a “cover band” is worth a night out every now-and-again.

I didn’t think of them any further until last year when I read an article with them talking about their new album, Plein D’Amour. They were saying how all the band members are good singers and it was a very vocal-focused album compared to the one before it. (Or something like that... I’m greatly paraphrasing.)

So I figured, why not... give it a listen on streaming. And I loved it! One of my favorite albums of 2023 which I then bought on CD.

Is it a great “Guess Who” album? Don’t know as I haven’t listened to anything but the hits, but it’s a shame this album will be seen as a fake Guess Who album when, taking away the band name, it’s just a really solid album in my opinion.

While not invested in the argument that’s going on with the former/current members, I have this same issue with the current Little River Band.
 
I wasn’t t a fan of the band in any era, but they came to our area pre-pandemic when Rudy Sarzo was in the band and it was enjoyable enough. (I was a Sarzo fan from his original Quiet Riot days.)

We don’t get a lot of bands here, so even a “cover band” is worth a night out every now-and-again.

I didn’t think of them any further until last year when I read an article with them talking about their new album, Plein D’Amour. They were saying how all the band members are good singers and it was a very vocal-focused album compared to the one before it. (Or something like that... I’m greatly paraphrasing.)

So I figured, why not... give it a listen on streaming. And I loved it! One of my favorite albums of 2023 which I then bought on CD.

Is it a great “Guess Who” album? Don’t know as I haven’t listened to anything but the hits, but it’s a shame this album will be seen as a fake Guess Who album when, taking away the band name, it’s just a really solid album in my opinion.

While not invested in the argument that’s going on with the former/current members, I have this same issue with the current Little River Band.
It’s a nuanced discussion, to be sure. Think of the Doors getting back together after the death of Jim Morrison. Can it really be a Doors experience without Morrison? Think about the Byrds with only Roger McGuinn in the band. Roger’s voice and 12 string is inarguably one of the central facets that made for the Byrds sound. Steely Dan with only Becker and Fagen? Few would argue there. The New Cars with Todd Rundgren but without Ric Ocasek? That one flamed out quickly. Yes with Howe, Squire and White performing with a Jon Anderson sound alike? No one would call that a Yes cover band. Yes with only Howe? 🤔 I could name many classic rock acts containing only one or two original members. The Beach Boys vs Mike Love’s Beach Boys? Neither touring group contains a Wilson brother.

I have no issue with the 2023 iteration of the Guess Who putting out what you describe as a great album (I’ve never heard it and so I have no opinion to offer). It does, however, sound like they have the talent and material to go out on their own with a new name.
 
I have little desire to see any band using a classic band’s name that has no true original members. At the top of the list is Lynyrd Skynyrd. Sorry Ricky Medlock but you weren’t a member on any of the Skynyrd albums from “Pronounced “ to “Street Survivors” so you are a cover band.
It’s time for so many of the classic rock bands of the 50s, 60’s and 70s bands to be over. They are nothing but cover bands with the rights to the name. People who want to see such bands will still go to see them if the use a derivative name like many of the Pink Floyd cover bands.

Using the original name when there are no original members is fraudulent as far as I am concerned and I have no interest in seeing them on general principles. I would be more likely to see a band that acknowledges they are a cover band.
 
I have little desire to see any band using a classic band’s name that has no true original members. At the top of the list is Lynyrd Skynyrd. Sorry Ricky Medlock but you weren’t a member on any of the Skynyrd albums from “Pronounced “ to “Street Survivors” so you are a cover band.
It’s time for so many of the classic rock bands of the 50s, 60’s and 70s bands to be over. They are nothing but cover bands with the rights to the name. People who want to see such bands will still go to see them if the use a derivative name like many of the Pink Floyd cover bands.

Using the original name when there are no original members is fraudulent as far as I am concerned and I have no interest in seeing them on general principles. I would be more likely to see a band that acknowledges they are a cover band.
I’ll throw another situation at you. What if there are no original members but there is at least one member of the “classic lineup”? (Think Steve Howe, for example)
 
How is this "fake band" any different than the final version of the Guess Who (with Burton Cummings) when compared with the original version lead by Chad Allen. Both featured very few original members. The group had evolved, most of the members had been replaced. While I do tend to think that Garry Peterson is beating a dead horse by perpetuating the Guess Who name, if he has the rights to the name why not use it? It is only a fraud if they are billing themselves as the original group.

Just Look at this list of members/former members (from Discogs) of "The Guess Who".
Bill Wallace (2), Bob Ashley, Bobby Bilan, Brent DeJarlais, Brian Sellar, Bruce Decker (2), Burton Cummings, Carl Dixon, Chad Allan, Charlie Cooley, Dale Russell, David Inglis, Derek Sharp, Domenic Troiano, Don McDougall, Garry Peterson, Greg Leskiw, Greg Smith (6), Jim Kale, Ken Currie, Ken Sinnaeve, Kevin Breit, Kurt Winter, Leonard Shaw, Michael Devin (2), Michael Staertow, Mike Hanford, Mike McKenna, Ralph Watts, Randy Bachman, Rudy Sarzo, Sonnie Bernardi, Teddy Andreadis, Terry Hatty, Terry Read, Tom Whinnery, Trevor Balicky, Vance Schmidt, Will Evankovich

Call yourself Gary Peterson & the Guess Who to help clarify just who you really are.

This reminds me of the furor over the "fake" Deep Purple, when the original singer "Rod Evans" fronted a cover band. Personally I think that Evans was the best of the Deep Purple frontmen and I would have loved to see that cover band play.

John Kay and Steppenwolf once played in our town! By that time John was the only original member of Steppenwolf. The new band did have some legitimacy as they did record a couple of albums together. John Kay fronting a "cover band" I still loved it!

As I recall there was an outcry when Joe Walsh left the James Gang. Some die hard fans didn't like Roy Kenner and Domenic Troiano (also of the Guess Who) taking his place even though the new band was almost as good. The band changed personel many times after that as well.
 
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It's a shame that so many of these guys are so bitter about things. Growing up in Detroit across the river from Windsor Ontario I heard The Guess Who on the radio a lot. And I saw The Guess Who at least three times in the 70s, but with Kurt Winter after Randy Bachman left the band.

Fast forward to the late 90s and I'm living in Denver. I see The Guess Who is playing for free at a Labor Day festival downtown and I go down there only to realize Kale and Peterson are the only two "original" members. It sure wasn't Burton Cummings singing, but if you didn't know or were only a casual fan I thought they passed pretty well.

Then in the early 2000s I got to see pretty much the "original" band with Bachman and Cummings at Red Rocks on their Reunion Tour. That show was fantastic. A whole other level. I've since seen Cummings playing solo a couple of times and what can I say, I am a big fan. But he always manages to gripe about the "imposters" claiming to be The Guess Who stealing his reputation and I guess his lunch money. Even though he was apparently getting paid royalties every time they took the stage.

I saw and met Mitch Ryder once and he was obviously really stirred up about being abused in the past as well. But neither one of those guys has nearly the cause to bitch as many of the artists who preceded them in my opinion. A lot of those blues and R&B guys got flat-out robbed of any real earnings.

So yeah, Cummings either took a principled stand that will actually cost him money, or he's cutting off his nose to spite his face. I guess that's up to him to decide.
 
I’ll throw another situation at you. What if there are no original members but there is at least one member of the “classic lineup”? (Think Steve Howe, for example)
When Howe quits, it's over. They can rename themselves "Yes-terday".
I realize there are a lot of gray areas, but most can make the distinction.
 
A few months back I saw Jon Anderson perform with a Yes cover band called The Band Geeks. I think it was billed as "Jon Anderson and the Band Geeks play the Epics and Classics of Yes". It was a very good show. They never tried to bill themselves as Yes. I see nothing wrong with it.
 
Can it really be a Doors experience without Morrison?
Completely see what you’re saying in this case and the others.

But that was the joy for me in this situation... I wasn’t looking for a GW experience, I was looking for an enjoyable live music experience with some talented musicians.

The reality was that the crowd was mostly older people who were out for a night of gambling (it was at a casino), some food, some music and more-than-some drinking.

Being older and drinking, it required multiple trips to the restroom for a number of them so you had people wandering in and out the whole show. For them, it made no difference who was or wasn’t in the band. It was simply a night out. In some cases, I’m not even sure it mattered who the band was in the first place.

It does, however, sound like they have the talent and material to go out on their own with a new name.

The sad part is, who would book them without the name or give them much press attention? Even with the name I wonder how many albums they sold of the new one or how many were/are even aware of it.

Of course now they’re getting plenty of attention because of Burton... and having to cancel shows. It’ll be interesting to see where this current lineup goes from here.

If they’re feeling a bit cheeky, maybe they’ll change the name to:

The Guess Who Got Legally Whacked And Smacked by Burton Cummings.
 
Some months ago I saw Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. A killer backup band and a great show. Interestingly enough, it was also at a casino. A goodly percentage of the audience were sporting Led Zeppelin tee shirts and were there just to see Plant, I figure. He didn't disappoint, as they included a small handful of LZ tunes in the set.
 
For me, but perhaps not for you:

You can get away with calling your band Chicago if you’ve got Robert Lamm or Terry Kath or Pete Cetera and the original horn section.

You can call yourself The Grass Roots if you have Rob Grill or Warren Entner.

You can call yourself The Guess Who if you’ve got Cummings or Bachman or Kurt Winter.

You can call me Ray; or you can call me Jay; but you don’t have to call me Johnson.

 
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