Founding member of Guess Who and BTO

Unsung musician was ‘an inspiration,’ Cummings says

Celebrated musician Chad Allan, who carved a place in Canadian rock music history as co-founder of iconic bands The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, has died. He was 80.

Jamie Anstey, vice-president of Regenerator Records, which reissued several of his early albums and recordings, said Allan died Tuesday, but his family asked friends to delay announcing the news to give them time to grieve privately.

Allan had suffered several strokes since 2017 and had spent time in hospitals and a care home near his home in Burnaby, B.C.

“He was kind of a guy that never really made it in terms of fame and fortune, but he was certainly a pioneer and a founder of two huge Canadian groups, which I think is really special,” Anstey said in an interview Saturday.

Randy Bachman, a member of both bands, issued a Facebook post in which he said he was grateful to have known and worked with Allan. He described his former bandmate as “a quiet, gentle soul with a peaceful voice.”

Born Allan Kowbel on March 29, 1943, he adopted the stage name Chad Allan over frustrations with friends calling him “cowbell” and formed his first band while attending high school in Winnipeg.

The group’s moniker, Al and the Silvertones, was a nod to the Silvertone guitar. Allan was joined in the band by keyboardist Bob Ashley on piano, drummer Gary Peterson, bassist Jim Kale and Bachman on lead guitar.

The band went through several name changes, including Chad Allan and the Reflections and Chad Allan and the Expressions, before adopting The Guess Who.

Burton Cummings joined the group in1965, replacing Ashley. Allan left the band shortly thereafter over concerns that his exuberant live performances had blown out his voice.

“When We crossed over from Chad Allan & The Expressions to the Guess Who, we had a couple of months of overlap with him and Burton where the music and harmonies were amazing. He was the voice of ‘Shakin’ All Over’ as a cover hit in Canada, but he wasn’t made for life on the road and taught and sang locally instead,” Bachman said in his Facebook post.

Cummings, in his own Facebook post, called Allan “an inspiration to all of us in bands in Winnipeg.”

“I learned a lot from watching and listening to Chad. He was very talented and one of a kind. He will always be remembered,” Cummings wrote.

Allan’s career took a few unexpected turns in the years that followed his time in the Guess Who. He eventually reconnected with Bachman, who had freshly departed from the Guess Who. Together they formed rock outfit Brave Belt, which produced two albums in the early 1970s.

Brave Belt would eventually recruit Fred Turner as a touring bassist, and by the time their second album was in production he had assumed the role of lead singer. Allan left the project as it became Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

‘‘ I learned a lot from watching and listening to Chad. He was very talented and one of a kind. He will always be remembered.

BURTON CUMMINGS