It was 1976 when former Guess Who lead singer and composer Burton Cummings released “Stand Tall”.
This is another one of those Seventies songs that I knew, and always instantly recognise, but I didn’t really connect the name of Burton Cummings with The Guess Who.
In fact I must confess that, while I knew the music, I probably wouldn’t have known the face at the time.
This is the original recording of “Stand Tall” from 1976, the year after he left The Guess Who:
And here’s a slightly more dynamic video of “Stand Tall” played by Burton Cummings on the piano in 1977:
Slightly spastic expression at the end… 😉
“I’m Scared” came out in 1977:
Here’s a Burton Cummings song from 1978 he performed in 2006, “Break It To Them Gently”:
I did actually find a (live) video of this track from 1978, but as he tells the story of the song and how he wrote it in this one I figured I’d share it with you.
Finally, here’s another recent rendering of a Seventies song by Burton Cummings, “Timeless Love” from 1977, played with his touring band The Carpet Frogs (and Guess Who colleague Randy Bachman) at a concert in the summer of 2009:
Timeless music.
Paul