The group’s hits included “Takin’ Care of Business” and “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”
Robbie Bachman, drummer and founding member of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, has passed away. The news was confirmed by his brother and bandmate, Randy Bachman, via Twitter. Robbie was 69.
“Another sad departure,” Randy Bachman stated. “The pounding beat behind BTO, my little brother Robbie has joined Mum, Dad & brother Gary on the other side. Maybe Jeff Beck needs a drummer! He was an integral cog in our rock ‘n’ roll machine and we rocked the world together.”
After releasing two albums together in the early Seventies, Randy and Robbie Bachman recruited their middle brother Tim Bachman to play rhythm guitar, and C. Fred Turner to play bass. Thus, Bachman-Turner Overdrive was born. The band released their self-titled debut and its follow-up, Bachman-Turner Overdrive II, in 1973. The latter peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and produced the hit “Takin’ Care of Business,” which would go on to become one of rock’s most enduring anthems.
In 1974, the band released arguably their best collective outing, Not Fragile. The album featured their other signature song, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.” The track topped the charts in the US, Canada, Germany, Denmark, New Zealand, and South Africa.
A string of solid albums throughout the rest of the decade brought the band to 1979 when they released the LP Rock n’ Roll Nights. The album did not include Randy Bachman. The group disbanded, but reunited in 1983. Their next and final studio album – 1984’s Bachman-Turner Overdrive – was recorded without Robbie Bachman on drums.