Randy Bachman's Vinyl Tap Stories - Hardcover

"Rock 'n' roll is a crowd thing, and Bachman is all for sharing and broadening the experience."
- "The Globe and Mail

""Bachman, the founder and main songwriter of two wildly successful rock groups--the Guess Who in the 1960s ("American Woman") and Bachman-Turner Overdrive in the '70s ("Takin' Care of Business")--who has played with everyone from fellow Canadian Neil Young to ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, has great stories to tell in this memoir. The strength of this entertaining book is that it isn't really a typical rock autobiography--it expands on the weekly Sirius XM radio broadcast Randy Bachman's Vinyl Tap, in which Bachman plays music and tells tales based on his own songs or different themes like "Randy's 25 Favorite Vehicle Songs." So, instead of a drawn-out history of the well-known tension between Bachman and Guess Who cofounder Burton Cummings, the reader gets a wry, funny, and well-written story about how "No Sugar Tonight" got its title from his diminutive girlfriend yelling at her hulking biker boyfriend. And in explaining the recording of "Takin' Care of Business," which became "BTO's signature song," Bachmann gets straight to the good part: how a Fidel Castro look-alike pizza delivery man shows up at the wrong studio, offers to add a piano track that gives the song a classic hook, and turns out to be a classically trained pianist delivering pizzas between gigs."
- "Publishers Weekly
"

"[A] fruitful collection of anecdotes and behind-the-song illuminations.... The charisma of Bachman's book isn't in the details--though there's plenty of that--it's in his joy of the telling." - The Globe and Mail
"A brisk and engaging read.... Part of Vinyl Tap's appeal (both the book and the radio show) is his ability to provide an insider's view of the musician's life. You feel like you're hanging out with Bachman backstage or on a tour bus." - Times-Colonist
"So clear-sighted, so packed with detail and so fresh, even wide-eyed in tone." - Winnipeg Free Press
"[Bachman] is either friends, enemies, or former touring partners with pretty much anybody who ever made a record, in history, ever." - Georgia Straight

[A] fruitful collection of anecdotes and behind-the-song illuminations . The charisma of Bachman s book isn t in the details though there s plenty of that it s in his joy of the telling. - The Globe and Mail
A brisk and engaging read . Part of Vinyl Tap's appeal (both the book and the radio show) is his ability to provide an insider s view of the musician's life. You feel like you're hanging out with Bachman backstage or on a tour bus. - Times-Colonist
So clear-sighted, so packed with detail and so fresh, even wide-eyed in tone. - Winnipeg Free Press
[Bachman] is either friends, enemies, or former touring partners with pretty much anybody who ever made a record, in history, ever. - Georgia Straight"

 

Randy Bachman has been rolling out chart-topping songs his whole life—“ You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet,” “ These Eyes,” “ American Woman,” “ Taking Care of Business” —and, since 2005, treating fans to a lifetime of stories on his hit CBC Radio show Randy’s Vinyl Tap .

His approach is always fresh—even the most hardcore music fans will be surprised by what they can learn from Randy. Writing music and lyrics, performing live and recording #1 songs, producing new music, organizing reunion tours—Randy has done it all. Music is his life, and his anecdotes put you at the centre of it all.

These are his best stories. Even with all his success Randy is “still that kid from Winnipeg,” and his enthusiasm for great music is as strong as ever. Hear how after years of dreaming Randy finally got to see his musical heroes, The Shadows, play live, and then got to record a Shadows tribute song with longtime friend Neil Young. Encounters with celebrities and rock legends abound, but it is the music that is the driving force behind his extraordinary career, and what brings us back for more stories from Randy’s Vinyl Tap.