Photo Credit: The JUNO Awards YouTube
Canadian drummer Robbie Bachman, a founding member of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, has died. He was 69.
His brother and bandmate Randy Bachman took to Twitter to make the announcement. “Another sad departure. The pounding beat of BTO, my little brother Robbie has joined Mum, Dad, & brother Gary on the other side,” Randy begins. “Maybe Jeff Beck needs a drummer! He was an integral cog in our rock ‘n’ roll machine and we rocked the world together.” No cause of death for Robbie Bachman was shared by his brother.
The Bachman brothers grew up in Winnepeg and played music throughout their childhood. Robbie and Randy first worked together in a group called Brave Belt, which Randy founded in the ’70s after leaving the Guess Who. The three Bachman brothers (Robbie, Randy, Tim) along with Fred Turner formed Bachman-Turner Overdrive in 1973. The band sold millions of records over the course of the next three years. “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” topped the charts, while the band’s other hits included “Takin’ Care of Business,” “Hey You,” and “Roll On Down the Highway.”
Randy Bachman left the group in the mid ’70s and gave the remaining members permission to call themselves BTO. As BTO, Robbie Bachman and others continued to tour and record throughout the ’70s until their popularity waned and they ultimately broke up in 1980.
Sporadic reunions throughout the following decades were followed by legal battles between Randy and Robbie over royalties and rights to the band’s name. Bachman-Turner Overdrive was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2014.
Bachman died on the same day as legendary guitarist Jeff Beck, who passed away from bacterial meningitis. Jeff Beck was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, once for his work with the Yardbirds and the following time for his solo work.