Talmage Charles Robert "Tal" Bachman ( ; born August 13, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1999 hit " She's So High", a

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

song from his self-titled 1999 album for which he won a

BMI award The BMI Film & TV Awards are accolades presented annually by Broadcast Music, Inc., honoring songwriters, composers, and music publishers in various genres. Based in the United States, the main pop music award was founded in 1952. The awards inclu ...

in 2000. Along with his father,

Randy Bachman Randolph Charles Bachman ( ; born September 27, 1943) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. He was the writer and singer of several hit rock songs, ...

, he is currently a member of

Bachman–Turner Overdrive Bachman–Turner Overdrive, often abbreviated BTO, is a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, founded by three brothers: Randy Bachman, Randy, Robbie Bachman, Robbie, and Tim Bachman; along with Fred Turner (musician), Fred Turner, in 19 ...

Biography

Early life

Bachman was born in Winnipeg, the son of

and the nephew of

Robbie Bachman Robin Peter Kendall Bachman (February 18, 1953 – January 12, 2023) was a Canadian drummer and the youngest brother of guitarist, singer and songwriter Randy Bachman. He was the original drummer for both the Brave Belt and Bachman–Turner Ov ...

of the classic rock bands

The Guess Who The Guess Who was a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1965. The band found their greatest success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, under the leadership of singer/keyboardist Burton Cummings and guitarist Randy Bachman, wit ...

and

. As a child, Bachman listened to his father's enormous record collection and taught himself to play guitar. He studied political philosophy at

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...

but dropped out and moved to Vancouver in 1995 to begin writing songs.

Musical career

After Bachman was rejected by many record labels, executives at

EMI Music Publishing EMI Music Publishing Ltd. is a British multinational music publishing company headquartered in London, owned by Sony Music Publishing. In May 2018, Sony Music Publishing agreed to increase its stake in EMI to 90%, pending regulatory approva ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

heard a demo tape of his ballad "If You Sleep" and offered him a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. His debut album, ''Tal Bachman'', was co-produced by

Bob Rock Robert Jens Rock (born April 19, 1954) is a Canadian record producer, recording engineer and musician. In 1976, Rock joined Little Mountain Sound Studios, starting out as a recording engineer and sound mixer. During his time there, he coll ...

and including the hit single, " She's So High", which was inspired by the song "

If It Makes You Happy "If It Makes You Happy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, released as the lead single from her 1996 Sheryl Crow (album), eponymous album in September 1996. The song peaked at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' ...

" by

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is noted for her Optimism, optimistic and Idealism, idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including Rock music, rock, Po ...

, using the same chords but a different key. The song reached No. 1 on three different radio formats in Canada and reached number 14 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

in August 1999. It won BMI's "Song of the Year" award. The album earned Bachman two

Juno award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

s in Canada. Bachman then toured as an

opening act An opening act, also known as a warm-up act, support act, supporting act or opener, is an entertainment act (musical, comedic, or otherwise), that performs at a concert before the featured act, or "headliner". Rarely, an opening act may perform ...

for

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

and the

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies (BNL) is a Canadian Rock music, rock band which was formed in 1988 in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their Barenaked Ladies (EP), self-titled 1991 cassette becoming th ...

, and also toured on his own. Bachman's second album, ''Staring Down the Sun'', was released in Canada on Sextant Records in August 2004 and was released in the United States by Artemis Records in 2006. The single "Aeroplane" reached number 20 on the Canadian charts and was used in the 2005 film, '' American Pie Presents: Band Camp''. It was played as an instrumental and during the credits. In 2005, Bachman was invited to be a musical ambassador for Canada in South Africa and Zimbabwe, receiving a C$16,500 grant to visit AIDS hospices and orphanages and community centres. In 2023, Bachman joined Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

Influences

Bachman cites the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1970 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. Their work bridged elements of '60s pop rock, guitar pop, '70s har ...

, and

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangement ...

as influences.

Personal life

Bachman is a former member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church), and went on a two-year Mormon mission to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. In the early 2000s, he began doubting his faith. After two years of research, Bachman concluded that the church's founder

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

had invented his stories, and Bachman severed his ties to the church. In 2006, Bachman was interviewed for '' The Mormons'', a

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

documentary in which he discussed his departure from the LDS Church. In 2008, Bachman also discussed his departure from the LDS Church when interviewed for the

Bill Maher William MaherStated on ''Finding Your Roots'', January 12, 2016, PBS; on a series that lists "Jr." and "Sr." distinctions, Bill Maher's birth name was listed simply as William Maher, while his father was William Aloysius Maher Jr., and his pa ...

documentary ''

Religulous ''Religulous'' () is a 2008 American documentary film written by and starring comedian Bill Maher and directed by Larry Charles. The title of the film is a portmanteau derived from the words ''religious'' and ''ridiculous''. The documentary exam ...

''. Bachman has written political articles in ''American Greatness'' and ''SteynOnline.'' Several of his articles discuss religion and rugby. Bachman plays right-wing and outside-centre for the

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

club Castaway Wanderers RFC.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Awards

Third Annual

Canadian Radio Music Awards The Canadian Radio Music Awards is an annual series of awards presented by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters that was part of Canadian Music Week The Departure Festival + Conference, formerly known as Canadian Music Week, is an industr ...

(2000) * Best New Solo Artist – Rock * Best New Solo Artist – Pop Adult * Best New Solo Artist – Contemporary Hit Radio 29th Annual Juno Awards (2000) * Best New Solo Artist (won) * Best Producer (with Bob Rock) for "She's So High" and "If You Sleep" (won) * Best Pop/Adult Album (nominated) * Best Songwriter (nominated)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bachman, Tal 1968 births Living people 20th-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian singers Canadian agnostics Canadian male guitarists Canadian male singers Canadian Mormon missionaries Canadian people of German descent Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Canadian rock guitarists Canadian rock singers Canadian male songwriters Columbia Records artists Former Latter Day Saints Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award winners Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year winners Mormon missionaries in Argentina Musicians from Winnipeg Castaway Wanderers RFC players Singers from Manitoba