Garry Peterson

Garry Denis Peterson (born May 26, 1945) is a Canadian-American drummer. Peterson was originally a "child prodigy" drummer, backing many popular acts in the 1950s, but is best remembered as an original member of The Guess Who. He served as the band's drummer from 1962 to 1975.

He later joined Bachman–Turner Overdrive until he was fired a few years later. He joined an unauthorized Guess Who band put together by original bassist Jim Kale. Peterson and Kale toured under the Guess Who name for over 40 years, until stopped in 2004 by lawsuits from Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman.

Career

Early career: 1949–1958

He was born in Winnipeg, and his father, Ferdie Peterson (who was also a drummer) got him to start playing the drums at age two, and professionally when he was four years old. In 1950, when he was five, he played drums for Peggy Lee at the Chicago Theatre. At nine years old, he joined the American Federation of Musicians. Garry was a child prodigy drummer, and backed Lionel Hampton, The Four Lands, Ames Brothers, and The Andrews Sisters. His influences are Ringo Starr, David Garibaldi, Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa. He is also inspired by jazz and classical music, and played in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for one season.

The Guess Who: 1958–1975

Peterson met Randy Bachman in junior high school, where they were both on their baseball team. They, with another friend, formed the band The Embers in 1958. Garry and Randy Bachman from the band The Embers met Chad Allan, Bob Ashley, and Jim Kale from Al & The Silvertones who were the band's "biggest rivals", and became Chad Allan and the Reflections. Early photos of the band sometimes show Peterson playing the saxophone.

They later changed to The Guess Who and added Burton Cummings as their keyboardist and lead singer. The Guess Who charted fourteen Top 40 singles in the United States and more than thirty in Canada. These songs include “American Woman”, “These Eyes”, “ Laughing”, “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature”, and “ No Time”.

Peterson, Cummings and Bill Wallace all played on Rick Neufeld's 1974 album ''Prairie Dog''. Peterson and Cummings toured in the original Guess Who band until 1975.

Post–Guess Who: 1975–1982

When The Guess Who stopped in 1975, and Garry formed an unsuccessful band with Mandala lead singer Roy Kenner called Delphia. He then stepped away from music for a few years, working jobs including as a night clerk in his Father in law's hotel and as an insurance salesman.

From 1979 to 1983, Peterson played in Burton Cummings' backing band for his solo performances. Between 1981–1982, he played drums on albums for Richard Stepp, Herman van Veen, and Nancy Nash.

Bachman–Turner Overdrive: 1983–1986

He backed Burton Cummings for a while, until 1983, when he decided to leave Cummings to join Randy Bachman in Bachman–Turner Overdrive. Peterson plays on their 1984 ''Bachman–Turner Overdrive'' album. Although he was not a member at the time, Garry played percussion, drums and backing vocals on BTO's first album, also called ''Bachman–Turner Overdrive'' from 1973, and also performed congas, drums and other percussive instrument on Randy Bachman's solo album ''Axe'' in 1970.

Garry was kicked off of the band's tour after breaking his ankle in an Ice hockey accident. Garry had received a phone call from Tim Bachman saying that the band “no longer required” him. Peterson’s booting from BTO was an especially dark time for him, as he sold his home and art collections to pay for taxes since he was receiving no income, and Burton Cummings never forgave him for ditching him to go with Bachman.

Unauthorized Guess Who band: 1987–2024

A year after leaving Bachman–Turner Overdrive, he joined a separate unauthorized band formed by Jim Kale calling themselves The Guess Who. Since then, he had toured with Kale, but was the sole original member in the group from Kale retiring in 2016 until the "fake" Guess Who ended in September 2024. The last time all four original Guess Who members performed together at the closing ceremonies of the Pan American Games at Winnipeg Stadium on August 8, 1999. A 2003 performance at the Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto SARS benefit concert with a capacity of 450,000 is now recognised at the largest outdoor ticketed event in Canadian history.

From 2023 onward, Bachman and Burton Cummings had been getting into legal battles with the new Guess Who featuring Garry Peterson. These battles include a Cease and desist and accusations of false advertising. As a result of a court agreement, Peterson’s Guess Who could not perform songs written or co-written by Cummings or Bachman.

Garry was the only original Guess Who member touring with the new version currently from 2016, but in recent years was on occasion absent from concerts because of health reasons, causing those gigs to contain no original members on stage, with the oldest serving member in the band on stage only dating back to 2008. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records show that since 2006, Peterson and Kale co-owned the rights to the "Guess Who" name only during live performances and not for studio releases; despite this, the group had released a few studio albums.

The group had cancelled all tour dates and shut down their website in April 2024. Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman won the long running Guess Who lawsuit in September 2024, ended Garry's Guess Who group.

Personal life

Born in Canada, Garry now lives in the United States, Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife Kimberly Ann Peterson. He and Kimberly met at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex when Bachman-Turner Overdrive were playing there. Peterson has dual citizenship of Canada and the United States. He has leg problems, and sometimes uses a wheelchair or a mobility scooter when having to walk long distances.

Awards

Garry has received many honors as a part of the Guess Who. These include, an induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (1987), induction into the Canada's Walk of Fame (1999), and receiving the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement for their contributions to popular music in Canada (2002).

Discography

The Guess Who

The Guess Who discography

Randy Bachman

Bachman–Turner Overdrive

Burton Cummings

Richard Stepp

Herman van Veen

Nancy Nash

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Garry
1945 births
Living people
20th-century Canadian drummers
Canadian male drummers
Canadian rock drummers
Musicians from Winnipeg
The Guess Who members
Bachman–Turner Overdrive members
Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States
21st-century Canadian drummers