"Undun" is a song recorded by Canadian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

group

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 ...

. It spent two weeks at #21 on the Canadian Singles Chart in November–December 1969 and reached #3 on the AC chart. In the US, it reached #15 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart and #22 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the week of November 29, 1969. It was written by

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, ...

after hearing

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

's " Ballad in Plain D", which included the phrase "she was easily undone". Bachman's song tells the story of a girl he had seen at a party who, after consuming

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

, slipped into a coma. The song takes its structure from jazz guitar chords Bachman had learned from his friend and neighbour

Lenny Breau Leonard Harold Breau (August 5, 1941 – August 12, 1984) was an American-Canadian guitarist. He blended many styles of music, including jazz, country, classical, and flamenco. Inspired by country guitarists like Chet Atkins, Breau used finge ...

Burton Cummings Burton Lorne Cummings (born December 31, 1947) is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He is best known for leading the Guess Who during that band's most successful period from 1965 to 1975, and for a lengthy solo career. Cummings has been induc ...

learned to play the flute for this track. Bachman says, "Burton could play the sax, and we discovered that a flute used the same fingering. We went to a music store, bought a flute, and he learned how to play the solo. He’d never played the flute in his life." Bachman used his

Gibson ES-335 The Gibson ES-335 is a semi-hollow body semi-acoustic guitar introduced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its Gibson ES Series, ES (Electric Spanish) series 1958 in music, in 1958. It has a solid maple wood block running through the cente ...

and a 1957

Gretsch 6120 The Gretsch 6120 is a hollow body electric guitar with f-holes, manufactured by Gretsch and first appearing in the mid-1950s with the endorsement of Chet Atkins. It was quickly adopted by rockabilly artists Eddie Cochran, Duane Eddy, and later ...

Chet Atkins to record the guitar parts. During the Guess Who's 2000 reunion ''Running Back Thru Canada'' tour, Bachman's former bandmate Cummings declared the song to be one of Bachman's finest compositions and "one of the best songs ever written by any Canadian songwriter". Bachman himself has stated that "Undun" is his favourite song from his time as a member of The Guess Who."Undun by The Guess Who"
Songfacts The original 4:17 version of "Undun", which includes a country-style guitar section at the end, appeared on The Guess Who's 1969 album, ''

Canned Wheat ''Canned Wheat'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band the Guess Who, released in September 1969. It peaked at number 91 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Albums chart. Two of the band's hits were taken from the album: " Laughing" and " Undun ...

'', and an edit of that original was initially released as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of the single " Laughing" which peaked on August 23, 1969.

Legacy

Numerous jazz and other musicians have recorded "Undun". These include

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the ...

Hennie Bekker Hennie Bekker (born 1934) is a Zambian-born composer, arranger, producer and keyboardist based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His work includes jazz fusion, film scoring, new-age and techno. Bekker won a Juno Award for his work with techno-driven ...

Steve Cole Steve Cole (born August 17, 1970) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist. He is also a professor/adviser of music business at the University of St. Thomas. Early career and education Cole was born in Chicago, Illinois and began to play musi ...

, The Phil Dwyer Septet,

Kurt Elling Kurt Elling (born November 2, 1967) is an American jazz singer and songwriter. Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford, Elling became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran church. He sang in cho ...

Ranee Lee Ranee Lee, CM is an American jazz singer and musician who resides in Montreal, Quebec. She is also an actor, author, educator and television host. Referred as “''Montreal's Queen of Jazz,''” Lee is a Juno Award winner, two-time Top Canadian ...

Sophie Milman Sophie Milman (born 1983) is a Russian-born Canadian jazz vocalist. After emigrating from Russia in the early 1990s, Milman, who is Jewish, spent most of her childhood years in Israel where she listened extensively to jazz. Her family later em ...

Hugo Montenegro Hugo Mario Montenegro (September 2, 1925 – February 6, 1981) was an American orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks. His best-known work is interpretations of the music from Spaghetti Westerns, especially his cover version of Ennio M ...

, and Alexander Zonjic.Alexander Zonjic, ''Doin' the D''
Retrieved March 6, 2015 The song was covered by the Trans-Canada Highwaymen for their 2023 album, ''Explosive Hits Vol. 1''. The song plays in the background of a fight scene between

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

and

Bridget Fonda Bridget Jane Fonda (born January 27, 1964) is a retired American actress, known for her roles in films such as ''The Godfather Part III'' (1990), '' Single White Female'' (1992), '' Singles'' (1992), ''Point of No Return'' (1993), '' It Could Ha ...

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

's 1997 film ''

Jackie Brown ''Jackie Brown'' is a 1997 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, based on the 1992 novel ''Rum Punch'' by Elmore Leonard. It stars Pam Grier as Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who smuggles money between the United Sta ...

''.

Personnel

– vocals, flute *

– guitar *

Jim Kale Michael James Kale (born August 11, 1943) is a Canadian rock musician, best known as the original bassist for the rock band The Guess Who. He was also a member of the band Scrubbaloe Caine. In 1987, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall ...

– bass *

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 ban ...

– drums

Charts

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1969 songs 1969 singles Songs written by Randy Bachman The Guess Who songs Hugo Montenegro songs Song recordings produced by Jack Richardson (record producer) Songs about drugs RCA Victor singles