Sophia Michaels
Robbie Bachman, the drummer for Bachman–Turner Overdrive who powered the band’s biggest hits including “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” and “Takin’ Care of Business,” has died. He was 69.
Randy Bachman, the drummer’s brother and bandmate, confirmed the news on Twitter Thursday night. “Another sad departure,” he wrote. “The pounding beat behind BTO, my little brother Robbie has joined Mum, Dad & brother Gary on the other side. Maybe Jeff Beck needs a drummer! He was an integral cog in our rock ‘n’ roll machine and we rocked the world together.” Further details surrounding Robbie’s death have not yet been revealed.
Robbie and Randy began playing music together as kids while growing up in Winnipeg, Canada. Eventually, guitarist Randy asked Robbie to become the drummer for his band Brave Belt, which he had formed with musician Chad Allan, Randy Bachman’s former bandmate in the Guess Who. Together, the band recorded two albums released in the early Seventies before eventually adding middle brother Tim Bachman on rhythm guitar and bassist C. Fred Turner, and changing their name to Bachman–Turner Overdrive.
While their first album as Bachman–Turner Overdrive was a hit, they found their real success with their second album in 1973. The LP featured their most famous songs “Let It Ride” and “Takin’ Care of Business.”
The group continued to make music throughout the Seventies, releasing a handful of albums, including the critically acclaimed Not Fragile, before briefly disbanding in 1979. But by 1983, the band reunited, though without Robbie. In 2014, Bachman–Turner Overdrive were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
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