Burton Cummings offers ‘the real thing’ at Mayo Performing Arts Center concert

STEPHANIE SIAU

Burton Cummings, shown performing at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Feb. 2.

For the past several years, Burton Cummings fought a bruising battle over the rights to The Guess Who, the classic rock band he once led and catapulted to fame in the 1960s with a string of memorable hits.

So he was an ebullient mood on March 12, when he took the stage at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, one of 30 stops on what he is calling his 60th Anniversary Hits Tour. Just six months ago, Cummings and Randy Bachman, the guitarist and co-songwriter in the Canadian band, won their lawsuit against what Cummings derisively and repeatedly referred to as a “fake” version of the popular band.

“You’re seeing the real thing tonight, folks. Not that fake band,” Cummings told the crowd a few songs into a show that leaned heavily on songs that made The Guess Who part of the soundtrack for the counter-culture generation. “And I have to tell you that it’s great to be here back in the United States with my band, playing my songs for you.”

Sounding buoyant and forceful, Cummings made it clear that his trek around the country is more than just a return to form, but also a celebration of his career and his hard-fought victory to reclaim his musical legacy. He led his reliable band through radio staples such as “American Woman” and “No Time,” along with fan favorites like “Laughing” and “These Eyes.”

The Guess Who’s long-running drama began after the band splintered more than 50 years ago. Original bassist Jim Kale gained trademark rights to the band’s name in the ’80s and, sometimes along with original drummer Garry Peterson, toured under the famous Guess Who moniker. But the marketing tactics angered Cummings and Bachman. As an example, promotional ads for the band — which toured regularly in the United States although Kale retired in 2016 and Peterson only played on and off with the group — sometimes included videos showing Cummings singing the original hits.

STEPHANIE SIAU

Burton Cummings, shown performing at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Feb. 2.

Last April, Cummings took the unusual and drastic step of cancelling his agreements with performance rights organizations, which allow concert venues to host live shows where songs are played. Since he owns the publishing rights to the Guess Who hits, this meant the “fake” band could not perform Guess Who songs at concerts.

The move effectively shut them down. But it also meant that Cummings — who had continued to tour over the years, sometimes without other musicians and just playing piano by himself — had to forfeit potential royalties. Once the lawsuit was settled last September, though, Cummings began planning his current tour, which also comes to The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, March 18 at 7:30 p.m. (for tickets, visit ticketmaster.com).

And Cummings seems to relish the opportunity. For the most part, his familiar voice remains intact and his band faithfully replicates the sounds of many Guess Who songs. One highlight was a crack version of “Undun,” which was written by Bachman and featured Cummings on flute. The minor-key song was one of many radio hits for the band, reaching No. 15 on the charts in 1969.

Through the evening, Cummings sprinkled anecdotes between songs, such as recalling his frustration at being forced to take piano lessons in his native Winnipeg while being able to see, from his window, his friends play outside on the street. “Funny, though, that years later, I’m playing piano up here (on the stage) for you, and some of them are still on the streets,” he said to appreciative chuckles.

And he recounted how he and Bachman, who were in their late teens and had just joined forces in a local band, composed “These Eyes,” a catchy and romantic ballad that was a Top 10 hit the United States in 1968. They teamed on piano and guitar while his mother was busy about the house. “It took about an hour,” he told the crowd.

In all, he played 11 Guess Who songs in a nostalgia-heavy set.

The night was not entirely an oldies act, though. Cummings recently released a new studio album, A Few Good Moments, which is his first since 2008. The effort contains a mix of ballads and rockers, although he played only one of the songs — a fast-paced number called “BlackJack Fever” — rather than others, such as “Mr. Rhythm and Mr. Rhyme,” that he has discussed in interviews.

Not surprisingly, the Mayo audience seemed pleased with his choices when Cummings and his band tackled still other songs from the Guess Who catalog, including “Clap for the Wolfman” and “No Sugar Tonight.” A few lesser-known cuts, such as “Guns Guns Guns” and “Bus Rider,” were well played but came off as perfunctory rockers and appeared to do little to spark the crowd.

The cover of Burton Cummings’ 1976 self-titled debut solo album.

Another highlight, though, came when he played “Stand Tall,” a Top 10 solo hit from 1976 that returned him to the spotlight after The Guess Who had fallen apart and Bachman had scored still more success with Bachman-Turner Overdrive (“You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet,” “Takin’ Care of Business”). Although Cummings missed a couple of notes during the evening, this song showed his singing voice still has an expressive and respectable range.

For his encore, Cummings sang one more big Guess Who hit: “Share the Land,” which was released in 1970 and spoke to the tumultuous times with its universal sentiment.

Interestingly, both the Canadian and American flags were superimposed over the stage and crowd for this number. Perhaps this was a nod to recent political events, although Cummings made no specific mention of that.

By night’s end, Cummings really did prove that he can have more than a few good moments.

For more about Burton Cummings, visit burtoncummings.com.
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