Rocker Randy Bachman donates hundreds of guitars to National Music Centre in Calgary
1959 Gibson Les Paul used on American Woman already featured in exhibit
Canadian rocker Randy Bachman has donated his guitar collection to the National Music Centre in Calgary.
Bachman, a Winnipeg-born, award-winning musician and beloved broadcaster, is best known as the lead guitarist and a founding member of The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
He co-wrote many of the original Guess Who songs, including 1970's American Woman, which reached No. 1 in the U.S. charts that year — a first for a Canadian group.
For years, Bachman has been a solo artist and host of Randy Bachman's Vinyl Tap on CBC Radio.
When the National Music Centre opened in 2016, the guitarist gave his 1959 Gibson Les Paul, used to record American Woman, as a long-term loan for an exhibit.
He revealed the donation of his guitar collection in a tweet this week.
"In addition to the original American Woman guitar, a wing will be dedicated to these for all music lovers to see," Bachman said on Twitter.
My guitar collection, which is being donated to the <a href="https://twitter.com/nmc_canada?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nmc_canada</a> National Music Centre in Calgary today. In addition to the original American Woman guitar, a wing will be dedicated to these for all music lovers to see. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/rocknroll?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#rocknroll</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/studiobell?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#studiobell</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/musician?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#musician</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/guitars?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#guitars</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/guitarist?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#guitarist</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/collect?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#collect</a> <a href="https://t.co/GZKalrmG26">pic.twitter.com/GZKalrmG26</a>
—@RandysVinylTapThe centre confirms the donation — hundreds of guitars — but says it's still in the early stages of reviewing the items and it will take months to prepare the collection.
"What I can say is that we are thrilled by the opportunity of acquiring hundreds of guitars from one of Canada's best known musicians and rock 'n' roll legends," NMC senior publicist Julijana Capone said in a statement issued Thursday.
"Randy Bachman continues to be a big supporter of the National Music Centre. His American Woman guitar is currently on loan to NMC and on display in the Halls of Fame stage on Level 5 of Studio Bell. He was here in 2018 to record/mix an album in our studios. This collection of guitars is another step in honouring his incredible legacy."
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With files from Jennifer Keene and the Calgary Eyeopener.