The Guess Who recently had to cancel a series of concerts after Burton Cummings pulled back the performing rights to the songs he wrote for the band. A new tweet on their official X page read:
“We would like to apologize to our fans who were unable to attend our recent shows. As you may have seen in the news, legal threats made by the publisher of classic The Guess Who songs have caused some venues to decide not to proceed with scheduled shows.”
It went on:
“In the meantime, our new album ‘Plein D’Amour’ along with eight new videos of those songs can be enjoyed on our social media and website. We are looking forward to performing those songs for you at future shows. Thanks to all our fans for your support of The Guess Who.”
‘Plein D’Amour’ came out on June 30, 2023, via Deko Entertainment.
‘Anything To Stop The Fake Band’
The legal steps by Cummings removed the copyright permission for the band to perform songs like ‘American Woman,’ ‘These Eyes,’ and ‘No Time’ in their concerts:
“I’m willing to do anything to stop the fake band; they’re taking [Bachman and my] life story and pretending it’s theirs. They’re not the people who made these records and they shouldn’t act like they did. This doesn’t stop this cover band from playing their shows, it just stops them from playing the songs I wrote. If the songs are performed by the fake Guess Who, they will be sued for every occurrence.”
The ex-Guess Who vocalist mentioned the decision’s financial impact on him but seemed unconcerned:
“Yes, I’m going to lose some money, but we’re going to find out what’s worth what. I will not have this fake band going on any longer. I’m going to lose some money, but … the name is worthless without those songs. So, what are they going to do? ‘Hey, the Guess Who is playing but we can’t do ‘Share the Land’ or ‘American Woman,’ we can’t do ‘These Eyes.’ Nobody’s gonna be there.”
The Ongoing Lawsuit Over Name Rights
Cummings and Randy Bachman sued the current band members in October to stop them from using the name. A judge recently rejected The Guess Who’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit.
Bachman remarked last year:
“Burton and I are the ones who wrote the songs and made the records. It’s Burton’s voice and my guitar playing on those albums. Anyone presenting and promoting themselves as The Guess Who are clones who are ripping off our fans and tainting the legacy of the band. It’s about time for the real story to come out.”
Cummings added:
“With this lawsuit, Randy [Bachman] and I hope to set the record straight and protect fans from imposters trying to rewrite history. Even after we’re gone, the legacy of The Guess Who will live on, and we want to make sure that legacy is restored and preserved truthfully.”
See The Guess Who’s recent announcement below.
We would like to apologize to our fans who were unable to attend our recent shows. As you may have seen in the news, legal threats made by the publisher of classic The Guess Who songs have caused some venues to decide not to proceed with scheduled shows… pic.twitter.com/Hiv1NNXyd5
— The Guess Who (@theguesswho) April 19, 2024
…In the meantime, our new album “Plein D’Amour” along with eight new videos of those songs can be enjoyed on our social media and website. We are looking forward to performing those songs for you at future shows.
Thanks to all our fans for your support of The Guess Who. pic.twitter.com/fus75UfgZr
— The Guess Who (@theguesswho) April 19, 2024