Over 200 of Bachman’s most coveted & iconic guitars from his five-decade career hitting the auction stage
Julien’s Auctions has announced The Randy Bachman Collection, an exclusive presentation honoring the Canadian classic rock and roll maverick, and founder of Bachman-Turner Overdrive and The Guess Who. The premiere Music Icons auction event will take place on Wednesday, May 29th, and Thursday, May 30th live at Hard Rock Cafe in New York and online.
At the centerpiece of this auction will be an outstanding collection of nearly 200 signature guitars, instruments, and gear, owned and used by Bachman. The Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada native burst onto the music scene in 1965 with his band, The Guess Who. From 1969-1970, The Guess Who took the world by storm with a breathtaking streak of hits including “These Eyes,” “Laughing,” “Undun,” and “No Time,” all written and composed by the band’s songwriting duo, Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings. Their No. 1 hit “American Woman” catapulted the young Canadian band into superstardom, selling five million singles, more records than the entire Canadian recording industry.
Following his stint in The Guess Who, in 1970, Bachman formed Brave Belt, a country-rock band with singer Fred Turner, which would become Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Bachman’s songwriting prowess and Turner’s powerhouse vocals would produce some of rock and roll’s most iconic anthems, dominating Billboard charts with songs including “Let it Ride,” “Roll on Down the Highway,” “Takin’ Care of Business,” “Hey You,” and the group’s biggest hit, “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet,” which topped the charts in over 20 countries.
Bachman’s 1955 white Fender Stratocaster was used in numerous performances, and immortalized in album artwork Bachman’s catalog of songs has been regularly used in television, movies, and commercials including placements in Seinfeld, The Simpsons, American Beauty, and Austin Powers 2. His most famous hit “American Woman” was recorded by Lenny Kravitz, topping the charts 29 years after the original; more recently it was performed by Kelly Clarkson as the theme song for the Paramount + TV series of the same name. Throughout his career, Bachman has worked with and produced some of Canada’s top music artists, while collaborating with fellow guitar heroes Neil Young, Joe Bonamassa, Robert Randolph, and Peter Frampton. He was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016.
At the upcoming auction, taking center stage will be Bachman’s 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard famously known as “The American Woman Guitar,” the axe that gave birth to The Guess Who’s most famous song. Bachman first acquired this guitar in 1968 during a gig in a church basement in Nanaimo, British Columbia when an audience member offered him to play the guitar in place of his current guitar with a cracked neck. During a fateful performance at a Canadian Curling Rink after breaking a string, Bachman stumbled upon the now iconic riff.
“I start to play that, and the audience’s heads snap around,” Bachman remembers of that electrifying moment. He frantically recalled the band, ordered Burt to “sing anything,” and the band wrote the song “American Woman” right there on a plywood stage hastily thrown down on top of the ice in front of a bundled-up crowd. This well-traveled storied Les Paul with a sunburst maple top was not only present at this moment of inspiration but is also the instrument heard on the 1970 album American Woman. The guitar has a conservative estimate of $200,000 – $400,000.
Another storied guitar heading to the auction stage is Bachman’s 1955 white Fender Stratocaster used in numerous performances, immortalized in album artwork, and used in the 1975 music video for “Roll on Down the Highway.” It served as Randy’s backup during his B.T.O. days, recorded rhythm parts of “Hey You” and doubled with Randy’s Hard Tail ’68 Stratocaster for the beginning of “Let it Ride” (estimate: $100,000 – $200,000).
Bachman’s main stage and recording guitar in B.T.O.– his 1968 Fender Hardtail Stratocaster in Olympic White finish–will also electrify the auction stage. It was played on many of Bachman’s hit songs including “Let it Ride” and is documented in album artwork, photographs, and in the 1975 “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” music video. (estimate: $20,000 – $40,000). The beautiful white Stratocaster took the place of his beloved ’59 Les Paul due to its excessive weight, which Randy estimates to be 14 pounds.
A black 1959 Fender Stratocaster was an instrument that took him 30 years to acquire. Formerly owned by Winnipeg musician George Johns, Bachman became infatuated with it while filling in on second guitar with Johns’ group The Phantoms. Three decades later, Randy wore Johns down enough to sell it to him. (estimate: $20,000 – $40,000).
Bachman’s collection of museum-quality instruments from German luthiers from the 1950s and 1960s will dazzle the auction block. Meticulously collected over 30 years, each of his German archtops are as unique and striking as the last, representing Bachman’s dedication to preserving the legacy of the works of Todt, Wolfrum, Lang, Roger, and Huttl. An array of his hallowed Hoyer Biankas designed in pearloid with intricate top carves and the awe-inspiring magic of master craftsmanship are on offer.
Another highlight is his 1955 Hoyer Bianka acoustic archtop guitar in the blonde finish (estimate: $8,000 – $10,000) (photo above left) whose design Bachman calls, “Art you can play!” The Bianka model represents the most ornate detailing seen out of Germany in this era, featuring a thick spruce top with German carved edges, brown pearloid inlays, a unique Bianka wave pattern, as well as lightning bolt sound holes, matching floral buttons on the tuners and a stylized, triangular inlay beneath that Bachman refers to as a “chili pepper.”
Other stellar highlights include A 1960 Hoyer Special SL electric archtop guitar (estimate: $10,000 – $20,000) that Randy calls one of “the most elaborate of all my Hoyer Special SLs,” due to its syrupy, dark-toned sunburst spruce top surrounded by white pearloid purfling, multi-ply rope binding, 5-piece flamed maple neck and a 21-fret ebony fingerboard inlaid with both pearl bow ties adding to the ostentatious display; Randy-Bachman-1960-Hoyer-Special-SL Bachman’s first guitar – a 1957 sunburst Harmony H1215 acoustic archtop guitar (estimate: $600 – $800) – when he made the jump as a young violinist choosing this model for its resemblance to a violin; A masterfully crafted archtop guitar custom made for Bachman in the Stradivari school style by Netherlands-based luthier Theodore Scharpach (estimate range: $10,000 – $20,000); Randy-Bachman-Scharpach-Custom — Silvertone and Harmony guitars with Harmometal Espanadas, Amp-in-Case 1452, a rare double-cut variant of the popular 1446, aka “the Chris Isaak,” an Epiphone Les Paul 100 signed by Bob Seger and more.
Special exhibitions in New York for the public to view highlighted items before the auction will be held May 22-May 28 at Hard Rock Cafe.
