Winnipeg's rock history put on the map as road gets honorary Bachman-Turner Overdrive name

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 18, 2025 6:54 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

A agelong of Winnipeg's Disraeli Freeway has been fixed an honorary sanction to celebrate an iconic Canadian set that helped enactment Winnipeg connected the stone 'n' rotation map.

The southernmost information of street, moving disconnected Main Street, was officially fixed the commemorative name Bachman-Turner Overdrive during an unveiling ceremonial connected Friday morning.

Last year, metropolis council's spot committee passed a question by Mynarski Coun. Ross Eadie asking for the renaming successful honour of the band's contributions to the euphony industry, and frontman Randy Bachman's enactment "putting Winnipeg connected the representation during his continuing career." 

As the metropolis officially enactment up the signs with the caller honorary sanction connected an unseasonably acold morning, the celebrated guitarist offered acknowledgment for "the precise due weather."

"It's the crushed I near Winnipeg," said Bachman, laughing. 

"But I emotion coming back.… It was large increasing up here. Rock 'n' rotation was great," said Bachman, who roseate to fame successful the 1960s arsenic the guitarist with different famed Winnipeg band, The Guess Who, earlier going connected to form Bachman-Turner Overdrive successful the city in 1973 with his brothers, Robbie and Tim Bachman, on with Fred Turner. Another Bachman brother, Gary, managed the set successful its aboriginal days.

The band, inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame successful 2014, produced hits specified arsenic Takin' Care of Business and You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet.

As helium thanked the metropolis for the honorary renaming, Randy Bachman paid tribute to his brothers — Tim and Robbie, who died conscionable a fewer months isolated successful 2023, and Gary, who died successful 2020.

"Gary Bachman, Tim, Robbie.… They're gone, but this volition unrecorded on," Bachman said.

Band subordinate Fred Turner was besides connected manus for the ceremony.

"I didn't deliberation this would ever happen, to archer you the truth," helium said. "I can't archer you what it means … particularly due to the fact that I came home." 

Winnipeg's euphony scene, Turner said, has ever been filled with talented artists, a spawning crushed that gave his set the tools to instrumentality their songs to an planetary stage. 

"When I was a kid, I hoped. It was ever a imagination to bash this," said Turner. "How galore radical person a puerility imagination that becomes real?"

Matt Derraugh, a calved and raised Winnipeg drummer and Bachman–Turner Overdrive instrumentality who attended Friday's nationalist ceremony, said the band laid the groundwork for performers similar him. 

"Just seeing wherever they took [their music] to … and however acold you tin instrumentality it to, that is decidedly an inspiring piece," helium said.

The band's records encapsulated Winnipeg's "grit and grime," Derraugh said, capturing its essence in their lyrics. 

"The large practice of music, what we person present successful BTO, is perfectly an indispensable portion of that, and it's indispensable for me," Derraugh said. 

Like Derraugh, BTO formed portion of the soundtrack of Ronnie Ladobruk's childhood. The Winnipeg guitarist, who was astatine the unveiling ceremony, studied the band's grounds to larn however to play and make his ain music. 

"Freddy's voice, Randy's voice, the guitar playing, the bass, drumming — everything is conscionable incredible," helium said. "It's adjacent level. It's powerful."

He said the honorary sanction brings a consciousness of pride, as good arsenic a reminder of however overmuch tin beryllium accomplished erstwhile idiosyncratic dedicates their beingness to their craft, like BTO did. 

"It's precise inspiring to spot them recognized," helium said.

"They acceptable the barroom and they acceptable the road, and we locomotion down it. We effort to forge our ain names and our ain road," helium said.

"You tin spot what's imaginable if you conscionable support going."