Randy Bachman, the man who gave us “Takin’ Care of Business” and “American Woman,” is now taking care of George Harrison. After all, who better to reinvent the quiet Beatle’s catalog than Canada’s loudest guitar slinger?
It all started, as these things often do, with John Lennon’s birthday. “I was lucky enough to be invited to Liverpool for John Lennon’s 75th,” Bachman says, casually name-dropping an entire city. He toured the holy sites: Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, Eleanor Rigby’s grave, like every other Beatles fan, except when he came back, he didn’t just post photos—he plotted. “George Harrison’s turning 75 in a couple years, I should do something.”
That “something” became By George – By Bachman, a record that Bachman insists isn’t about imitating George, but about honoring him by flipping his songs on their heads. “I just reinvented them,” he shrugs. “Took the major songs, put them in minor keys, did the slow ones as shuffles, slowed the fast ones down.” If that sounds like musical heresy, relax. Bachman knows better than to try and outplay Clapton. “There’s no way you could surpass that… there’s no point in just replicating it cookie-cutter.”
The result? “Some sank like lead weights and no one will ever hear those,” he laughs. “And the ones that floated up high in the sunshine—those are the ones that made the album.” Sunshine being the operative word here. Even with the songs rearranged, fans catch on quickly. “The label said, why are you putting in a lyric sheet? Everybody knows every word.”
It’s not just George covers either. Bachman slipped in an original, “Between Two Mountains,” inspired by Harrison’s spiritual vibes. “I was kind of inspired by the spirit of George one night,” he says, which sounds a little mystical until you realize it gave him license to throw in every lyrical trope from peace within to the universal love train. The song even cribs guitar licks from Harrison’s catalog. “The solo in the middle is what he played in ‘And I Love Her.’”
This isn’t just nostalgia porn, though. Bachman actually talked to Harrison once—by phone, from Winnipeg. “He comes to the phone, and I said, ‘This is Randy Bachman from The Guess Who in Winnipeg,’” Bachman recalls. Harrison, ever the modest Beatle, replies, “‘Oh, I saw you on Top of the Pops doing ‘American Woman.’ That was great.’” Then, in classic British fashion, he let Randy down gently. “My best friend plays guitar—Eric, you might have heard of him.”
So no, he didn’t get the gig with George. But he got something better—decades of Beatles songs to sing, rework, and now press onto marble vinyl. “It’s going to be a collector’s item,” he beams, as if anyone doubted that.
And if you’re wondering what’s next, don’t hold your breath for By George 2: The Coin Collector Chronicles. “That would not be right,” he says. But don’t worry, he’s not done yet. “You call me with a gig offer, I’ll take the gig.”
Randy Bachman: eternally ready, perpetually riffing, and now adding a bit of slide guitar to the Beatles’ ever-expanding mythos. Because apparently, even in the house that rock built, there’s always room for another tribute.
Listen to the interview above and then check out the track below.
