Tim Bachman, Founding Member of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Dies at 71

Ethan Shanfeld

1 May 2023 at 11:36 am·2-min read

Tim Bachman, one of the founding members of Canadian rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive, along with his brothers Randy and Robbie, has died due to complications from cancer, his son Ryder confirmed on Friday.

Bachman played guitar and was a vocalist in the band, which had Randy as its principal frontman. After BTO’s first two albums, both released in 1973, he left the group in 1974, returning for a reunion in 1984, then becoming the leader of a touring edition of the band in the late ’80s.

“Grateful I got to spend some time with him at the end,” Ryder wrote on Facebook. “Grab yer loved ones and hug em close, ya never know how long you have.” In a previous post, he wrote that doctors had found “cancer riddled all throughout his brain.”

He continued, “I sat with Dad yesterday afternoon and reminisced about some of the good times we had. He was pretty out of it most of the time, but at one point looked up at me with really, big wide eyes and said, ‘I love you Paxton, keep sharing the music…’ and then passed back out. It’s really hard watching your parent lay in bed helpless and sick and there’s nothing you can do to help them. Breaking my heart.”

Tim Bachman, along with Fred Turner and his brothers Randy and Robbie, formed Bachman-Turner Overdrive in 1973 out of Winnipeg. Before Tim left the band in 1974, they had already scored hits with “Let It Ride” and “Takin’ Care of Business.” “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet,” the band’s sole No. 1 single, came out shortly after he quit the band.

Songs he co-wrote during his short initial tenure included “Down and Out Man” and “I Don’t Have to Hide.”

Bachman-Turner Overdrive was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2014.

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