Top 10 Bachman-Turner Overdrive Songs

Feature Photo: Mercury Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Our Top 10 Bachman-Turner Overdrive Songs list looks at a band that knew how to combine great pop hooks with a hard-driving rock and roll sound that fans loved and most rock critics hated. Bachman-Turner Overdrive released their self-titled debut album in 1973. The album did not perform well commercially, and it also spawned no hit singles. However, the band had a fresh sound that showed great promise. They were also led by Randy Bachman, a proven songwriter and musician.

Randy Bachman was already well known for his great success with The Guess Who. The rest of the band was defined by the great vocalist C.F. Turner on bass, Tim Bachman on guitar, and Robbie Bachman on drums.

Six months after the release of their debut album, Bachman-Turner Overdrive released their second record, appropriately titled Bachman-Turner Overdrive II. With the success of the album’s lead single, “Taking Care of Business,” Bachman-Turner Overdrive would soon become one of the most popular bands in the world. In 1974, Bachman-Turner Overdrive released the album Not Fragile.

The album was fueled by the band’s first and only number 1 record, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.” It was one of those songs that you would hear playing on the AM radio dial constantly, no matter what music station you turned to. The album also featured a brand new guitar player, Blair Thornton, who replaced Tim Bachman.

Four Wheel Drive was the follow-up album to the successful Not Fragile record. It was an excellent record that many Bachman-Turner Overdrive fans felt was one of their strongest albums. The album’s single “Hey You” had only moderate success in the United States, reaching number 21 on the U.S. charts. However, the song became a number-one record in Canada. It would be the band’s last successful single ever released.

Bachman-Turner Overdrive was pumping out albums at a furious pace. The band was releasing two albums a year. In the same year, the band released Four Wheel Drive; they also released the album Head On. The cover featured a large headshot of Randy Bachman. It was a very cool album cover. The cover unfolded into four large squares, displaying great portraits of all four band members.

The album “Head On featured no hit singles, although it was still well-received by true Bachman-Turner Overdrive fans. However, most Bachman-Turner Overdrive fans believe that this was the last great Bachman-Turner Overdrive record, especially during that time period.

The band’s legendary lineup of Randy Bachman, Robbie Bachman, C.F.Turner, and Blair Thornton released one final album together in 1977 entitled Freeways. It was an album that was disliked by hardcore Bachman-Turner Overdrive fans, resulting in Randy Bachman leaving the band.

The band continued without Randy Bachman, using the name BTO on the new albums instead of Bachman-Turner Overdrive. Bassist Jim Clench replaced Randy Bachman on the next two BTO albums. The band released Street Action in 1978 and Rock and Roll Nights in 1979. The albums were largely ignored at the time by Bachman-Turner Overdrive fans. Furthermore, many of the Bachman-Turner Overdrive fans who had grown up listening to Bachman-Turner Overdrive in the early 1970s had grown into their late teens and were now becoming fans of bands like The Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, The Sex Pistols, and the punk and new wave genres that infiltrated the rock scene in the late 1970s.

A Bachman-Turner Overdrive album in 1984 reunited Randy Bachman and C.F. Turner. However, it did not include Blair Thornton or Robbie Bachman. Over the years, the band’s record company, Mercury Records, has released various live albums and hit compilations. Their studio albums, at times, are hard to find on CD but have been reissued several times on various labels. There have been reunion tours and battles over the use of the name Bachman-Turner Overdrive between Randy Bachman and Blair Thornton.

Our Top 10 Bachman-Turner Overdrive songs list is an attempt to list some of the band’s best material, regardless of commercial success. Many of the Bachman-Turner Overdrive songs on this Bachman-Turner Overdrive songs list were indeed massive hits. However, there are a few album tracks that we have always believed represented the best Bachman-Turner Overdrive songs the band ever released. We stand by this one because we grew up with the band and were big fans back in the day when we bought each of these albums when they were first issued.

# 10 – Away From Home

We start our Top 10 Bachman-Turner Overdrive Songs list with a tremendously hard-driving song, “Away From Home.” The song was released on the band’s fifth album, Head On, in 1975. Listen to those guitars at the start of the song in the way the counterpoint rhythms of both guitarists play off against each other, showing an incredible maturity in the band’s musical arrangements since their first album. Great guitar solos at the two-minute and two-minute forty marks further show how good Bachman-Turner Overdrive was becoming.

# 9 – Stayed Awake All Night

The band’s debut album, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, appears on this Bachman-Turner Overdrive Songs list with the track “Stayed Awake All Night.” Randy Bachman wrote the song. Randy and his brother Tim shared lead vocals on this killer track. The two brothers lit it up with their vocal performances on this one. Fans have always loved this cut. They love the guitar solo that opens the track and, of course, that “to die for” chorus.

# 8 – Hey You

Hey You was released on the Bachman-Turner Overdrive album Four Wheel Drive. The band aimed to follow the format of their massive hit single, “You Aint Seen Nothing Yet.” The song’s introduction was very similar in sound and arrangement to their number one single, “You Aint Seen Nothing Yet.” Randy Bacham even stutters at the song’s end, like in “You’ Aint Seen Nothing Yet.” Nonetheless, it’s still a great song. The song ultimately became a huge smash in Canada, where it reached number one. It peaked at twenty-one on the US Billboard Hot 100.

# 7 – Gimme Your Money Please

Continuing with our Top 10 Bachman-Turner Overdrive Songs list we turn to the band’s first album Bachman-Turner Overdrive. The album was released in 1973. The album’s opening track, “Gimme Your Money Please,” was also released as the first single of the band’s career. The song was written and sung by C.F. Turner.

# 6 – Not Fragile

The title track of Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s smash album Not Fragile has always been one of our favorite songs by Bachman-Turner Overdrive. The album Not Fragile was released in 1974. The title Not Fragile was a tongue-in-cheek response to the Yes album title Fragile, which had been released a few years earlier by the band Yes.

# 5 – Let It Ride

“Let It Ride” was the second single released from the band’s sophomore album entitled Bachman-Turner Overdrive II. The album was released in 1973. The single “Let It Ride” was not as successful as the album’s smash hit “Taking Care Of Business.” However, riding off the success of that song, “Let It Ride,” still reached the number 23 spot on the Billboard Top 100 Singles chart in 1974.

# 4 – Four Wheel Drive

“Four Wheel Drive” may have never been a huge hit, but it was one of the best Bachman-Turner Overdrive songs ever released. If we had to label one song that defined the sound and spirit of the band Bachman-Turner Overdrive, it would be “Four Wheel Drive.” The song “Hey You” was the first and only single released from the album Four Wheel Drive; however, in our opinion, the title track was the best song on the album.

# 3 – Roll On Down The Highway

The Bachman-Turner Overdrive album Not Fragile is the most represented BTO album on this Top 10 Bachman-Turner Overdrive songs list. “Roll On Down the Highway” was the second single released from the album. The song reached number 14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. C.F. Turner and Rob Bachman wrote the song. C.F. Turner sang lead vocals on this great roaring rock and roll track.

# 2 – Taking Care Of Business

Many people would argue that BTO’s “Taking Care of Business” is their greatest song. It certainly is their most popular. It is the song that lasted longer than any other Bachman-Turner Overdrive song. So why is this not number one? The answer is simple: we like another song better. Nonetheless, “Taking Care of Business” was a huge record for the band. It was the song that put Bachman-Turner Overdrive on the map. The song reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, the song’s legacy has only grown over the years

# 1 – You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet

This song was a defining moment in classic rock history. It was the perfect example of a band blending a powerful, heavy rock sound with perfect pop sensibility. The song was perfect for both AM hit radio and FM album-oriented broadcasts. Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” was the band’s first number 1 record. It was also their only number 1 record in the United States. The song opened with a most memorable guitar riff that was captivating. Yet, it only got better from there. I was 13 years old when this song first came out, and it completely blew my mind, as well as the brains and souls of millions of other teenage rock and roll fans.