As the Bachman and Cummings version of the band hit the road for the first time in more than two decades, former members Garry Peterson and James Kale have reportedly sued BMI over a 2024 Guess Who tour they were forced to cancel.
The classic Randy Bachman-Burton Cummings lineup of The Guess Who has returned to the live stage after more than two decades, but their ongoing legal saga continues.
The Canadian rock stars are back on the road with the band's legendary principal members, with their first date on an extensive North American at Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls on Saturday night (Jan. 31) reportedly proceeding without a hitch.
Just a few days later, however, members of a controversial former lineup of The Guess Who filed another lawsuit. Rolling Stone has reported that on Feb. 3, Guess Who founding drummer Garry Peterson and founding bassist James Kale filed a complaint in federal court against U.S. performing rights management firm BMI.
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"Peterson and Kale claim they suffered millions of dollars in losses when lead singer and songwriter Burton Cummings – who owns the publishing rights to the Guess Who’s biggest hits, including 'American Woman,' 'These Eyes,' and 'No Time' – went nuclear two years ago and terminated his entire performing rights agreement with BMI," the magazine reports.
"Cummings took the extraordinary step of yanking the Guess Who’s songs from the BMI licensing catalog covering concert venues because he wanted to stop Peterson and Kale from staging what he called 'fake bullshit shows,' using a different singer and guitarist."
BMI's move in April 2024 prompted the Peterson/Kale version of the Guess Who and booking company BiCoastal Productions to immediately cancel a tour they had scheduled, losing millions in the process.
In the new lawsuit, the pair now claim that BMI misinterpreted the termination’s effective date and that a notice period that had not yet expired, meaning their concerts did not need to be cancelled.
The lawsuit accuses BMI of breach of fiduciary duty, negligent misrepresentation, intentional interference with contractual relations and fraud. It seeks compensatory damages estimated at several million dollars, to be determined at trial, as well as punitive damages based on what it describes as BMI’s “willful, oppressive, fraudulent, and malicious” conduct.
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This is just the latest legal twist and turn in a saga that dates back decades and fuelled serious discontent between different members of the Guess Who over who had the rights to the band's name.
As Billboard Canada reported, the long-standing dispute over the band name began in 1978 when Jim Kale (fired from the group in 1972) was granted permission to use the Guess Who name for a single reunion concert. In 1987, Kale filed registration applications with the United States trademark office for the band name the Guess Who.
After securing that trademark, Kale assembled a band of other musicians, called them the Guess Who, and toured extensively under that name, until 2024. The resulting confusion over the name brought acrimony and an eventual 2023 lawsuit. In Sept. 2024, Cummings and Bachman finally reached a settlement with Peterson and Kale to regain the trademark of the name.
Under the deal, Bachman and Cummings said they would acquire full control over the trademark to the band’s name.
“We are pleased to have reached a resolution that honors our shared history and allows us to move forward with a new sense of purpose and camaraderie,” Bachman said at the time, with Cummings adding that they were “committed to preserving and celebrating the legacy for our fans.”
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The Jan. 31 show in Niagara Falls marked the first time in over two decades that Bachman and Cummings performed together as The Guess Who. They had often performed together, as Bachman-Cummings, and played their classic Guess Who material, but not under that name. After the show, Cummings posted this on social media: "Had a great time at our first show of the Guess Who’s Takin’ It Back Tour. Looking forward to seeing all the new and familiar faces on the road."
