Dring! Dring!
(We were residing in Lowertown at the time.)
“Allo?”
“Yeah, this is Garry Peterson. I was checking my phone bill and it says I made a call to this number.”
“Why yes, Garry. We chatted about The Guess Who for an article I penned for the Ottawa Sun.”
“Oh… Could you send me five copies of that article?”
“I’ll contact the paper and ask them to send them to you.”
So ended my brief acquaintanceship with Garry Peterson, original and only Guess Who drummer. Though, I half-expected a phone call a month later inquiring about the above-mentioned call. It could have been our thing: Every month, a call from a legend of Winnipeg and Canadian rock and roll.
The story begins, of course, with the end of Chapter 2 in this series: a fruitless attempt to encourage April Wine’s Myles Goodwyn to dwell on the past.
My new friend Garry, however, was far more accommodating.
And why not? Surely, every Canadian band wants for the career of The Guess Who, the band that broke many a barrier internationally — all the time while proudly waving an oversize Canadian flag. These days, Peterson continues to play with The Guess Who, unlike quitters Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings. As you read this, The Guess Who is likely preparing to play a casino somewhere not near you.
And their drummer is checking his phone bill.
Wig Bubbles 