Robin Peter Kendall Bachman (February 18, 1953 – January 12, 2023), known as Robbie Bachman or Rob Bachman, was a Canadian drummer and the youngest brother of guitarist, singer and songwriter Randy Bachman. He was the original drummer for both the Brave Belt and Bachman–Turner Overdrive bands.
Robbie Bachman was born Robin Bachman in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1953. He and his older brother Randy Bachman began playing music in their youth, and Robbie played in a handful of bands in Winnipeg before Randy invited him to join Brave Belt, his new band with Chad Allan, who he had played in the celebrated Winnipeg rock band the Guess Who, and Fred Turner.
Brave Belt recorded two albums, released in 1971 and 1972, and in 1972, another Bachman brother, Tim, joined Brave Belt after the departure of Allan.
They changed their name to Bachman–Turner Overdrive in 1973.
According to Randy Bachman’s autobiography, Bachman–Turner Overdrive were formed at a university gig in Thunder Bay, Ontario, shortly after Allan’s departure. A promoter, disheartened with reactions to Allan’s country-flavoured songs, which the band was still playing, decided to sack Brave Belt for the Saturday night show and bring in a more rock-oriented replacement from Toronto.
When that didn’t materialize, he begged Brave Belt to stay on and play a set of classic rock cover songs. As the band played songs like “Proud Mary”, “Brown Sugar” and “All Right Now”, the dance floor filled up and, according to Randy, “We instantly saw the difference between playing sit-down music people could talk over and playing music they would jump out of their seats and dance to.”
After Reprise Records dropped Brave Belt from their label, Randy Bachman emptied his own bank account to finance another set of recordings with the Brave Belt II lineup, and began to shop around the next album.
The band eventually landed a deal with Mercury Records, which Randy Bachman said was a pure stroke of luck. Mercury had just lost Uriah Heep and Rod Stewart to other labels, and Charlie Fach of Mercury Records was looking for new rock acts to replace them.
At this point the band’s demo tape was still called “Brave Belt III”, but Charlie Fach convinced them that a new name was needed, and maybe one that capitalized on the name recognition of the band members. They had already thought about using their surnames, like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and while on their way back from a gig in Toronto, had spotted a copy of a trucker’s magazine called Overdrive. After seeing this, Fred Turner wrote “Bachman–Turner Overdrive” and the initials “B.T.O.” on a napkin. The rest of the band decided the addition of “Overdrive” was the perfect way to describe their music.
Bachman–Turner Overdrive’s 1973 self-titled debut, “Bachman–Turner Overdrive”, charted at Number 9 in Canada and Number 70 on the Billboard rock chart, but they found real success thier next album “Bachman–Turner Overdrive II” which was released in the same year and reached the Top 10 in both the US and Canada, and produced one Top 40 single, “Let It Ride”, as well as “Takin’ Care of Business”, which is probably the band’s most popular songs.
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When Brave Belt changed their name to Bachman–Turner Overdrive in 1973, Robbie was credited with designing their ‘gear’ logo. Bachman–Turner Overdrive enjoyed a period of peak popularity between 1973 and 1976, releasing five Top 40 albums and six U.S. Top 40 singles (eleven in Canada). Robbie Bachman co-wrote one of Bachman–Turner Overdrive’s biggest hits, “Roll On down the Highway” (Billboard No. 14 and RPM No. 4 in 1975) with Fred Turner. He remained with BTO until late 1979, after their tour supporting the 1979 album “Rock n’ Roll Nights” had ended.
In 1984, Robbie Bachman refused to join a reformation of Bachman–Turner Overdrive due to licensing issues with his brother Randy. He also opposed Randy’s decision to include Tim Bachman as the second guitarist, instead of Blair Thornton. He was replaced on that 1984 album and subsequent tours by former Guess Who drummer Garry Peterson. Robbie later rejoined the “Not Fragile” line up of Bachman–Turner Overdrive for a reunion lasting from 1988 until 1991.
In 2009, Fred Turner and Randy Bachman reunited and began recording a new album, which was released in September 2010 under the name “Bachman & Turner” to coincide with a world tour. Robbie Bachman and Blair Thornton had brought a lawsuit against Randy Bachman in an effort to prevent him and Turner from touring under the Bachman–Turner Overdrive.
In 2014, Bachman–Turner Overdrive were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
Robbie Bachman was semi-retired following Bachman–Turner Overdrive’s last live shows in 2004.
Robbie Bachman died on January 12, 2023, at the age of 69.
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