Randy Bachman receives Order of Canada

OTTAWA - Canadian rocker Randy Bachman says he’s honoured and humbled to be invested as an officer of the Order of Canada.

The veteran guitarist, a founding member of The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, was  presented with the medal by Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean in a ceremony at Rideau Hall on May 15.

“Starting out just as a kid in Winnipeg wanting to write and play music, you never think ahead of anything  except the next phone call, which hopefully has your next gig,” said Bachman, one of the first Canadian artists to break in the United States. “You don’t really think about awards or accolades along the way, but to have this happen is a very big honour and very humbling to be with all these other really great Canadians.”

Bachman marvelled at the considerable weight of the medal that hung around his neck on a ribbon, describing it as a white snowflake with a gold maple leaf in the middle. Bachman said he will hang it in his home on Salt Spring Island, B.C. stating “I won’t be wearing it on stage, that’s for sure.”

The Order of Canada is the country’s highest civilian honour and recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement.

The Canadian Press