Bachman–Turner Overdrive, often abbreviated BTO, are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, founded by three brothers: Randy, Robbie, and Tim Bachman; along with Fred Turner, in 1973.

Many of their songs, including "Let It Ride", "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet", "Takin' Care of Business", "Hey You" and "Roll on Down the Highway", still receive regular play on classic rock stations.

[3] On March 29, 2014, the classic Not Fragile line-up reunited for the first time since 1991 to mark Bachman–Turner Overdrive's induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and participated in a tribute performance of "Taking Care of Business".

After finding success with The Guess Who, Randy Bachman left at the height of the group's popularity in 1970, citing health issues and lifestyle differences with the other band members.

The record label still wanted Brave Belt to tour, so Randy (at the suggestion of Neil Young) hired fellow Winnipeg bassist/vocalist C. F. ("Fred") Turner to perform in the band's scheduled gigs.

[8] According to Randy Bachman's autobiography, Bachman–Turner Overdrive's sound was born 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 the replacement band didn't materialize, he begged Brave Belt to stay on and play a set of classic rock cover songs.

"[6] Certain that Reprise Records would drop Brave Belt from their label but not wanting to wait, Randy Bachman asked for and received a release from their contract.

In April 1973 Charlie Fach of Mercury Records returned to his office after a trip to France to find a stack of demo tapes waiting on his desk.

While on their way back from a gig in Toronto, the group had spotted a copy of a trucker's magazine called Overdrive while dining at the Colonial Steak House in Windsor, Ontario.

Randy had already written the core of "Takin' Care of Business" several years earlier as "White Collar Worker" while in The Guess Who, but that band had felt it was not their type of song.

It reappeared in BTO's repertoire during the supporting gigs for the first album primarily, as Randy put it, "To give Fred Turner a chance to rest his voice."

Following a cross-Canada tour in the summer of 1975, which garnered caustic comments from the Canadian press as BTO had spent most of the last 18 months in the US,[6] the band members were already developing songs for the next album.

"[7] Robbie Bachman noted that the band had scheduled a meeting wherein he, Fred and Blair were going to discuss getting back to their rock and roll roots following the relative failure of Freeways.

Even though this line-up included drummer Robbie Bachman, the band had to record and tour only as "BTO" because of an agreement with Randy who wanted to retain the rights to his surname for his solo career.

[19] BTO played this song on American Bandstand in February 1979 (with producer Vallance guesting on piano), along with another single from the same album called "Jamaica".

Their line-up for their first studio LP in five years (released in 1984) consisted of Randy and Tim Bachman, Fred Turner and former Guess Who drummer Garry Peterson, who were joined by Billy Chapman, their drum tech, on keyboards.

[23] It has been reported from numerous sources that the band could not get a good label to release the project and wanted this album to be distributed and publicized well, unlike what happened to the Trial by Fire CD.

He was on tour with Burton Cummings during the summer of 2009, and played dates for the Randy Bachman Band in the United States and Canada for August and September.

Due to the intense interest in a Bachman-Turner reunion, Randy Bachman and Fred Turner announced their reteaming on December 8, 2009, in their hometown of Winnipeg.

Capitalizing on the recent Bachman & Turner album and supporting shows, BTO released another compilation set in 2013, Bachman–Turner Overdrive: 40th Anniversary, with 26 songs on two CDs.

Disc two also adds live versions of "Blue Collar" and "Give It Time", recorded at the same Japan concerts but not released on the LP edition.

A reviewer assesses, however, that critics are divided over BTO's legacy: Dave Marsh noted that the band peaked with Not Fragile, an album that "seemed to exhaust Bachman's imagination; everything before and since is simply sluggish."

"[13] After accusing BTO of "shamelessly stealing riffs from the Rolling Stones, The Doobie Brothers and anyone else who happened to be handy," Toronto Star critic Craig MacInnis acknowledged, "They knew how to put the hooks in all the right places, led by the urgent fretwork of Randy Bachman and the gravel vocal stylings of Turner, whose voice resembles a fully-revved Harley-Davidson.

"[42] Stephen King derived his Richard Bachman pen name from Bachman–Turner Overdrive, stating he was listening to the band's song "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" at the time his publisher asked him to choose a pseudonym on the spot.

[43] The band was featured in The Simpsons episode "Saddlesore Galactica", which has Randy and Fred voicing their own characters as BTO makes a reunion tour appearance in Springfield.

[44] Randy Bachman and Fred Turner also appeared in the 2012 comedy movie The Campaign, making a cameo performing the song "Taking Care of Business".

[45] The song "Takin' Care of Business" was also the title of a 1990 movie starring Jim Belushi as an escaped convict who wins tickets to see the Chicago Cubs in the World Series and finds the Filofax of businessman Charles Grodin.

The track "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" was featured as part of a running joke in the Harry Enfield sketch "Smashie and Nicey" in the early 1990s, with the duo playing the song to end almost every show.