Fred Turner played in over a dozen bands in and around Winnipeg during his early adult years, his first vocal recordings being with the group Pink Plumm, which released one independent single titled "Along Came Pride".

Turner did join Brave Belt for live performances to support the first album, and soon stepped in as a full-time lead vocalist and bassist, which led to the departure of Allan.

While shopping around this "Brave Belt III" album and eventually being signed by Mercury Records, the band changed its name to Bachman–Turner Overdrive (BTO).

Fred composed and sang lead on BTO's first charting single, "Blue Collar" (#68 in 1973), which appeared on the band's debut album.

However, it was the second album, Bachman–Turner Overdrive II, that made BTO a household name, propelled by the hits "Takin' Care of Business" and "Let It Ride" (the latter featuring Turner as lead vocalist and co-composer).

When Randy Bachman left Bachman–Turner Overdrive in late 1977, Turner switched from bass to rhythm guitar to make room for bassist–vocalist Jim Clench.

Turner resumed his original role on the bass upon rejoining Randy Bachman in a band called Union, which released a 1981 album titled On Strike.

Turner is the lead vocalist on many of Bachman–Turner Overdrive's most popular tracks, including "Roll On Down the Highway," "Let It Ride," "Blue Collar," "Four Wheel Drive," "Not Fragile" and "Take It Like a Man."

Other musicians that recorded songs for this album include Lonesome Dave Peverett of Foghat, Pat Travers, and Edgar Winter.

"[9][10] Originally, Randy was developing a solo album and asked Fred to be a guest vocalist on one track called "Rock n’ Roll is the Only Way Out".

However, after Fred sent back the track with his voice added, Randy was so impressed at how well the vocals fit the music, he decided to scrap his solo effort in favour of a full-on collaboration with Turner.

[11] Bachman and Turner embarked on a 2010–11 world tour in support of their 2010 album, though numerous BTO songs were also played in their live set.