- Brave Belt
Brave Belt was a Canadian rock band from
Winnipeg ,Manitoba originally consisting ofRandy Bachman (guitar/vocals), his former Guess Who bandmate, Chad Allan (lead vocals/keyboards), and Randy's brother Robbie (drums). Shortly after the release of the band's first album, "Brave Belt I" (Reprise Records , 1971), C.F. "Fred" Turner was added as bassist for the supporting concerts.Gormley, Peter. "BTO (Bachman-Turner Overdrive) Frequently Asked Questions," 7/31/97.]The band made the Canadian Top 40 with the minor hit "Crazy Arms, Crazy Eyes", which peaked at #35 in November of 1971. However, they missed the US charts completely.
When Allan left the band in
1971 , Turner became the lead vocalist for the "Brave Belt II" album (1972). During the supporting tours for "Brave Belt II",Tim Bachman was added as a second guitarist. After this lineup (C.F. Turner with Randy, Tim and Robbie Bachman) had shopped around the demo that was supposed to be a "Brave Belt III" album, new management convinced them to change their name. They eventually settled onBachman-Turner Overdrive .Though Brave Belt is relatively unknown some 30+ years later, the importance of the band was summed up by Randy Bachman in a 2001 interview: "It was an innocent time of soul-searching. Nobody would play with me when I left The Guess Who. I was completely black-listed. I couldn't get a decent musician to play with me, except Chad Allan, who had also been in The Guess Who and left. He and I bonded together, and I might not have gotten started without him, even though he left sometime after that first album. Those [Brave Belt] albums are so important to me because, for the first time, I was making my own music, paying for it, finding strengths in it, and going through the process of finding the right music for the record. It led to me becoming a stronger producer for BTO." [Dave Brosha interview with Randy Bachman at www.canEHdian.com.]
Canadian Chart Singles
* "Rock and Roll Band" (1971) - #64
* "Crazy Arms, Crazy Eyes" (1971) - #35
* "Never Comin' Home" (1972) - #57
* "Dunrobin's Gone" (1972) - #58References
External links
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:giazefqkhgf4~T1 Allmusic.com Entry]
* [http://www.canadianbands.com/Brave%20Belt.html CanConRox entry]
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