Randy Bachman - 2000s

2000s

Bachman played on several tours with The Guess Who until July 31, 2003. Both he and Burton Cummings left the band and formed Bachman Cummings. In 2000, he made a guest appearance on The Simpsons as himself with his former Bachman–Turner Overdrive bandmates, C.F. Turner and Robin Bachman. Simpsons creator Matt Groening (whose father is originally from Winnipeg) is a well-known BTO fan. Homer Simpson yells at Bachman to "get to the working overtime part" while playing "Takin' Care of Business".

In 2001, Bachman received an honorary Doctorate of Music from Brandon University in Brandon, Manitoba, along with the other members of The Guess Who. In 2005 Bachman was awarded the Order of Manitoba, the highest award in the Province of Manitoba. Bachman, along with The Guess Who, was also the recipient of The Governor General’s Performing Arts Award, Canada's foremost distinction for excellence in the performing arts, in 2002. In 2008, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

In the summer of 2005, Bachman started hosting the coast-to-coast show Vinyl Tap on CBC Radio One, where he plays audio recordings and reminisces about personal encounters with famous artists and musicians from his 50-year career in rock. This show runs from 7–9 pm every Saturday night, and can be accessed via the CBC Radio One web site and Sirius channel 159. There is a replay of the Saturday show on the following Friday night at 11 pm. It also repeats on CBC Radio 2 on Sundays at 6 pm.

On July 2, 2005, Bachman performed at the Canadian leg of the global Live 8 megaconcert organized by Bob Geldof.

Bachman helped Kalan Porter on his CD 219 Days. He suggested that Kalan do a drone on his violin on one of his songs, "In Spite Of It All". He was also featured in his song "And We Drive", playing a guitar solo near the end of the song.

Bachman tours with his own band, the Randy Bachman Band and the Bachman-Cummings Band. He has also created a popular theatre show called "Every Song Tells A Story", featuring Bachman live and unplugged with his band, telling the stories behind the writing of his famous hits from the 1960s and '70s. Bachman and Burton Cummings toured throughout Canada as Bachman & Cummings in the summer of 2006 with Toronto, Ontario's The Carpet Frogs.

Bachman has also released an album of original melodic jazz songs called "Jazz Thing", which is available on his official website.

Bachman and Fred Turner completed a new Bachman & Turner CD that was released in September, 2010. A radio pre-release single, "Rollin' Along," was posted in June, 2010 for sale on iTunes. The pair launched a two-year world tour (2010–11) under the name Bachman & Turner, which started at the Sweden Rock Festival in June, 2010. Other confirmed dates included the High Voltage Festival in London, UK in July, 2010 and the Manitoba Homecoming Event in Winnipeg, Manitoba. A new website, http://www.bachmanandturner.com, was launched on April 19, 2010. A sample single, "Rock n' Roll Is the Only Way Out," is posted on the site.