Chad Allan, founding member of Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, dies at 80

Celebrated musician Chad Allan, a founding member of legendary Canadian rock bands the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, has died.

Jamie Anstey, vice president of Regenerator Records which reissued a number of his early albums and recordings, says Allan died last Tuesday but his family asked friends to delay announcing the news to give them time to grieve privately.

Allan had suffered a number of strokes since 2017 and had spent time in hospitals and a care home near his home in Burnaby, B.C.

“He was kind of a guy that never really made it in terms of fame and fortune, but he was certainly a pioneer and a founder of two huge Canadian groups, which I think is really special,” Anstey said in an interview Saturday.

Randy Bachman, a member of both bands, issued a social media post in which he said he was grateful to have known and worked with Allan. He described his former bandmate as “a quiet, gentle soul with a peaceful voice.”

Born Allan Kowbel on March 29, 1943, he adopted the stage name Chad Allan over frustrations with friends calling him “cow bell” and formed his first band while attending high school in Winnipeg.

The band took on several name changes, including Chad Allan and the Reflections and Chad Allan and the Expressions, before adopting the Guess Who.

Burton Cummings joined the group in 1965 and Allan left the band shortly thereafter over concerns that his exuberant live performances had blown out his voice.

Cummings in a tribute to Allan on Facebook, called Allan “an inspiration to all of us in bands in Winnipeg.”

“I learned a lot from watching and listening to Chad. He was very talented and one of a kind. He will always be remembered,” Cummings wrote.

Allan was inducted into the Order of Manitoba in 2015.

He is survived by his wife Christine, who he married in 1999.