American Top Ten: American Woman (#7)

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Oh, who didn’t see this song coming? All of these countdowns tie together in more than one way (celebrating the birthdays of Canada and the US). This isn’t the last time you’ll see these guys on these lists. Here’s today’s song with “America” in the title. #7: American Woman - Guess Who Oh, go on, guess who!!!! Technically, it’s not the first time, either. Bachman-Turner Overdrive founder Randy Bachman was a member of the Guess Who, right up until this song hit big. Here’s an interesting thing: this was the first time a Canadian act had ever topped the Billboard pop charts. It had been done a number of times in country, thanks to today’s Canadian artist Hank Snow, but no Canadian had ever topped the rock and roll side of things. Guess we were too busy buying British Invasion records to notice the talent in our back yard. This isn’t exactly the most flattering song about the US you’ll ever hear, either: they lament about our “war machine” (this was during the Vietnam War) and the “ghetto scene” (when the government decided they knew what was best for the African-American community and instituted “urban renewal”). Well, it was the truth. American Woman Written by Burton Cummings, Garry Peterson, Jim Kale, and Randy Bachman Recorded by the Guess Who From American Woman, 1970 Spark on someone else’s eyes: