Six decades of constant radio rotation made Burton Cummings a global icon, though just because he has more gold records than anyone could count, The Guess Who’s original singer/songwriter and solo star is as hungry to create as ever.

In fact on Monday, July 14, not only will the North Shore Center For The Performing Arts’ George Van Dusen Theatre in Skokie get to hear such classic cuts as “American Woman,” “These Eyes,” “Laughing,” “No Time,” “Share The Land,” “No Sugar Tonight” and “Stand Tall,” but also “A Few Good Moments” off an exceptional new rock and roll revival album of the same name.

Chicago Concert Reviews was honored to receive the golden-voiced headliner’s phone call from Canada for a revealing conversation about such rarely rivaled longevity, recording right here in the Windy City, joining Ringo Starr’s All- Starr Band, getting covered by Lenny Kravitz and looking forward to reassembling The Guess Who.

How would you describe the show you’ll be bringing to the North Shore Center?

Burton Cummings: What we have now is a straight ahead rock and roll band. It’s a really heavy, powerful band. I have two guitar players, another singer/percussionist, a drummer that sings and a bass player that sings. So basically, six of us are singers and the vocals are stronger than ever, much stronger than the days with the old Guess Who. I’ve always enjoyed having two guitar players. We do the big records. I know why people are coming to see me. We do all of the most famous songs, and from the new album, we’re doing “Blackjack Fever” and “Shape I’m In,” like real rockers. I’m very proud of the album. It’s gotten tremendous reviews from critics. One thing every singer yearns to hear is, “Hey Burton, you still sound like you did when I was a kid.” “Hey Burton, you still sound like the guy on the records.” That’s something I’ve always cherished.

Can you remember any performances in the area or does anything else come to mind about Chicago in general?

Cummings: I have been in your area many, many times over the years. I think there’s a theater called the Arie Crown. We played there several times. The sound was really good. It was a nice big stage where the band could move around…One thing that I love about Chicago is how they have resorted and kept the old theaters. There are so many heritage buildings there. Old movie theaters, they’ve restored them and kept them. It’s fabulous. Every few blocks in downtown Chicago, there’s another beautiful, old theater.

Chicago has always been special to us because we created so many of the big records there. As a matter of fact, we recorded three or four of our biggest Guess Who albums in Chicago. RCA had a recording studio downtown Chicago right downtown across from the opera house up on the 12th floor and we ended up recording our “American Woman” album, the “Share The Land” album, “So Long, Bannatyne” and part of “Rockin’.” I think we did almost four albums in Chicago, so I’m very familiar with that area.

What led you to keep coming back for so many recordings?

Cummings: We loved the studio, number one. It sounded great for what we were doing as a band. When we started clicking with all those hit records, “These Eyes,” “Laughing,” “American Woman,” “Share The Land,” “Hand Me Down World,” RCA was treating us very well and they said, “You can use any of our studios.” We were in Chicago playing a concert one time. We went in, checked out the studio and loved it, so we spent a lot of time recording in Chicago. Our biggest record ever, “American Woman,” with “No Sugar Tonight” on the flip side, that was done right in downtown Chicago.

What is it about these songs that have allowed them to stand the test of time?

Cummings: When I was a kid in Winnipeg, there were only 300,000 people there, maybe 350,000, maybe 400,000. It wasn’t a monstrous city, but we had three AM radio stations all competing for the audience. We ended up hearing more stuff than any other city in Canada and I think that crept into the songwriting. We were exposed to Sunday mornings on CKY Radio. There would be Dino Corbin with “Hits Around The World” and he would play stuff that was happening in Australia, and England, and Germany and all of that crept into the songwriting. [Guitarist/co-songwriter] Randy [Bachman] and I were in awe of some of the songwriting teams like, well of course [Mick] Jagger and [Keith] Richards [of The Rolling Stones], and [John] Lennon and [Paul] McCartney [of The Beatles], but also Gerry Goffin and Carole King, [Doc] Pomus and [Mort] Shuman, Hal David and Burt Bacharach. We loved the songwriting teams, and Randy and I kind of modeled ourselves after those songwriting teams.

You were the first band to really break out of Canada to become a global phenomena. What was that like?

Cummings: It hit us pretty quickly. I was still very young. Basically when “These Eyes” hit, I was 20, 21. I hadn’t even left home yet. I was still living at home with my mother and grandmother. That’s one of the things that makes me the proudest, that the songs have never gone away. Not everybody can casually say in conversation, “Hey man, I’ve been on the radio for 50 years.” But you know what? I have been. I’ve been on the radio for almost sixty years, so that’s something to be very proud of I think.

What would you say was The Guess Who’s most pivotal moment?

Cummings: I think when we heard that “American Woman” had gone to number one in “Billboard.” That was a pretty big deal that day. We were in Milwaukee, and we got a call from New York City that the new chart numbers had come out and “American Woman” had gone to number one! We all got together in one room, and jumped up on a bed and hugged each other. I was 21. To have a record at number one in “Billboard,” it was pretty overwhelming and amazing.

What made you decide to leave the band initially and embark upon a solo career?

Cummings: The band had evolved into something I didn’t like. We got [Domenic] Troiano on guitar and it just was the wrong choice. The band was evolving into something that was more fusion. It was away from pop music and I’m a pop music guy. I was raised on three-minute singles and the band started getting away from that. I thought to myself, “look, I’ve seen Neil Young do it. I’ve seen Peter Gabriel do it. I’ve seen a lot of guys leave successful groups and go solo,” so I thought I’m gonna try it myself. And right off the bat, we had a gold record with “Stand Tall,” so I was very lucky.

You’re still making music to this very day, right up to “A Few Good Moments.” Tell us about your current musical vision.

Cummings: I have enough songs yet for another new album, but we’re very proud of the one that just came out. It was available for streaming for a couple of months, but now you can get copies on CD or in three different colors of vinyl. And now I can officially say I’ve lasted well into the Taylor Swift era because my new album is available in three colors of vinyl. I’ve done over 30 albums, but I’ve never had colored vinyl before…

You know, I don’t write teenage love songs anymore. I’m gonna be 78 next birthday. I just turned 77 on New Year’s Eve. I think the songwriting is reflective now more of living longer and having more experiences. My lyrics are now, I think more personal, more introspective, maybe a little more existential, because when you get to be my age, every ache and pain is terrifying. I’m finding out what it’s like to grow older, so that is spurring the new songs, the experience of having lived. Now I’m well into seven decades and I think that creeps into the songwriting. Absolutely it does.

In the ‘80s and ‘90s, I believe you were also part of Ringo Starr’s first-ever All-Starr Band. How did that all come together?

Cummings: They phoned me. They got a hold of my manager. The promoter wanted people that had individual success. Then Ringo rounds up a bunch of people that have all had their own success and that’s what makes it so special. That was a tremendous tour. We did nine months all over the world in a private plane. I don’t know if we were the first Ringo Starr All-Starr Band, but I think we were one of the very best. We had Joe Walsh, and Todd Rundgren, and Nils Lofgren, and Dave Edmunds, all on guitar. On bass, we had Timothy B. Schmit from the Eagles. On drums, we had Ringo and his son Zak [Starkey], and myself on keyboards, so it was a tremendous band. Everybody’s records sounded great, so it was terrific.

Are there any other artists you’ve crossed paths with along the way that really stood out?

Cummings: We opened for Creedence Clearwater [Revival] one time in the L.A. Forum and [John] Fogerty was tremendous. He stood there and screamed for two-and-a-half-hours. When I was a kid in The Deverons, before I was even in The Guess Who, we got to open for Gerry And The Pacemakers at the height of the British Invasion days. That was a pretty special night. I’ve gotten to meet a lot of my heroes. I was on “The Dinah Shore Show” one time with Ray Charles, and I got to sit next to Ray Charles and talk to him for the whole afternoon. I’ve got thousands of memories that I cherish dearly and I will never let them go.

Your songs have appeared in so many different movies, TV shows and online. What are a few you especially enjoy or found to be really clever?

Cummings: I was at the premiere of the movie with Kevin Spacey, “American Beauty,” in my hometown of Winnipeg. It won a lot of Oscars. I think Kevin Spacey got the Oscar for “Best Actor” and I think it got the Oscar for “Best Picture,” so it was a big deal. There’s a scene in that movie where Kevin Spacey gets into the car, plugs in a cassette, lights up a joint and what’s playing on the cassette is “American Woman.” He sings along with me for about 30 seconds or 40 seconds of the song. That was a pretty big deal.

Also in the movie “Superbad,” when the two guys get to a big party they’re not supposed to be at. It’s full of bikers and [when] they’re gonna beat the hell out of these guys, one of ‘em says, “don’t hurt him, he’s a singer.” And one of the bikers says, “if he’s a singer, then get him to sing something” and he sings “These Eyes.” He sings about half the song. Tremendous movies and a tremendous feeling for me to have stuff that came out of my head being on the screen.

What about having “American Woman” being redone by Lenny Kravitz for “Austin Powers”?

Cummings: Oh absolutely! I’ll tell you this, Mike Myers is a Canadian. He grew up in Toronto and heard my voice on the radio his entire life while he was growing up I guess. Mike was producing the movie and he decided they wanted to use “American Woman” as the outro for the ending credits. They used it and it started getting a lot of reaction from Lenny Kravitz’s fans. Something very interesting happened. They had out an album called “Lenny Kravitz’s Greatest Hits,” and when “American Woman” took off, they re-serviced that album to include “American Woman,” so that’s a pretty big deal for myself who came up with those lyrics. I was very happy, and then Lenny and I did it together on a live television broadcast on MuchMusic in Canada. Lenny and I were trading vocal verses at the end. It was a thrill for me.

[Also on] New Year’s Eve about ten years ago, there was a huge broadcast. Lenny Kravitz and Prince, two of my heroes, they did “American Woman” together on television! Here I am, a guy from the North End of Winnipeg, watching two superstars do a song that I made up in my head!

How do you feel about the various points when The Guess Who reunited, especially in the late ‘90s and early 2000s when you played even bigger places than before?

Cummings: It was very exciting, but it wasn’t new and so it wasn’t mind-blowing the second time. When it happened the first time, we could hardly believe it, you know? The reunion tours, they were okay, but the nicest thing was seeing the fans that still loved the music. And as you said earlier today, it’s something to do with the lasting power, the endurance power of the songs, Whatever that is, I wish I knew the formula, but we happened to do it and I’m very proud of our legacy, our history.

There was just an announcement that you and Randy are doing a Guess Who show on the Rock Legends Cruise in 2026. You’ve obviously done a lot with Randy over the years, but what made you guys decide to reassemble The Guess Who together?

Cummings: Well, because we finally got rid of the fake Guess Who that had been touring, using our records to promote their fake band, a bunch of wannabes. That’s over with now, so Randy and I are gonna go out and do the real thing. We’re the guys that wrote the songs and Randy is a tremendous guitar player. When the two of us get together, it’s a pretty good show, so I’m looking forward to this show coming up.

Do you have plans to tour or will it just be one special concert?

Cummings: I don’t know. We honestly don’t know yet because Randy’s out doing his BTO thing and I’ve got a band that I love. I’m very happy with my own band, so we’ll see what comes up in the future.

What are your thoughts on seeing Randy continue to have that success in Bachman-Turner Overdrive after you first worked together?

Cummings: Oh, I’ve always wished him the best. It’s hard enough to get a hit record, and when we were both having individual hit records away from each other, I always wished him the best. Randy and I wrote some timeless songs together and no one can ever change that. “These Eyes,” “Laughing,” “American Woman,” “No Time,” one of my favorite records we ever did. Randy and I wrote that together. “No Time,” I heard it the other day on the radio here in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan where I live and it didn’t sound that old to me. It still sounded like a new record, so I’m very happy with how the records lasted.

Outside of the songs themselves, what honors or awards have meant the most to you?

Cummings: I still love the gold records. When you’re a kid in Winnipeg, you dream of these people like Bobby Darin, and Bobby Vee, and Elvis [Presley] and Fats Domino. Gold records were always my goal. Now I have a whole bunch of them and I love them. I look at them every day when I wake up, every single day, so I’m very happy with what we’ve been able to accomplish.

You’ve done so much, but is there anything left you want to create or achieve?

Cummings: I’ve got enough songs now for yet another album, so my immediate goal is to get this band in and record another album. I’m looking forward to the future because our concerts are great these days. We’re sending the crowds home happy and that has always been my goal. As long as I can keep sounding like Burton, we’re gonna keep rocking!

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Burton Cummings performs at the North Shore Center For The Performing Arts’ George Van Dusen Theatre on Monday, July 14. For additional details, visit BurtonCummings.com and NorthShoreCenter.org.