On This Day in 1974, Bachman-Turner Overdrive Hit No. 1 With a Song That Started as a Joke Between Brothers and Became a Worldwide Smash

On this day (November 9) in 1974, Bachman-Turner Overdrive was at No. 1 on the Hot 100 with “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.” It was the Canadian band’s only chart-topper in the United States. Additionally, it reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, giving BTO their only major hit across the pond. It also went to No. 1 in South Africa, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany, and their home country. Interestingly, the song started as a joke between Randy Bachman and his brother Gary.

BTO never intended to release “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.” While recording their third album, Not Fragile, they used it as a “work track.” They played it in the studio to dial in their settings on both sides of the mixing board. While recording it, Bachman improvised the lyrics.

Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s Biggest Hit Started with a Joke

Randy Bachman stuttered when he sang “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” to rib his brother, Gary, who had a stutter at the time. According to Songfacts, Bachman-Turner Overdrive only planned to release one copy of the song–the recording they made for Gary Bachman. As a result, they didn’t try to nail the perfect take. After all, polishing a song that would never see the light of day was a waste of studio time.

Mercury Records executive Charlie Fach listened to the eight songs originally intended for Not Fragile and told the band he didn’t hear a hit. Engineer Mark Smith suggested letting him hear the work track. Reluctantly, Bachman pressed play.

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Fach knew the song would be a hit and demanded it be included on the album. Bachman agreed, but said he would need time to remix it. “Don’t touch it,” Fach told him. “Put it on the way it is. When you play this with the other songs, it just jumps off the turntable.”

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