Nuggets II: It’s My Pride by The Guess Who

Even before ‘American Woman’, The Guess Who were a beloved Canadian garage-rock band.

It's My Pride—The Guess Who

• Track 64, disc 3
• Year: 1966
• From: Winnipeg, Canada.

9/10

More about Nuggets II

Credits

3/10. IT’S MY PRIDE – The Guess Who (Canada)
(Randy Bachman)

PERSONNEL/BURTON CUMMINGS: vocals, keyboards * RANDY BACHMAN: guitar * JIM KALE: fuzz bass * GARRY PETERSON: drums
Produced by BOB BURNS & JOHN EDWARD
Recorded in Minneapolis, MN
Quality single #1863 (1967) [Canada]

The Guess Who

The Guess Who are among the best-known bands on Nuggets II. They fit the bill, having tolied away as a garage-rock band before hitting it big in the late 1960s. But most rock fans will know ‘American Woman’ and Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s ‘You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet’.

The band coalesced in 1962 as Chad Allan and the Reflections, with Randy Bachman on guitar, Jim Kale on bass, and Garry Peterson on drums. They had changed their name to Chad Allan and the Expressions when they released a cover of ‘Shakin’ All Over’. Their Canadian label, Quality Records, disguised the single by crediting it to Guess Who?, hoping people would think it was the work of a disguised British Invasion band. The song topped the Canadian charts and the name stuck.

It’s My Pride

‘It’s My Pride’ was the b-side to the 1966/1967 single ‘His Girl’. It was written by Randy Bachman.

Between “Shakin’ All Over” in 1965 and “These Eyes” in 1969, there were four dry years without a U.S. hit for The Guess Who. However, the period was hardly a dormant one for the band creatively. They were still popular in their native Canada, and in fact were producing some of the most exciting music of their career. No track demonstrates this excitement more fervently than “It’s My Pride,” a tough, uncompromising punker from 1967. Driven by an aggressive fuzz bass line, the song features a soulfully snarled vocal by Burton Cummings and some scorching lead guitar work.

Mike Stax, Nuggets liner notes

A tuneful garage rocker, it fits Nuggets II well. Randy Bachman’s a stronger guitarist than most Nuggets bands have, and it deftly balances melody, groove, and edge.

The Aftermath

Unlike most Nuggets bands, The Guess Who made it to the big time. ‘American Woman’ and ‘No Sugar Tonight’ were both number-one hits in the USA.

Randy Bachman left the band in 1970 after converting to Mormonism. He enjoyed success with Bachman-Turner Overdrive. The Guess Who broke up in 1974, but have reformed in 2026 with Bachman and Cummings.

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• Nuggets II Song by Song
• 1960s Album Reviews