Also see:
• Stuttering Moments in Music
• Singing and Stuttering

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s hit "You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet," a single that reached No.1 in the United States, Canada and 20 other countries.

However, this 1974 classic rock anthem by the Winnipeg-based band created a wave of attention in 2011, which resulted in positive karma for countless Canadians who stutter.

That year, the Stuttering Foundation issued a press release titled “Stuttering to the Top of the Charts,” in which it named BTO’s song as the top stuttering song of all-time, beating out famous tunes such as Elton John’s "Bennie and the Jets," The Who’s "My Generation," David Bowie’s "Changes," and many others.

We chose BTO’s song because it was the only such song with stuttering vocals that was about a real person who stuttered; the backstory underscores the power of speech therapy.

Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s first manager was a Bachman brother, Gary, who stuttered. After Gary left his role as manager, Randy Bachman sang their new song with stuttering vocals as an inside joke, with the intention that only Gary would hear the tape.

After recording their new album Not Fragile, their record company, Mercury Records, had room for another song on the LP. Randy played ‘You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet,’ and explained that it was a joke and agreed to include the song on the album if the band could re-record it. The team at Mercury Records hated the new “serious” version of the song and demanded the inclusion of the version with the stuttering vocals for the album.

What sets ‘You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet’ apart from many other songs with stuttering vocals is that it’s not only about a real person who stuttered, but the second part of the backstory is even more compelling. Gary Bachman would later overcome his stuttering through speech therapy and embark on a highly successful career in real estate, becoming one of the top realtors in Winnipeg and owning his own agency for over 30 years.

When the Stuttering Foundation sent out its press release in 2011, a Winnipeg newspaper wrote an article about the press release titled “BTO Song Singled Out,” in which they interviewed Gary Bachman. This article went out on the Canadian newswire and was picked up by virtually every newspaper in Canada. The result was that the true story behind "You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet" was revealed some 37 years after the fact.

We here at the Stuttering Foundation were absolutely swamped by a tsunami of emails and calls to our toll-free 800 number in Canada from Canadian communications people who stutter. Many called to say that they were inspired by the story behind the BTO song and the fact Gary Bachman found fluency through speech therapy.

They wanted advice on pursuing speech therapy themselves. Others called to say they had entered speech therapy after reading the article. One person called to tell us that for 37 years, he had to change the station every time the song came on because it was too painful. Now, it was his favourite song of all time!

How wonderful is it that 37 years after topping the charts, a classic rock song helped to transform lives by leading people who stutter in Canada into speech therapy?

Every time Randy Bachman does an interview and mentions the song’s background, we receive inquiries for guidance in speech therapy.

On the 50th anniversary of "You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet," we thank Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Gary Bachman and especially Randy Bachman. We hope his interviews around the world continue to send people who stutter to speech therapy.

Canada should not only be proud of the song’s half-century of success, but also of the ironic twist of how it has served to help so many adults and children who stutter throughout the provinces, territories and beyond.

From the Fall 2024 Magazine