The Story and Meaning of BTO’s Instant Smash Hit, “Takin’ Care of Business”

You’ll often hear songwriters share stories of crafting a hit song in mere minutes. However, Randy Bachman’s experience of creating Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s “Takin’ Care of Business” live in front of an audience is exceptional.

What is this song about? How did it transform from its original version? And did a pizza delivery guy really play the piano part? Here’s the intriguing tale behind “Takin’ Care of Business,” one of the most iconic party songs of the 1970s.

Randy Bachman left The Guess Who, a hugely popular band, partly due to their partying lifestyle. It’s ironic that he later found success with Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO), a band known for its party anthems. After leaving The Guess Who, Bachman formed an interim band called Brave Belt, which eventually evolved into the harder-rocking BTO.

Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s debut album in 1973 received positive attention but didn’t quite match the success Bachman had with The Guess Who. Needing a bigger hit, BTO was performing at clubs while working on material for their follow-up album “Bachman-Turner Overdrive II.” In one of these performances, their most famous song, “Takin’ Care of Business,” emerged.

The roots of “Takin’ Care of Business” date back to 1968 when Bachman, still with The Guess Who, wrote a song called “White Collar Worker” inspired by the busy morning rush hour in New York City. However, the band rejected it for being both overly complex and too similar to The Beatles’ “Paperback Writer.”

Fast forward to 1973, during a BTO club date, Bachman needed material because C.F. Turner needed a break from singing. Remembering “White Collar Worker,” Bachman simplified the song to a three-chord progression and played it with improvised lyrics. When it came to the chorus, he borrowed the phrase “Takin’ Care of Business” from a local DJ and sang it as a refrain. The audience’s enthusiastic response made it clear that BTO had found a potential hit.

The final twist came during the recording of the track. When a piano part was needed, Norman Durkee stepped in from the next room in the studio. Later, Bachman claimed Durkee was a pizza delivery guy who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. However, Durkee stated he was working in the next studio and had written the chords on a pizza box, leading to Bachman’s confusion.

“Takin’ Care of Business” skillfully resonates with both 9-to-5 workers and rock-and-rollers. The first verse portrays the daily grind of working life, emphasizing the stress and routine: “And if your train’s on time, you can get to work by nine / And start your slaving job to get your pay.”

Bachman then contrasts this with the relaxed life of a musician: “If you ever get annoyed, look at me I’m self-employed / I love to work at nothing all day.” He adds that becoming a musician isn’t as simple as it seems: “If it were as easy as fishin’, you could be a musician.” But once successful, a musician’s life is quite appealing: “It’s the work that we avoid.”

“Takin’ Care of Business” was the breakthrough BTO needed, setting the stage for more success, including the even bigger hit “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” the following year. Imagine the wild chain of events triggered by Bachman’s impromptu inspiration just before stepping up to the mic.

Photo by Ts/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Source: American Songwriter, Particle News