CFL Soundtrack: Will Ottawa take care of business? We ain’t seen nothing yet…

Thursday marks the start of the 2014 CFL season, so it's a good time for our team-by-team music-themed previews with the CFL Soundtrack series. Going from East to West, here's a look at each of the CFL's nine teams and what musical acts they compare to. Next in line are the Ottawa Redblacks, who bear some similarities to Bachman Turner.

The CFL's had a long history in Ottawa, but under a lot of different names: franchises in the area have included the Ottawa Rough Riders (1958-1996), the Ottawa Renegades (2002-2005) and the current Redblacks (starting play this year). Similarly, Winnipeg natives Randy Bachman and Fred Turner have played huge parts in the Canadian music scene over the years, but they've been through a ton of name changes and band lineups as well, from Bachman being in and out of the Guess Who to the duo's band starting as Brave Belt, moving to Bachman Turner Overdrive, changing to BTO when Bachman left, reforming as Bachman Turner Overdrive, touring again as BTO without Bachman, and then changing to Bachman Turner when the two reunited without the rest of the band. The issues around their various name changes (from Bachman forcing the band to abandon his surname after his departure to his issues with the BTO tours to former members Robbie Bachman and Blair Thornton suing over the use of the name Bachman Turner without them) are reminiscent of the discussion about Ottawa being unable to return as Rough Riders because of Saskatchewan interference, too. In many ways, the Redblacks are where the Bachman Turner reunion was a few years ago; something new, but heavily influenced by and reminiscent of what came before.

Early success for both Ottawa and BTO wasn't that far apart, with the Rough Riders winning Grey Cups in 1968, 1969 (in Russ Jackson's final game), 1973 and 1976 and BTO getting its start as Brave Belt in 1971, breaking through with their self-titled album in May 1973 and finding huge success with BTO 2 in December 1973, just a month after Ottawa beat Edmonton 22-18 in the 61st Grey Cup. That album featured such hits as "Let It Ride" and "Taking Care of Business," but their biggest single, "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" arrived on 1974's Not Fragile. The single hit #1 in the U.S. and Canada, as did the album. A couple of years later, the Ottawa CFL franchise recorded perhaps its signature moment with Tony Gabriel's legendary catch in the 1976 Grey Cup. The good times weren't to last for either, though.

The beginning of the end for BTO came in 1977, when the Bachman-dominated Freeways upset Turner, which eventually resulted in guitarist/vocalist Bachman leaving the band. (He wanted to just take time off to do a side project at first, but was turned down by management, and wasn't particularly happy with BTO's direction in any case.) Jim Clench came in as bassist while Turner shifted to rhythm guitarist with the two sharing the singing duties. The remaining members (including Robbie Bachman on drums) made a deal with Bachman for the rights to "BTO", but couldn't use "Bachman Turner Overdrive," name confusion that seems very familiar in Ottawa. BTO didn't get too far without Bachman at this point, releasing the poor-selling Street Action and Rock and Roll Nights, but he also struggled on his own, with the short-lived Ironhorse and with the even-shorter-lived Union (where Turner joined him). That led to a partial group reunion as BTO in 1983, but with Robbie Bachman left out thanks to fights over business and trademark issues and former Guess Who drummer Garry Peterson used instead. That group only lasted until 1986, but Randy's brother Tim (a founding member of BTO who left in 1974) carried on as BTO for a while before the Not Fragile lineup (Randy Bachman, Turner, Thornton and Robbie Bachman) reunited in 1988, only for Bachman to leave again in 1991 and take a sledgehammer to the group. Turner, Robbie Bachman and the rest of the band carried on until 2004, bringing in Randy Murray on vocals and lead guitar, but there were countless fights with Bachman over the rights to the name and more and the lineup without him wasn't that successful. When the group finally went on hiatus in 2004, it seemed they'd just let it ride and not come back.

Similarly, Ottawa went into a downward spiral after 1976. The team struggled on and off the field, and things got really bad once Bernie and Lonie Glieberman took ownership in 1991. After various misadventures, such as signing Dexter Manley (who'd been banned from the NFL over cocaine use and was nowhere near football shape), they tried to move the team to Shreveport as part of the CFL USA experiment, but were persuaded to split it in half, with the Canadian half going to Bruce Firestone. His ownership didn't last long either, though, and the team continued to be a CFL laughingstock, struggling on the field and selecting dead player Derrell Robertson in a 1995 dispersal draft. Chicago businessman Horn Chen took over in 1995 and ran the club even further into the ground, leading to their folding after the 1996 season.

As with BTO, there was a short-lived reunion with some old faces. The CFL expanded to Ottawa in 2002 with a new franchise called the Renegades (thanks to Chen's company still holding the "Rough Riders" trademark, evidence he was looking out for number one). However, thanks to draft rules that didn't give them much to start with, the team struggled on the field, and there were major cash issues off the field. That somehow led to the return of the Gliebermans in 2005, and that led to incredibly ill-conceived promotions such as Mardi Gras Night. Just shouting "Give me your money, please!" might have proved more effective. The team went bankrupt in 2006, and the league elected not to take them over. With yet another chance blown, it looked like the end of CFL football in Ottawa.

Both groups made surprising revivals, though. Bachman and Turner, always the two most influential members of BTO, announced in December 2009 that they were getting back together. They've been touring since then, and although they've had to appear as "Bachman Turner" (as Robbie Bachman still held the BTO rights and even sued them over appearing as "Bachman Turner"), they've put on some terrific concerts reminiscent of the old BTO days, including a great one at the 2010 Grey Cup. That concert also led to a hilarious video from their rehearsal of a presumed maintenance man rocking out with his broom, then falling down the stadium stairs:

Similarly, few saw the CFL's return to Ottawa coming after the way things ended with the Renegades, but the league approached it with a slow and careful plan. They conditionally awarded a franchise to proven junior hockey owner Jeff Hunt and his group in 2008, but didn't go too far until stadium details were finalized, and set up an expansion draft that would give the team a significant crop of starting talent. The team's generally handled things well to date, and although there have been a few missteps (such as their ALLCAPS stylizing), they appear set on the business front, selling out non-season ticket spots for their home opener over a month in advance. The main question now is how they'll do on the field.

The Redblacks face an uphill on-field battle this season, as every other team has much more experience playing together than they do. They've acquired some impressive players, including quarterback Henry Burris (free agency), defensive tackle Keith Shologan (dispersal draft) and offensive lineman Jon Gott (trade on the day of the Canadian draft), but they still have to mould them into a cohesive group. Along similar lines, Bachman and Turner had to find a supporting cast to work with them on this reunion. That's a little easier than turning a group of misfits into a CFL contender, though. It's impressive that Ottawa's back together, but as per on-field results, we may need to give it time. We haven't seen them take care of business yet, have we, Keith Moon?

Prediction: 5-13, last in East, out of playoffs.

Stay tuned to 55-Yard Line for more team previews, plus our league-wide preview chat Thursday at noon Eastern!