Song of the Day 8/7: Bachman-Turner Overdrive, “Takin’ Care of Business”

Who says irony is dead? Zoom, the San Jose-based company that became synonymous with remote work, has told its employees they have to return to the office at least two days a week, provided they live within 50 miles of a Zoom work site. I have no idea if they run an 8:15 into the city in San Jose, but when Zoom workers can no longer phone it in, it’s the end of an era.

Despite its near-constant use in movies and commercials, Randy Bachman’s backhanded paean to peons only made it to No. 12 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1974. The tune, which Bachman originally called “White Collar Worker,” began during his Guess Who days as a rip-off of “Paperback Writer” so blatant that Burton Cummings refused to record it.

It only emerged in its final form one night in Vancouver when BTO’s lead singer, bassist Fred Turner, lost his voice one before their last set. After running through some cover tunes, Bachman told the band to play the song’s three chords over and over while he sang “White Collar Worker” with a new chorus – a local DJ’s tagline that Bachman heard that day while driving around town.

Bachman, who’s nothing if not a great storyteller, recalled, “When we finished the song that night, people kept clapping, stomping, and shouting ‘Takin’ care of business’ over and over. So we picked up the tempo again and reprised the song for another ten minutes. Afterwards, we all knew we had something.” You have to admit, it has a great beat for stomping.

The tune features a rarity in BTO’s catalog: a rollicking piano. Bachman – did I mention he’s a great storyteller? – frequently claims that it was supplied by a pizza delivery guy who convinced the band to let him play on the cut.

The truth is more prosaic. Norman Durkee was in an adjoining studio recording commercials when BTO’s recording engineer asked him to supply some keyboards. He scribbled the chords on a pizza box and, without ever hearing the song, came up with his part on the first take. He went on to a long music career in the Pacific Northwest.