Jim Kale
{{Use Canadian English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{short description|Canadian bassist (born 1943)}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Jim Kale
| image = Jim Kale 2008.JPG
| landscape = yes
| caption = Kale with The Guess Who in 2008
| birth_name = Michael James Kale
| alias =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1943|8|11}}
| birth_place = Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| death_date = {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}}
| death_place =
| origin = Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| genre = Rock
| occupation = Bassist
| years_active = 1962–2016
| past_member_of = The Guess Who, Scrubbaloe Caine
| website =
}}
Michael James Kale (born August 11, 1943) is a Canadian rock musician, best known as the original bassist for the rock band The Guess Who.{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p4412/biography|pure_url=yes}}|title=Biography: The Guess Who|last=Huey|first=Steve|publisher=AMG|access-date=May 18, 2010}} He was also a member of the band Scrubbaloe Caine. In 1987, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame as a member of The Guess Who.{{Cite web|url=https://canadianmusichalloffame.ca/inductee/the-guess-who/|title=The Guess Who – Canadian Music Hall Of Fame|access-date=January 16, 2021}}
Career
Michael James "Jim" Kale was born in Winnipeg. He described his father, who died in 1967 while the Guess Who were on tour in the UK, as abusive and an alcoholic.{{Cite web |last=Updates |first=Gordon Sinclair Jr Posted: Last Modified: {{!}} |date=2012-11-17 |title=Nov 2012: Opinion: Former Guess Who friends now bitter enemies |url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2012/11/17/former-guess-who-friends-now-bitter-enemies |access-date=2024-07-27 |website=Winnipeg Free Press |language=en-US}} Kale joined the local Winnipeg band Chad Allan and the Reflections in 1962; that band later spun off into The Guess Who.{{cite book|author=Frank Hoffmann|title=Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9GGTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT992|date=November 12, 2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=1-135-94949-2|pages=992–}} Kale was the band's bassist during its most successful period up to 1972, appearing on several hit singles and albums and co-writing the band's best-known song, "American Woman", which reached no. 1 in Canada and the United States.{{cite magazine|title=Top Singles – Volume 13, No. 12, May 9, 1970|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.3781&type=2&interval=20&PHPSESSID=m89iq841abagb37ld9c0fdc1f3|magazine=RPM|access-date=February 23, 2011}}{{cite book|author=Martin Charles Strong|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eyvXOydfVt8C&pg=PT912|title=The Great Rock Discography|publisher=Canongate|year=2002|isbn=978-1-84195-312-0|page=912}}{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=the-guess-who-p4412/charts-awards/billboard-singles|label=The Guess Who – Awards}}File:The Guess Who.pngKale left The Guess Who in 1972 after the Live at the Paramount album, going on to join Scrubbaloe Caine.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/scrubbaloe-caine-mn0001341301|title=Scrubbaloe Caine | Biography & History | AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=January 16, 2021}} Scrubbaloe Caine was nominated for the 1974 Juno Award for Most Promising Group,{{Cite web|title=Scrubbaloe Caine Round One|url=http://www.canuckistanmusic.com/index.php?maid=629|access-date=April 25, 2021|website=Canuckistan Music}} losing to Bachman–Turner Overdrive featuring Kale's former bandmate Randy Bachman. Kale left Scrubbaloe Caine in late 1974"From the Music Capitals of the World: Toronto". Billboard, July 13, 1974. and subsequently formed and played with the Jim Kale Band/Jim Kale Show, followed by the Ripple Brothers.{{cite web | url=https://www.vancemasters.ca/gallery_jkale.pdf | title=Change in personnel keeps bands fresh | author= Silvio Dobri |website=The Tribune |date=May 19, 1977 |access-date=January 15, 2024}}
Meanwhile, The Guess Who had broken up in 1975, and in 1977 the CBC invited former members to participate in a reunion concert. Group leaders Bachman and Burton Cummings were not interested, but Kale asked group leaders Bachman and Burton Cummings for permission to use the Guess Who name for the concert.{{Cite web|date=January 4, 2024|title= Burton Cummings on legacy of The Guess Who, lawsuit against current lineup, more |url=https://www.goldminemag.com/features/burton-cummings-on-legacy-of-the-guess-who-lawsuit-against-current-lineup-more|access-date=January 16, 2021 |author=Patrick Prince| website=Goldmine}}{{Cite web|date=January 20, 2016|title=Great Guess Who divide embodies one of rock's oldest dilemmas|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/entertainment-columns/mike-weatherford/great-guess-who-divide-embodies-one-of-rocks-oldest-dilemmas/|access-date=January 16, 2021}}{{Cite web|last=Tribune|first=Jon Bream, Minneapolis Star|title=Randy Bachman discusses the Guess Who, his old pal Neil Young|url=https://www.telegram.com/entertainmentlife/20190120/randy-bachman-discusses-guess-who-his-old-pal-neil-young|access-date=January 16, 2021|website=telegram.com}} Taking this initial permission beyond what Bachman and Cummings had granted, he instead formed the first of many new line-ups of The Guess Who to record and tour the nostalgia circuit under the name, nostalgia lineups that Bachman and Cummings have frequently criticized.{{cite web|title=Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings Reunite for Charity|publisher=Nicholas Jennings|url=https://www.nicholasjennings.com/music-feature-randy-bachman-and-burton-cummings|accessdate=March 23, 2021}}
Kale led shifting nostalgia-oriented line-ups of The Guess Who regularly until 2016, and released several new albums under that name which received little notice. He was sometimes joined by original Guess Who drummer Garry Peterson. Kale also participated in a reunion tour of the classic Guess Who line-up with Peterson, Cummings, and Bachman in 1983,{{Cite web|title=Guess Who – 1983 – Reunion soundboard@320|url=https://www.guitars101.com/threads/guess-who-1983-reunion-soundboard-320.108239/|access-date=February 27, 2021|website=Guitars101 – Guitar Forums|language=en-US}} and performed with them again at the closing ceremonies of the Pan-American Games in 1999.{{cite news|date=August 9, 1999|title='Best ever' Pan Am Games end|publisher=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/best-ever-pan-am-games-end-1.188857|url-status=live|access-date=July 27, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510130040/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/1999/08/09/panam990809.html|archive-date=May 10, 2008}} After a break from 2000 to 2004, when a Cummings/Bachman reunion line-up toured extensively,{{Cite web|last=Onesti|first=Ron|date=July 12, 2019|title=Ron Onesti: 'Guess Who' is going to rock the Arcada|url=https://www.dailyherald.com/insights/20190712/ron-onesti-guess-who-is-going-to-rock-the-arcada|access-date=February 27, 2021|website=Daily Herald|language=en-US}} Kale revived his nostalgia tour version of The Guess Who and continued touring with shifting line-ups until his retirement in 2016. He was replaced by Rudy Sarzo, although Kale retained the rights to the band name, leasing it to various musicians performing as "The Guess Who" (sometimes including Garry Peterson).{{cn|date=November 2023}}
Both Cummings and Bachman were highly critical of Kale/Peterson's version of the Guess Who, calling it "the fake Guess Who", or "Kale's Klones" and calling the band's concerts "fake bullshit shows."{{Cite magazine|last=Millman|first=Ethan|date=October 30, 2023|title='Fake Bullshit Shows': Guess Who Co-Founders Sue Ex-Bandmates|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-guess-who-founders-sue-band-false-advertising-trademark-1234863424/|access-date=December 26, 2023|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}} Kale himself referred to his own potential iteration of the group as "a band of trained monkeys."{{Cite web |last=Millman |first=Ethan |date=2024-09-04 |title=The Guess Who End Decades-Long Legal Battle: 'An Impossible Task' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/guess-who-name-dispute-lawsuit-settlement-1235092842/ |access-date=2024-09-04 |website=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}
Early in 2023, Bachman and Cummings sent multiple cease-and-desist letters to the Peterson-led nostalgia band, accusing them of misleading the public.{{cite news|title=Classic Rockers the Guess Who Sue Ex-Members for False Advertising|work=Rolling Stone|first=Ethan|last=Millman|date=October 30, 2023|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-guess-who-founders-sue-band-false-advertising-trademark-1234863424/}} In October 2023, after having received no response to the letters, Bachman and Cummings launched a "false advertising" lawsuit against Kale and Peterson, claiming that the band has used the Guess Who name, photos of Bachman and Cummings, and original recordings, "to give the false impression that Plaintiffs are performing as part of the cover band." Bachman and Cummings sought $20 million in damages. A hearing pertaining to the lawsuit and Kale and Peterson's counterclaims was scheduled for January 2024.{{cite news|title=Guess Who members seek to dismiss lawsuit from Cummings and Bachman|publisher=MSN|agency=The Canadian Press|date=December 22, 2023|url=https://www.msn.com/en-ca/entertainment/other/guess-who-members-seek-to-dismiss-lawsuit-from-cummings-and-bachman/ar-AA1lKJ8I|access-date=December 29, 2023}} In April 2024, a federal judge denied Kale and Peterson's motion to dismiss the Bachman and Cummings suit.{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/the-guess-who-burton-cummings-lawsuit-band-1235001408/ | title=The Battle over Classic Rock Band the Guess Who Just Went Nuclear | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=April 11, 2024 }}
In April 2024, Cummings arranged to have legal permission pulled for any public performance of any Guess Who material Cummings had written or co-written. This legal gambit left both the performer and the owner of the performance venue liable for damages if any Cummings-authored Guess Who songs were performed for an audience. Following this action, the cover band was unable to perform most of the group's biggest hits, including "These Eyes", "American Woman", "No Time", and "Share The Land", and many others. The group's concerts were immediately cancelled and the website for the Kale/Peterson-licensed Guess Who band was shut down in July 2024.{{cite news|title=Burton Cummings Gives Up Guess Who Royalties to Prevent Fake Band from Playing Their Songs |work=Exclaim!|first=Megan|last=Lapierre|date=April 11, 2024|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/burton-cummings-gives-up-guess-who-royalties-to-prevent-fake-band-from-playing-their-songs|access-date=April 15, 2024}} In September 2024, Bachman and Cummings announced that they had gained control of the Guess Who name in an out-of-court settlement.{{Cite web |last=Millman |first=Ethan |date=2024-09-04 |title=The Guess Who End Decades-Long Legal Battle: 'An Impossible Task' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/guess-who-name-dispute-lawsuit-settlement-1235092842/ |access-date=2024-09-04 |website=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{The Guess Who}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kale, Jim}}
Category:The Guess Who members
Category:Canadian rock bass guitarists
Category:Musicians from Winnipeg