The former Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive member flew to Japan to retrieve a guitar he’d been chasing for decades. “I’m very happy. I’m getting my lost Gretsch guitar back,” the 78-year-old rocker told CBC News in a meeting room inside the Canadian embassy in Tokyo. The guitar is a 1957 Chet Atkins Gretsch 6120 in orange, which he bought at a Winnipeg music store when he was 19 years old.
Forty-five years after he was stolen in Toronto, he’s back in his arms and he can hardly believe it. “If you never want to forget your anniversary, get married on your birthday. You never forget your wedding anniversary. I’ll never forget that day,” Bachmann said. Bachmann, right, receives his stolen Gretsch guitar Friday at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo from Takeshi, a Japanese musician who had bought it at a Tokyo store in 2014 without knowing its history. (Eugene Hoshiko/The Associated Press) The Gretsch was his first major purchase as a young adult and he played it on the recordings of such iconic tracks as Takin’ Care of Business, American Woman, These Eyes and Undun. But when the BTO band came to Toronto in 1977, they left it in a locked hotel room, where it was somehow hijacked.
“It was just terrible,” Bachmann said an interview in 2021. “I was literally crying all night… I loved this guitar so much.” Bachmann began his own search, which lasted decades and turned up nothing. Japanese media reports that the Gretsch was eventually moved across the US border, where it was sold to a guitar dealer from Japan. Reports say that Takeshi, a musician who writes about Japanese pop bands, bought it in 2014 from a Tokyo guitar shop, not knowing its history.

Online sleuthing

Six years later, the Canadian rocker finally got a break in the case. A longtime fan and Internet manager from White Rock, BC named William Long heard Bachman’s story and decided to try to hunt down the instrument using facial recognition technology. He found it on a YouTube video of Takeshi playing guitar. He contacted Bachmann, who contacted Takeshi. Plans were then hatched to trade it again. The Canadian bought an almost identical Gretsch to trade in for his prototype. Takeshi, left, and Bachman pose after switching guitars on Friday. (Chris Corday/CBC) On Canada Day in Tokyo, the saga finally came to an end in front of a packed crowd at the embassy’s Oscar Peterson Theatre. Bachmann and Takeshi first met on stage and in an emotional moment for both of them, they exchanged their vintage instruments, with the Japanese musician bringing back a piece of Canadian rock history.

“It was all worth it”

“I went through a lot of emotions today,” Takeshi said through an interpreter while sitting next to Bachman on stage. “But seeing your smile after seeing that guitar made me think it was worth it.” Bachmann smiles during an interview before being reunited with his guitar on Friday. (Eugene Hoshiko/The Associated Press) Bachmann said he also has mixed feelings. He said he got attached to the guitar he’s trading to Takeshi, but he’s more than happy to go home with his first love. “Coming here to make the trade was very emotional and I appreciate this honorable man giving me the opportunity to get the guitar back,” Bachman said.

‘Like a fairy tale’

The story of Bachman’s lost guitar made headlines around the world last year, largely because of how unlikely it was to ever be found. Winnipeg-based rock journalist John Einarson has written extensively about the Guess Who and other bands of the era, and said the odds of getting this stolen Gretsch back were “astronomical.” WATCHES | Why this guitar left such a big mark on the music scene:

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Music historian John Einarson explains why Chet Atkins’ 1957 Gretsch Model 6120 guitar was so influential on the Canadian music scene. “It’s really like a fairy tale, you know? And it’s crazy rock and roll discovered in Tokyo,” Einarson said. “The guitar looms large in the history of Winnipeg music because it’s so iconic to Canadian music, Manitoba music and Winnipeg music. And to Randy, too.” At the Canada Day event, the two musicians played a number of Bachmann hits and then parted ways. Bachmann said he will keep a close eye on his beloved instrument. He plans to play it once at a concert in Vancouver this year, then lock it up permanently at his home in Victoria, where it will join his collection of vintage Gretsch guitars. To commemorate his unusual connection to Tokyo, Bachman also plans to release a new song called Lost and Found, which he co-wrote with his son Tal Bachman, with lyrics in Japanese.