On today’s date in 1969, Winnipeg rock group The Guess Who saw These Eyes achieve gold status from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales topping one million copies.
These Eyes was co-written by the group’s lead guitarist Randy Bachman and lead singer Burton Cummings.
The song was included on the band’s 1969 album Wheatfield Soul in December 1968; however, it was first released as a single in Canada, where it reached the seventh spot on the charts and helped the band earn a U.S. distribution deal with RCA Records.
These Eyes was later released in the United States, where it became a breakthrough success for the group as their first single to reach the top 10 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. It peaked at the sixth spot.
Throughout the band’s career, The Guess Who recorded 14 top-40 singles, sold millions of albums, won two Juno Awards and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Canada’s Walk of Fame and the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame.
In 2002, the band received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. While its membership has changed over the years, the group continues to record and perform to sold-out audiences across the globe.
2013 GUESS WHO STAMP
In 2013, Canada Post featured The Guess Who on 63-cent Permanent stamp (Scott #2659) printed by the Lowe-Martin Group on Tullis Russell coated paper.
The four-stamp set, “Canadian Recording Artists: The Bands,” featured three other acts—Rush, Beau Dommage and the Tragically Hip. The four designs were issued together in four-stamp souvenir sheets while each individual design was also issued in 10-stamp booklets. Each stamp measures 32 millimetres by 32 millimetres with simulated perforations.
Designed by Louis Gagnon, of Montréal’s Paprika, and with calligraphy by Tan Chao Chang, The Guess Who stamp depicts the band’s logo and the word “CANADA” to the bottom-left.
Official first-day covers were also serviced with cancellations from Winnipeg, Man. (the Guess Who); Toronto, Ont. (Rush); Kingston, Ont. (the Tragically Hip); and Montréal, Que. (Beau Dommage).