ÒAmerican WomanÓ was written by the Canadian band The Guess Who and released in March 1970. The song has been the subject of debate about whether it was chauvinistic, anti-war, or, as some of the band members have asserted, anti-everything. But with the lyrics ÒÉI donÕt need your war machinesÉÓ it is understandable how audiences interpreted it as an anti-Vietnam War song. ÒAmerican WomanÓ reached number one in Canada and number nine in the United States. In the early months of 1970, when The Guess Who was touring the east coast of the United States, guitarist Randy Bachman became increasingly ill. As a result, on May 14, when the band performed in Springfield, Massachusetts, Bachman was away on medical leave. In his place was the now-renowned American guitarist, Bob Sabellico. Situated less than a mile from the banks of the Connecticut River, SpringfieldÕs Municipal Auditorium was a plain venue compared to New YorkÕs Filmore East, where the band, which included Randy Bachman playing his last performance with The Guess Who, appeared two nights later. On the night the band played in Springfield, I was a fifteen-year-old, grade-ten high school student and a photographer on my schoolÕs yearbook staff. I attended The Guess WhoÕs concert with three friends, and because of my passion for photography, I took along my 35-millimeter Nikkormat camera. I asked and was permitted to go on stage to snap photos. I was also allowed into the bandÕs dressing room after the concert to continue my photo-shoot. Fifty-one years later, I discovered the negatives stored in a shoe-box. I hope by publishing them in this book, my photographs will become part of the more extensive record of The Guess WhoÕs performances. Henry W. Prunckun
