The Guess Who is one of the biggest bands ever to come out of Winnipeg, and it seems some of their legacy never left the city.
Box after box of early audio and video recordings of the iconic band dating back to 1973 were recently found gathering dust in a Winnipeg garage.
They had been stored there for a full decade and were about to be thrown in the trash. Luckily, they were saved and donated to the St. Vital Museum by a local audio engineer and producer who recognized their true value.
"It was supposed to be a short-term storage," said Tom Kowalsky. "And you know hanging on to this stuff for so long, I imagine every time you go to that garage you go, hmmm. This shouldn't be here."
The tapes were saved, but no one knew what condition they were in. CTV News brought two tapes to Ironstone Technologies, a Winnipeg audio and video duplication company. One produced only a screeching noise. But the other – solid gold! It appears to be an early 80s performance by the band on a New England television show.
Saving the treasure trove of musical history was just the first step. Finding a place to bring it all was next. And for the man who found them, Tom Kowalsky, there was really only one choice: The St. Vital Museum.
Two of the original band members are from St. Vital and the small museum already has a shrine to the group. Now the tapes that nearly ended up in the trash bin will be saved in a place dedicated to preserving history.
"This is rock and roll history," said Bob Holliday from the St. Vital Museum. "No ifs, ands or buts, this is a big find!"
The museum plans to digitize all of the recordings. The plan is to play the music and the video inside for patrons.
