Jim Kale


Michael James Kale is a Canadian musician, best known as the original bassist for The Guess Who. He played bass on many of the Guess Who's biggest hits, including "These Eyes", "Laughing", "No Time", "Hand Me Down World", "Share the Land", and the band's best-known song, "American Woman" which he co-wrote with bandmates Garry Peterson, Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings. Kale left the band in 1972 after the Live at the Paramount album, going on to join Scrubbaloe Caine.
In 1978, after The Guess Who had broken up, Kale discovered that the group's name had never been trademarked. He registered the name, and quickly formed a new version of The Guess Who. Kale has played with the reconstituted Guess Who off and on ever since, usually without the involvement of Bachman or Cummings, although the Bachman/Cummings/Kale/Peterson line-up got together for a series of concerts and a live album in 1983/84. Kale's health precluded his involvement with the Guess Who tours of 2000-2003, which also featured both Bachman and Cummings.
Kale remains co-owner of the Guess Who name and band, along with original drummer Garry Peterson. He continued to tour with the band until his permanent departure in 2018 and was replaced by Rudy Sarzo.