Bill Wallace

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See also Bill Wallace (martial arts).

Bill Wallace (born May 18, 1949) is a bassist from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He got his start back in the 1960s with Winnipeg rock band called "The Gettysburg Address". He later joined his friends Kurt Winter and Vance Masters in Brother. Wallace was the lead singer and bassist. Brother was on its way on becoming the most popular rock band in Winnipeg, but by then Randy Bachman of The Guess Who had just left and needed a replacement. Kurt was called up to replace Bachman. This was ultimately the end of Brother, but both Masters and Wallace ended up in The Guess Who at one point in time. Bill co-wrote famous Guess Who hits "Bus Rider" and "Hand me Down World" (with Masters and Winter in Brother) but to this day has never received the credit. Bill Wallace replaced Jim Kale in mid 1972, not long after the famous live album "Live at the Paramount" was released, which was, coincidentally, the same album on which Donnie McDougall was introduced to fans.

Since then, Bill (Wee Willy as known by Burton Cummings) has written and co-written many tunes including "Clap for the Wolfman", "Road Food", and "Follow Your Daughter Home", as well as had the lead singing part on "Bye Bye Babe". In 2000, then-bassist Jim Kale could not fulfill his plans to join the original members of the Guess Who for a cross-Canada tour, so Wallace was called in to become the permanent bassist of the Guess Who. Before re-joining the Guess Who, he was a music teacher in his hometown of Winnipeg.

In 2001, he received a honorary music doctorate at Brandon University in Brandon, Manitoba with the rest of the Guess Who.

Bill currently teaches at West Kildonan Collegiate