Norman Durkee

Norman Edward Durkee was an American composer and pianist best known for his boogie-woogie piano contribution to the 1974 Bachman–Turner Overdrive hit Takin' Care of Business.[1]

Durkee served as musical director for local productions of Hair and Tommy (featuring a young Bette Midler) as well as director of the Teatro Zinzanni, a "circus dinner theater" in Seattle. He would later serve as Midler's musical director.^[1]

Durkee spent much of his career creating jingles and other ad music in Los Angeles where he was known for his offbeat approach. He also wrote music for the 1979 experimental film The Legend of Black Thunder Mountain ; and created a comic opera for children, The Magical Marriage, for Seattle Opera.^[2]

The original studio version, recorded at Kaye-Smith Studios in Seattle, Washington, features prominent piano, played by Durkee in one take. While Randy Bachman has repeatedly claimed that Durkee was delivering pizzas to the studio and convinced the band that the song needed a piano part that he could play, leading to a search for Durkee when the band realizes they need to use the performance on the resulting record.

Both Robbie Bachman, media sources and Durkee himself have stated that he was actually at the studio as a musician, recording commercials in the next room, when summoned by sound engineer Buzz Richmond^[3]. According to this version of events, Durkee had only a few minutes to spare, and, quickly conferring with Randy Bachman, he scribbled down the chords (on a pizza box), and, without listening to the song beforehand, recorded the piano part in one take.^[2]