OTTAWA - Canadian rocker Randy Bachman says he's honoured and humbled to be invested as an officer of the Order of Canada.
The veteran guitarist, a founding member of the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, was presented with the medal by Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean in a ceremony at Rideau Hall on Friday.
"Starting out just as a kid in Winnipeg wanting to write and play music, you never think ahead of anything except the next phone call, which hopefully has your next gig," said Bachman, one of the first Canadian artists to break in the United States.
"You don't really think about awards or accolades along the way, but to have this happen is a very big honour and very humbling to be with all these other really great Canadians who've spend a lifetime working at their passion, be it humanities or education or medicine and art and movies."
Others recognized Friday included former federal cabinet minister Allan MacEachen, an architect of Canada's social security system, and Montreal director John Smith, whose films include "The Boys of St. Vincent," "Dieppe" and "The Englishman's Boy." Both were also named officers of the Order of Canada.
Baritone singer John Fanning, a native of Barrie, Ont., and a regular performer with the prestigious Metropolitan Opera in New York, and Quebec radio and TV personality Suzanne Lapointe were named members of the Order of Canada.
Bachman marvelled at the considerable weight of the medal that hung around his neck on a ribbon, describing it as a white snowflake with a gold maple leaf in the middle.
"On the back it says `Canada, 1792' -- my birthday," he joked moments after Friday's ceremony.
Bachman said he will hang it in his home on Salt Spring Island, B.C.
"I won't be wearing it on stage, that's for sure."
Bachman says he'll be kicking off a cross-Canada tour with Guess Who singer Burton Cummings in mid-June.
The Order of Canada is the country's highest civilian honour and recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement.
