The Guess Who released a slew of albums; the single "American Woman," from the album of the same name, was the first song by a Canadian band to go to number one on the U.S. charts, per Britannica. The song was a happy accident; in a 2014 interview with Song Facts, guitarist Randy Bachman described how they came up with the iconic riff accidentally while tuning his guitar. It happened onstage in the middle of a show when he broke a guitar string; there was a pause in the show while he took a moment to change out the string and retune his instrument.
Per Bachman, "I didn't have a spare guitar. I didn't have a tuner. I didn't have a roadie ... Not having a tuner, we would tune to the electric piano every night ... I started to play that riff on stage, and I look at the audience, who are now milling about and talking amongst themselves. And all their heads snapped back. Suddenly I realize I'm playing a riff I don't want to forget, and I have to keep playing it." Bachman called his band members back onto the stage and a "jam session" broke out as bassist Jim Kale and drummer Garry Peterson provided the rhythm section. Bachman told vocalist Burton Cummings to sing over the music and "the first words out of his mouth were, "American woman, stay away from me."