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For Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings, the journey has been a long one.

As lead guitarist and vocalist respectively for the 1960s band, The Guess Who, Mr. Bachman and Mr. Cummings were part of one of the first Canadian groups to strike it big in the United States. Both were born in Manitoba, Winnipeg.

“There’s no such thing as a Canadian sound because we grew up in the shadow of the United States,” Mr. Cummings said.

Contributed Photo -- Burton Cummings, left, and Randy Bachman, founding members of The Guess Who, headline on the Coca-Cola Stage tonight at Riverbend.

They play tonight at 9:30, as duo Bachman-Cummings Band, on the Coca-Cola stage at Riverbend.

The Guess Who found success with such hits as “Shakin’ All Over,” “American Woman,” and “No Sugar Tonight,” but hit sour notes among one another. Both Mr. Bachman and Mr. Cummings eventually left the band.

“What happens when you were teenagers seems trite and trivial,” Mr. Bachman said. “Rock ‘n’ roll bands are destined to break up. This is not a new thing.”

The personal controversy between Mr. Bachman and Mr. Cummings was due, in part, to Mr. Bachman’s outspoken devotion to Mormonism.

“He wouldn’t even drink coffee or Coca Cola, much less have a beer or a cigarette,” Mr. Cummings said.

Mr. Bachman has since left the Mormon temple. “We found some things that couldn’t be reconciled,” he said. “Religion is a bunch of rules, a fear factor.”

Contributed Photo -- Burton Cummings, left, and Randy Bachman, founding members of The Guess Who, headline on the Coca-Cola Stage tonight at Riverbend.

“You grow up eventually and you leave that stupid baggage behind,” Mr. Cummings said. “Randy and I are better friends now than we’ve ever been.”

After Mr. Bachman left the Guess Who, Mr. Cummings said he became the unofficial leader of the band, along with new guitarist Kurt Winter. He eventually left to pursue a solo career, while Bachman formed Bachman Turner Overdrive.

After being out of touch with each other for 10 years, natural disaster brought the two together again. In the late 1980s, a benefit concert was held in Manitoba following a devastating flood.

“Randy and I thought ‘what a time to bury the hatchet,’” Mr. Cummings said.

They played a Guess Who reunion concert at the Pan American Games in 1999 and decided to temporarily reunite as “the real Guess Who,” according to Mr. Cummings.

“There’s a fake Guess Who running around the States,” he said.

That group is spearheaded by original bassist Jim Kale, who is joined by original drummer Gary Peterson. Mr. Cummings does not take kindly to the latest incarnation of the band.

“I don’t really have any desire to talk to or be with those other guys anymore,” he said. “They’re just prostituting the name. The real fans know the difference.”

Both count Elvis Presley as an influence, while Mr. Bachman adds the Beatles, Led Zepplin, Cream and Jimi Hendrix, and Mr. Cummings remembers listening to his mother’s Bing Crosby records before graduating to Fats Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis.

He calls Maroon 5, “tremendous,” and Mr. Bachman sees John Mayer as carrying the musical torch.

“He’s a phenomenal new talent,” Mr. Bachman said.

Mr. Bachman’s son, Tal, who scored his own hit with the 1999 song “She’s So High” sometimes sits in with his father when a backup band member can’t make a gig.

Both Mr. Bachman and Mr. Cummings say they have released the pain of the past and are enjoying this time.

“You get transported,” Bachman said. “The aches and pains go away. Life is great for a couple of hours on stage.”