The members of BTO were working on this anthem for the working class when a pianist and composer named Norman Durkee stuck his head in the studio and said, unsolicited, "I think that song needs a little bit of piano on it to lift it up," according to BTO singer Fred Turner. When guitarist Randy Bachman asked Durkee what he would do, the musician, who had been at the studio working for someone else, suggested a Little Richard-like groove, then proceeded to compose the intro on a pizza box before recording it. "He walked into the studio and knocked it off in one take," Turner said.