Myles Goodwyn, the founding frontman and main songwriter of the veteran Canadian rock band April Wine, died Sunday, December 3, at age 75, according to the veteran musician’s publicist, Eric Alper. No cause of death was announced.
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Goodwyn, who was born in New Brunswick and grew up near Halifax, Nova Scotia, co-founded April Wine in 1969. He led the band for more than 50 years, although he retired from touring with the group this past March.
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April Wine enjoyed a run of hits in its home country throughout the 1970s. In 1976, the band topped the Canadian album chart with The Whole World’s Goin’ Crazy.
The group scored its first charting single in the U.S. in 1979 with “Roller,” which peaked at No. 34 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band’s biggest success in the U.S. came in 1981, with the power ballad “Just Between You and Me,” which reached No. 21 on the Hot 100. The track appeared on the 1981 album The Nature of the Beast, which peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum for sales of more than 1 million in the U.S.
Goodwyn wrote and sang the majority of April Wine’s material, and also played guitar and keyboards with the band. In addition, he produced or co-produced all of the group’s albums from 1975 onward.
As a member of April Wine, Goodwyn was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2010 and Canada’s Walk of Fame this year. Also in 2023, Goodwyn was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Goodwyn told the CBC News that the latter honor was probably his proudest achievement.
“This one’s for me, and songwriting is what I care for most of all,” he said. “I think, probably, I stayed in the business because of songwriting … I’m not the greatest singer, the greatest guitar player. I’m not the greatest songwriter either, but I took great pride in being able to write songs that were popular.”
Goodwyn who suffered from diabetes and other health issues retired from touring with the band earlier in 2023, playing his last show with the group in March in Truro, Nova Scotia.
Outside of April Wine, Goodwyn enjoyed some acclaim as a solo artist, winning consecutive awards in the Blues Recording of the Year category at Canada’s East Coast Music Awards in 2019 and 2020 for his albums Myles Goodwyn and Friends of the Blues and Myles Goodwyn and Friends of the Blues 2.
Goodwyn also wrote a well-received memoir, Just Between You and Me, which was published in 2016, and a novel titled Elvis and Tiger which was released in 2018.
