Myles Francis Goodwyn (June 23, 1948 – December 3, 2023) was a Canadian musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, and principal songwriter of the rock band

April Wine April Wine is a Canadian rock band formed in 1969 and based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia, led by singer-guitarist-songwriter Myles Goodwyn until his death in 2023. April Wine first experienced success with their second album, ' ...

. He released 16 studio albums with April Wine, and four albums as a solo artist. Goodwyn led the group from its inception and

garage band Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

roots to its multiplatinum sales peak. He received the National Achievement Award at the 2002 SOCAN Awards, an ECMA Lifetime Achievement Award, and was inducted into the

Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame () is a Canadian non-profit organization, founded in 1998 by Frank Davies, that inducts Canadians into their ''Hall of Fame'' within three different categories: songwriters, songs, and those others who have m ...

. He was inducted into

Canada's Walk of Fame Canada's Walk of Fame () in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of Canadians who have excelled in their respective fields. It is a series of maple leaf-like stars embedded in 13 de ...

and the

Canadian Music Hall of Fame The Canadian Music Hall of Fame was established in 1978 by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) to honour Canadian musicians for their lifetime achievements in music. The award presentation is held each year as part of th ...

as a member of April Wine.

Early life

Goodwyn was born on June 23, 1948, in

Woodstock, New Brunswick Woodstock is a town in Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada on the Saint John River, upriver from Fredericton at the mouth of the Meduxnekeag River. It is near the Canada–United States border and Houlton, Maine and the intersection of Int ...

. He grew up in

Waverley, Nova Scotia Waverley is a suburban community of the Halifax Regional Municipality, in Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a rich history in gold mining. It lies north of Dartmouth, and south of Fall River. History Waverley was first settled by Charles Pillsbury A ...

, and recalled hitchhiking to church on Sundays.

Career

Goodwyn helped form April Wine in 1969, with David Henman (guitar), Ritchie Henman (drums), and Jim Henman (bass). He led the group from its inception and

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicl ...

band roots to its multiplatinum sales peak. Following the band's peak and commercial success during the 1970s and early 1980s, Goodwyn also pursued a solo career. In 2002, Goodwyn won the National Achievement Award at the annual

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 175,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collect ...

Awards held in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. In January 2003, he received an ECMA Lifetime Achievement Award for his impact on the music industry of

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...

. In March 2008, Goodwyn stated in an interview that he had been in the studio recording his second album ''Myles Goodwyn & Friends of the Blues''. It was to be an all-

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

album featuring guest performers such as

Amos Garrett Amos Garrett (born November 26, 1941) is an American-Canadian blues and blues-rock musician, guitarist, singer, composer, and musical arranger. He has written instructional books about music and guitar. Garrett holds dual citizenship and was ra ...

, David Wilcox,

Frank Marino Francesco Antonio Marino (born November 20, 1954) is a Canadian guitarist and singer, best known as the leader of Canadian hard rock band Mahogany Rush. Often compared to Jimi Hendrix, he is described as one of the most underrated guitarists of ...

Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne (born Kenneth Wayne Spruell, November 13, 1944) is an American blues, boogie-woogie and jazz pianist, singer and songwriter. Music journalist, Jeff Johnson, writing in the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' stated, "There's no boogie ...

and

Rick Derringer Richard Dean Zehringer (August 5, 1947 – May 26, 2025), known professionally as Rick Derringer, was an American musician, producer and songwriter. He gained success in the 1960s with his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, " Hang On Sloopy", ...

. Goodwyn stated that the record was an opportunity to rediscover a passion for

blues music Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, and that he was inspired by the music of

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

. In 2010, Goodwyn and April were inducted into the

. In 2016, his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

, ''Just Between You and Me'', was released. In 2018, his second book was published–"Elvis And Tiger". His second album ''Myles Goodwyn and Friends of the Blues'' was released in 2018, and earned an ECMA award for "Blues Recording of the Year" in 2019. He subsequently released ''Myles Goodwyn and Friends Of The Blues 2'' in 2019, which also earned the same ECMA award for "Blues Recording of the Year" in 2020. In 2022, Goodwyn received the

Singapore International Festival of Arts Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) is an annual arts festival held in Singapore. It is organised bArts House Limitedfor the National Arts Council. The festival is usually held in mid-year for a stretch of one month and incorporates th ...

award for his song "For Ukraine", judged in the "best social impact music/art" category. On December 20, 2022, Goodwyn retired from touring with April Wine due to his

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

and poor health. As of 2022, Goodwyn was the only original member of April Wine to be active with the band. He continued to write material for the band, and gave his final live performance with April Wine on March 2, 2023, in

Truro, Nova Scotia Truro (Scottish Gaelic: ''Trùru'') is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. Truro is the shire town of Colchester County and is located on the south side of the Salmon River (Nova Scotia), Salmon River floodplain, close to the river's mouth ...

. Goodwyn was inducted into the

in 2023, and April Wine was inducted into

in 2023. During his career, April Wine sold more than 10 million albums, and were nominated 11 times for

Juno Awards The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's music industry. The Grammy Awards are the United S ...

. Goodwyn felt that his induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame was his greatest achievement.

Personal life and health issues

Goodwyn was raised in Nova Scotia, then lived in Quebec for decades. Later in life, he lived in the Halifax area. He was married to a Jewish wife, and their son also had diabetes. Aside from music, Goodwyn enjoyed golf. He had abused alcohol for many years, finally having it catch up to him when he collapsed and nearly died from internal bleeding in 2008. After months of rehab, he committed to publishing his Memoir titled "Just Between You And Me" telling the story of his life and his career. In 2014 he decided to take a step back from April Wine, the band started playing fewer shows as Myles searched for a replacement for himself in the group citing health reasons and no longer wanting to be on the road. In 2022 Goodwyn announced that he would be retiring due to health concerns in March 2023, having found what he viewed as a suitable replacement for himself within the group and no longer wanting to travel frequently. He continued to perform as an acoustic solo artist for the remainder of 2023. He died at age 75 on December 3, 2023, in Halifax. No cause of death was officially announced.

Discography

Discography of Goodwyn:

with April Wine

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1971) * '' On Record'' (1972) * ''

Electric Jewels ''Electric Jewels'' is the third studio album by Canadian rock band April Wine, released in November 1973 by Aquarius Records. In a 2007 publication by Goose Lane Editions, ''Electric Jewels'' ranked number 73 in Bob Mersereau's 2007 book ''The ...

'' (1973) * '' Stand Back'' (1975) * '' The Whole World's Goin' Crazy'' (1976) * '' Forever for Now'' (1977) * ''

First Glance ''First Glance'' is the seventh studio album by Canadian rock band April Wine, released in March 1978. ''First Glance'' became April Wine's first significant record internationally. The album spawned the hit single " Roller", which remains one o ...

'' (1978) * '' Harder ... Faster'' (1979) * '' The Nature of the Beast'' (1981) * ''

Power Play "Power play" is a sporting term used to describe a period of play where one team has a numerical advantage in players, usually due to a rule violation by the opposing team. Temporary numerical advantage in players during a team sport In several ...

'' (1982) * ''

Animal Grace ''Animal Grace'' is the eleventh studio album by Canadian rock band April Wine, released in 1984. The first single off the album, "This Could Be the Right One", peaked at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100. It continues to be played on radios ac ...

'' (1984) * '' Walking Through Fire'' (1985) * ''

Attitude Attitude or Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), a disposition or state of mind ** Attitude change * Propositional attitude, a mental state held towards a proposition Science and technology * Orientation ...

'' (1993) * ''

Frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

'' (1994) * '' Back to the Mansion'' (2001) * ''

Roughly Speaking ''Roughly Speaking'' is the sixteenth studio album by the Canadian rock band April Wine, released in November 2006. The album was recorded without computerized modern digital recording techniques. Instead, the group employed the same type of au ...

'' (2006)

Solo

* '' Myles Goodwyn'' (1988) * ''Myles Goodwyn and Friends of the Blues'' (2018) * ''Myles Goodwyn and Friends of the Blues 2'' (2019) * ''Myles Goodwyn Long Pants'' (2022)

Singles

*"Do You Know What I Mean" (with

Lee Aaron Lee Aaron (born Karen Lynn Greening; July 21, 1962) is a Canadian rock singer. She had several hits in the 1980s and early 1990s, such as "Metal Queen", "Whatcha Do to My Body", and "Sex with Love". Early life Aaron was born as Karen Lynn Greeni ...

) (1988) 47 CAN* "My Girl" (1988) 41 CANref> * "Are You Still Loving Me" (1988) 88 CAN

Production credits

References

External links

April Wine's official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwyn, Myles 1948 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Canadian singer-songwriters 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters April Wine members Canadian male guitarists Canadian male singers Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian record producers Canadian rock guitarists Canadian rock keyboardists Canadian rock singers Musicians from Woodstock, New Brunswick Singers from New Brunswick