"Roller" is a song by Canadian 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, ' ...

, released off their 1978 studio album ''

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 ...

''. The song peaked at #25 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' 100 Singles chart in Canada, and #34 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

on April 28, 1979, in the United States, becoming their first American hit since 1972. The song was instantly successful in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, and helped April Wine regain international success, as it was their first hit song outside of Canada since 1972's "

You Could Have Been a Lady "You Could've Been a Lady" is a song by the British soul band Hot Chocolate, written by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson in 1969. Released as a single in 1971, it peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart during a nine-week run. Although initial ...

", after a decade of success limited to their home country of Canada. "Roller" remains a staple of the band's discography, and remains a staple of

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

radio in both Canada and the United States.

Background

Myles Goodwyn 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. He released 16 studio albums with April Wine, and four albums as a ...

, main singer and songwriter for April Wine, penned the song in 1976, though it wasn't recorded until 1978, when it was released as a single from the album, becoming the album's biggest hit.

Charts

Weekly Charts

Year-End Charts

In popular culture

"Roller" has been featured in several films, most notably ''

Joe Dirt ''Joe Dirt'' is a 2001 American adventure comedy film, directed by Dennie Gordon (in her feature film directorial debut), starring David Spade, Dennis Miller, Christopher Walken, Adam Beach, Brian Thompson, Brittany Daniel, Jaime Pressly ...

'' (2001), ''

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'' (2013), and '' The Heat'' (2013). It also has been in several television shows such as ''

Freaks and Geeks ''Freaks and Geeks'' is an American teen comedy-drama television series created by Paul Feig and executive-produced by Judd Apatow that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 television season. The show is set in a suburban high school near ...

'' season 1, episode 3, "Tricks and Treats"; the "Pilot" episode of ''

The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American historical drama, period spy fiction, spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg for FX (TV channel), FX. It aired for six seasons from 2013 to 2018. Weisberg and Joel Fields also served as showrunners ...

'' in 2013, season 2, episode 6 "Take Me Away" of ''

Being Erica ''Being Erica'' is a Canadian comedy-drama television series that aired on CBC Television, CBC from January 5, 2009, to December 12, 2011. Created by Jana Sinyor, the series was originally announced by the CBC as ''The Session'', but was later r ...

'' in 2011; and the 2009 Canadian documentary ''The Beat Goes On: Canadian Pop in the 1970s'', which also included several other April Wine songs.

References

{{April Wine 1978 songs 1978 singles April Wine songs Songs written by Myles Goodwyn