Set aside what you know about the singer, guitarist, writer, producer and founder of multi-Platinum selling Canadian wonder-band April Wine.
As it turns out, Myles Goodwyn is also a real blues man at heart.
Having first developed a taste for the sound in the 60’s when legends BB King, Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters caught his ear, Goodwyn shares his long held passion for the genre on his forthcoming solo release, Myles Goodwyn And Friends Of The Blues.
Despite penning nearly all of April Wine’s extensive, award-winning catalogue, it’s incredible to consider not one of Goodwyn’s bluesy tracks ever made it onto one of the band’s 30+ albums. This was no intentional oversight; as he puts it, they were being saved for the blues album he knew he’d make some day.
That day is today and that release is Myles Goodwyn And Friends Of The Blues — available March 2, 2018.
The 12 new songs are supported by a cavalry of equally talented and proficient blues aficionados — from Jack de Keyzer to David Wilcox to Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne — and are a testament to the care that went into the album’s writing and recording. Others joining on Friends Of The Blues include Garret Mason, Amos Garret, Joe Murphy, Frank Marino, Shaun Verreault, Bill Stevenson, Rick Derringer, and more.
His decision to use only “real blues players” was deliberate. He wanted to work with musicians that inspired him, and brought authenticity in their musicianship to the blues-influenced songs he had written.
“I wanted to write and sing these blues tunes but I`m not a blues player and I wanted the real deal when it came to the performances. I reached out to established blues men to join me. And I got that in spades.”
As for why a blues album was tugging at his creativity for so long, Goodwyn shares: “I really appreciate great blues material because it is timeless, it is vital and its passionate, even heartbreakingly so.
“It can also have a sense of humour and all of this drew me to make this album, like a moth to a flame.”
Such sense of play is evident in Goodwyn’s video for “I Hate To See You Go (But I Love To Watch You Walk Away).” With a Barbie-esque doll starring as the video’s primary muse and fan, a stage of dapper marionettes rock the song away, creating an amusing and lively visual for the album’s lead single.
Myles Goodwyn And Friends Of The Blues is available March 2, 2018.
Goodwyn grew up poor and is the classic “small-town kid makes good” success story. As a young teenager Goodwyn honed his skills playing in cover bands and began writing original material as soon as he could play the guitar. One of April Wine`s biggest hits, “You Won`t Dance With Me”, was written when he was a teenager.
Myles Goodwyn’s voice is as distinctive and immediately recognizable as his songwriting skills are prolific. He penned almost every April Wine song in their impressive catalogue. And as far as rock history goes, Myles Goodwyn is considered a living music legend especially in the annals of Canadian rock history, recognized as one of Canada`s most performed songwriters on radio.
Myles and the other members of April Wine were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame in 2010. Goodwyn received the prestigious East Coast Music Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 and the SOCAN National Achievement Award in 2002. In 2016 he released his memoir named after another of his biggest hits – Just Between You and Me, which became an instant seller on the Globe and Mail`s Non-Fiction List. His second book, Elvis and Tiger – this time a fiction is being published in 2018.
