{"id":636424,"date":"2026-04-29T12:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T12:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/636424\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T12:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T12:56:10","slug":"how-a-late-night-solo-studio-session-led-to-april-wines-biggest-us-hit-in-1981","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/636424\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Late-Night Solo Studio Session Led to April Wine\u2019s Biggest US Hit in 1981"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s all fine and good to rock out to build your reputation. But time and again, music fans have watched as rock bands who\u2019ve toiled in relative obscurity finally made their big breakthrough with a slower, more sensitive song.<\/p>\n

Such was the case for the Canadian band April Wine. More than a decade into a career that had witnessed the band\u2019s lineup turn over almost completely, they rolled into the Top 25 in 1981 with \u201cJust Between You And Me\u201d.<\/p>\n

Pieces of April<\/p>\n

By the time they recorded their biggest hit, April Wine contained just one of its original members. That was guitarist and lead singer Myles Goodwyn. In the beginning, he was the lone outlier in a family affair, as the other band members were brothers David and Ritchie Henman and their cousin Jim Henman.<\/p>\n

One by one, the Henmans dropped out of the picture for various reasons, replaced by other musicians picked up along the way. Overcoming the lack of historical success for Canadian bands in America was no easy feat for the group. But they started to gain some traction in the early 70s.<\/p>\n

In 1972, April Wine\u2019s cover of the Hot Chocolate song \u201cYou Could Have Been A Lady\u201d squeezed into the US Top 40. That helped the band gain more exposure in America (eventually opening for The Rolling Stones<\/a>), while they continued to do great business in Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cBetween\u201d Days<\/p>\n

By the time April Wine headed to England to start recording the album The Nature Of The Beast, released in 1981, their previous LPs had started to make small dents in the US album charts. One night after other band members had gone, Myles Goodwyn wanted to continue noodling about for a bit.<\/p>\n

Because the others had packed up their gear, there wasn\u2019t much equipment still left in the studio for Goodwyn. He plugged a guitar, which wasn\u2019t his, into a distortion pedal that was still lying around. That\u2019s what gave him the sound for the solos he created.<\/p>\n

Once he had the music, he built the song around the phrase \u201cJust Between You And Me\u201d. Thinking of his wife at the time, Goodwyn finished up the track. Soon enough, it was introducing pop fans all over the world to this long-running rock outfit.<\/p>\n

Behind the Lyrics of \u201cJust Between You And Me\u201d<\/p>\n

The verses of \u201cJust Between You And Me\u201d focus on relationships that can\u2019t stand the test of time. \u201cTime and time again I see,\u201d Goodwyn sings. \u201cA love that seems strong was not meant to be.\u201d \u201cBroken hearts don\u2019t always mend,\u201d he warns. \u201cLeft too unsure to try love again.\u201d<\/p>\n

That contrasts with his own situation. \u201cYou always help me find my way,\u201d he testifies. \u201cThe love that we share grows stronger each day.\u201d The chorus suggests that theirs is a bond that can\u2019t be broken. \u201cJust between you and me,\u201d Goodwyn sings. \u201cAlways, I know our love will be.\u201d<\/p>\n

To pay homage to the band\u2019s Canadian heritage, Goodwyn sang a line of the refrain in French. American rock fans might have needed a translation for that part. But they certainly understood the heartfelt emotion that helped make \u201cJust Between You And Me\u201d April Wine\u2019s biggest US hit.<\/p>\n

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s all fine and good to rock out to build your reputation. But time and again, music fans…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":636425,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[237849,49,48,75,341,5475],"class_list":["post-636424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-april-wine","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-rock-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}