Myles Goodwyn, a singer, songwriter and guitarist for the Canadian classic rock group April Wine, died in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Sunday. He was 75.
His death was announced on social media by Eric Alper, his publicist, who did not provide a cause.
Mr. Goodwyn was “suffering from a lot of health issues,” said Mr. Alder, who did not provide further details. Mr. Goodwyn had been public about his struggle with diabetes. In 2008, he was hospitalized after he collapsed en route to a Quebec airport on his way to play a sold-out show.
Mr. Goodwyn announced in December 2022 that he was retiring from touring with April Wine. He performed his last show in Truro, Nova Scotia, in March.
April Wine, arena rockers known for their power ballads, sold over 10 million records worldwide and in 2010 were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. In September, the band was given a spot on the Canadian Walk of Fame, and Mr. Goodwyn was named to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
April Wine formed in late 1969 in Waverley, Nova Scotia, with Mr. Goodwyn, the brothers David Henman on guitar and Ritchie Henman on drums, and Jimmy Henman, their cousin, on bass. Not long after forming they moved to Montreal.
“Fast Train” was the band’s first hit, from its self-titled debut album in 1971. Success in the United States took longer: In 1978, it scored its first American Top 40 hit, “Roller.” In 1981, the album “The Nature of the Beast” went platinum and gave the band its biggest U.S. hit, “Just Between You and Me.”
The band attracted attention in 1977 when it was performing at the El Mocambo Club in Toronto. Before the show, April Wine was asked to pose as the headliner for a charity event with a group called the Cockroaches as the opening act, but the Cockroaches turned out to be the Rolling Stones.
In 2016, Mr. Goodwyn released a memoir, “Just Between You and Me,” which became a best seller in Canada. “Elvis and Tiger,” his novel, was published in 2018.
Mr. Goodwyn was born in Woodstock, New Brunswick, on June 23, 1948. He is survived by his wife, Kim Goodwyn, and their two children, as well as another child from a previous marriage.
