Could Have Been a Lady - April Wine (1975) 6/6/22

Today, we're highlighting a song that was pretty much a monster hit in Canada, but just regional hit in the US. Two things:

#1: That doesn't mean it isn't a "Great Song," because it most certainly is!

.#2: The original version was a hit in the UK, but didn't chart anywhere else.

Such is the story of "Could Have been a Lady."

In 1971, the group Hot Chocolate wrote, recorded and released it as a stand-alone single, and watched it climb to #22 on the British charts.

In 1972, across the pond in Canada, April Wine recorded and released their version, which skyrocketed to #2 on the Canadian Top 40--their first big hit. In the US, however, it peaked at #32. I'm theorizing here, but Canadian radio only had so much reach in the US, and although dozens of artists had hits that crossed the border (both ways), not every act could make the crossing.

Growing up in Toledo, just a short distance across Lake Erie from Ontario, and just across the river from Detroit, my classmates and I heard all sorts of "Great Songs" from the Great White North. However, the further south you traveled, the more Canadian music faded into the background, and fewer people were exposed to it. Again, dozens of artists broke through....but April Wine? It's really a crime that they didn't. They had several other Canadian hits that somehow became misses in the US. Anyway, In my honest opinion, "Could Have Been a Lady" by April Wine is a "Great Song of the '70s" (and the Hot Chocolate version ain't so bad either)! Check 'em out! April Wine:

Hot Chocolate: