music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Roller" is a song by the Canadian rock band April Wine. Released off the band's seventh studio album First Glance (1978).[1][2] The song peaked at number 25 on the RPM 100 Singles chart in Canada^{[citation needed]} and number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 28, 1979 in the United States, becoming their first American hit since 1972.[3][4]

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"Roller"
Single by April Wine
from the album First Glance
B-side	"Right Down to It"
Released	March 1979
Recorded	1978
Studio	Le Manoir, Oxfordshire, England
Genre	Rock
Length	4:19
Label	Aquarius (Canada) Capitol (US)
Songwriter(s)	Myles Goodwyn
Producer(s)	Myles Goodwyn Mike Stone
April Wine singles chronology
"Comin' Right Down on Top of Me" (1978) "Roller" (1979) "Get Ready for Love" (1979)
Music video
"Roller" on YouTube

The song was instantly popular in North America, and helped April Wine regain international popularity, as it was their first hit song outside of Canada since 1972's "You Could Have Been a Lady", after a decade of success limited to Canada. "Roller" has remained a live staple and one of the band's most popular songs, and remains a staple of classic rock radio in both Canada and the United States.[5][6][7][8]

Background

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

Content

The term "roller" and "high-roller" in the song is referring to a woman, who is an upper class traveler and is wealthy, and the narrator talks about leaving for Los Angeles to meet up with her.

"Roller" also talks about the narrator's unrequited love for the unnamed woman, in an upbeat, hard rock form similar to many other April Wine songs.

Charts

Weekly Charts

Chart (1981)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100[7]	34
Canada RPM Top Singles	24

Year-End Charts

Chart (1981)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100	97
Canada RPM Top Singles	30

In popular culture

"Roller" has been featured in several films, most notably Joe Dirt (2001),[9] Grown Ups 2 (2013),[10][11] and The Heat (2013).[12][13] It also has been in several television shows such as Freaks and Geeks season 1, episode 3, "Tricks and Treats"; the "Pilot" episode of The Americans in 2013, season 2, episode 6 "Take Me Away" of Being Erica 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

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