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- Ralph
Producer: Ralph Murphy
Work: Produced certified gold album for April Wine ‘On Record’.
Year: 1972
Raised: Wallaceburg (Chatham-Kent)
Notes: Under the guidance of producer Ralph Murphy, April Wine recorded their second album, titled On Record. The first single from the album was a cover version of the song “You Could Have Been a Lady”, originally by the band Hot Chocolate. The record was a commercial success, hitting number 5 on the Canadian charts, as well as cracking the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States where it stayed for 11 weeks, peaking at No. 32. Immediately following that triumph, April Wine released a second single from On Record, titled “Bad Side of the Moon.” It got much airplay on Canadian radio stations and was a minor hit in the U.S. as well. Both tracks remain staples on classic rock radio stations in Canada. On Record was certified Gold in Canada and the band, along with Murphy, returned the studio to exploit the popularity generated by their second release.
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Song Writer: Ralph Murphy
Work: Wrote country hit in 1972 performed by Jeanie C. Riley ‘Good Enough To Be Your Wife’.
Year: 1972
Raised: Wallaceburg (Chatham-Kent)
Notes:
Ralph pens a country hit in 1972 performed by Jeanie C. Riley ‘Good Enough To Be Your Wife’. During this period in 1972, Murphy wrote a song called “Good Enough to Be Your Wife” and played it for his girlfriend in his New York office. A producer there heard it, said “That’s a hit!” and cut it with Janet Lawson, a jazz singer. It was released as a single but wasn’t a hit – Murphy had bet the producer it wouldn’t be – but two or
three months later, he heard from Shelby Singleton saying, “Hey, man, I just cut your song, it’s gonna be a smash!” Murphy was “stunned” when Jeanie C. Riley’s recording
became his first country hit. The song was actually banned at the time on some stations because it was thought that he was promoting couples living together, even though it was actually making the opposite case.
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Chatham Music Archive 