#578: I’m On Fire For You Baby by April Wine

Peak Month: September 1974
10 weeks on CKLG’s Vancouver Charts
Peak Position ~ #7
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #64
YouTube.com: “I’m On Fire For You Baby”
Lyrics: “I’m On Fire For You Baby”

April Wine is a Canadian rock band that has released 34 singles, 16 studio albums and 9 live albums. They formed in Waverly, Nova Scotia, in 1969. The founding members were brothers David Henman (guitar) and Ritchie Henman (drums) and Myles Goodwyn (lead vocals, guitar). The Henman brothers cousin Jim Henman was also part of the band, but was replaced by bass player Jim Clench in 1971, a year after the band moved to Montreal. They had a Top Ten hit nationally in Canada in 1972 with “You Could Have Been A Lady”.

On their fourth album in 1974, Live, the band had another Top Ten hit in Vancouver called “I’m On Fire For You Baby.” Their fourth studio album, Stand Back, went double platinum with 2 million sales.

“I’m On Fire For You Baby” was written by UK songwriter David Elliott, who had released the song in the UK in 1973. Elliott’s single got little attention in his home country. He wrote others songs that were recorded by Levon Helm. Elliott also co-wrote songs with Tim Hardin. He also collaborated with Paul Kossoff, formerly with the UK rock band Free.

“I’m On Fire For You Baby” is a song about being in the present moment and responding to the lure of sexual desire. The lyrics reveal that in the future, the guy in the scenario “might even need to leave you (the woman) be.”  So, the fire he feels for her is right here, right now, with no strings attached. He tells her “don’t worry ’bout tomorrow’s world, the time is now, I need you girl.”

In a study titled “Is There a Gender Difference in Strength of Sex Drive,” the researchers concluded “men think about sex more often than women — they reported more spontaneous sexual arousal and had more frequent and varied fantasies. Men also want more sexual partners in their lifetime and are more interested in casual sex. Men masturbate much more than women, and masturbation is considered by sex researchers to be one of the purest measures of sex drive because it is not constrained by external factors, such as the need of a partner.” In the study student researchers instructed to approach people on a university campus of the other gender at random with the line: “I’ve been noticing you around campus and I think you’re attractive. Would you like to go to bed with me tonight?” More than three-quarters of the men said yes. Not a single woman did. The comedian Billy Crystal had a line that summed up the findings: “Women need a reason to have sex. Men just need a place.”

“I’m On Fire For You Baby” climbed to #7 in Vancouver (BC), and made the Top 20 in Kingston (ON), Hamilton (ON), Ottawa and Toronto. The song latter appeared in the 2006 Canadian film, Trailer Park Boys: The Movie, directed by Mike Clattenburg.

The next single release was “I Wouldn’t Want to Lose Your Love”, from the Stand Back album. It climbed to #12 in Vancouver in early 1975.

A number of changes in the band left Myles Goodwyn as the only founding member. Former Mashmakhan drummer, Jerry Mercer, replaced Ritchie Henman, and Garry Moffat took over from Dave Henman on guitar. Steve Lang took over on bass from Jim Clench. This line-up would record the band’s fifth studio album in 1976, The Whole World’s Goin’ Crazy. This album went platinum before it was released. The band had Top Ten success the following year with “You Won’t Dance With Me”. Another track, “Gimmie Love“, was also a hit on the Vancouver pop charts.

In March 1978, April Wine released their seventh studio album titled First Glance. Off the album the band released four singles, the second of which was “Comin’ Right Down On Top Of Me”.