"Sign of the Gypsy Queen" is a song written and originally recorded by Lorence Hud. The song became a hit in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

when released as a single in 1973. Hud's version appeared on his eponymous debut album. The song reached the top 5 on the West Coast, #3 on

CJRW-FM CJRW-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting at 102.1 FM in Summerside, Prince Edward Island owned & operated by the Maritime Broadcasting System. The station plays an adult contemporary format branded on-air as ''102 Spud FM''. CJRW is th ...

Summerside, Prince Edward Island Summerside is a Canadian city in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is the second largest city in the province and the primary service centre for the western part of the island. History Summerside was officially incorporated as a town on ...

, and peaked at #16 nationally on the

RPM 100 ''RPM'' ( and later ) was a Canadian music-industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. ''R ...

chart.

April Wine version

April Wine April Wine is a Canadian rock band formed in 1969 and based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Led by singer-guitarist-songwriter Myles Goodwin since its inception, April Wine's first success came with its second album, '' On Record'' (1972), which reac ...

had more success with a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

version of the song in 1981. It was the second single from their album '' The Nature of the Beast''. The song reached #40 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

, and #57 in the United States on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, and #19 on the

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

. This version has become popular on

album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-oriente ...

radio stations, getting frequent airplay in the United States and Canada. A

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

aired on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's first day of broadcast. It remains one of the group's signature songs and a live concert staple. The song has since been recorded by other artists.April Wine - Chart History
Billboard

Background

The song was first recorded by Hud at RCA's Toronto Studios in 1971, with Bill Misener of

The Paupers The Paupers were a Canadian psychedelic rock band from Toronto, Ontario, who recorded between 1965 and 1968. They released two albums for Verve Forecast Records and appeared at the Monterey International Pop Festival. History Origins The g ...

producing. Bill wanted to sign Lorence but RCA did not move quickly enough, so A&M signed him instead. On Hud's recording he played all the instruments himself.

In popular culture

"Sign of the Gypsy Queen" gained a brief resurgence in popularity when it was featured in an episode of the American television series ''

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...

'' in 2013. The episode, " Granite State", received critical acclaim, and is one of the most popular episodes in the series history.

Charts

References

{{April Wine, state=collapsed 1981 singles 1972 songs April Wine songs Aquarius Records (Canada) singles Capitol Records singles