Here’s another obscure one for you. The song is “You Saved My Soul” and it was written and recorded by Burton Cummings, who you probably remember from his years with the Canadian band the Guess Who. This particular track was released as a single in August of 1981 and got as high as #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #22 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. It did better in his native Canada, hitting #31 on Billboard’s Top Canadian Hits chart and #12 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart.
As noted, Burton Cummings was the former lead singer and keyboardist for the Guess Who. He disbanded that group in 1975 and embarked on a solo career. He was fairly successful as a solo artist, especially in Canada, racking up three top ten hits up north—1976’s “Stand Tall” (also #10 in the U.S.), 1978’s “Break It to Them Gently,” and 1980’s “Fine State of Affairs.” He took a break from recording around 1990 but got back into it later in the decade. In 2000 he reformed the Guess Who for a three-year reunion tour, then continued to perform both as a solo act and with former Guess Who colleague Randy Bachman. He’s still performing today, age 77.
In 1982, Burton Cummings took a slight detour into acting, starring with Glynnis O’Connor, Paul Sorvino, and Don Johnson in the Canadian film, Melanie. That’s where “You Saved My Soul” comes from. With its lyrics describing the relationship between the film’s two protagonists (Cummings and O’Connor), “You Saved My Soul” won a Canadian Genie Award for Best Original Song.
So, unless you’re Canadian, you’ve probably never seen Melanie and you probably haven’t heard “You Saved My Soul.” Now’s your chance to make up for that!
