The Summer of “69″ - Bryan Adams
Submitted by Rock and Roll Classics Blog
Raise your hand if you remember the summer of “69″, OK you can put your hands down now. For those of you born after 1969….I’m sorry, you missed a lot. Now you probably thinking, great Chili’s going to blog about the year of 1969. Wrong again, actually spending time at out satellite office for the firm in upstate NY, I got a lot of exposure to Canadian Music. Which I programmed heavily on our Fm stations up and down the East Coast
One of our favorites was Bryan Adams a Canadian rock singer-songwriter and photographer. Blessed with a unique set of pipes, Adams excelled on vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano, harmonica.
Adams was born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, his father was in the diplomatic corp, so he grew up spending a lot of time traveling and packing and unpacking with his parents. Adams and the family returned eventually to North Vancouver B.C. In a Rolling stone interview years later Adams stated his musical direction started in his teen years, where he was deep into music, and he quit school to play in nightclubs at the age of 15 with Sweeney Todd and Shock. Also during that time he first met drummer Jim Vallance, thus starting a long and profitable song writing partnership that continues through present day.
Doing session work in Canadian studios, both Adams and Vallance were burned out on the club scene, and in 1978, at the age of 18, Adams sent a few demo recordings to A&M Records in Toronto, and was signed to them not long afterwards for the sum of one dollar. His The self-titled debut album was released in February of 1980. The album was certified gold in Canada in 1986.
He has released sixteen albums since then. Some of the first demos written in 1978 have surfaced over the years, most notably “I’m Ready” (recorded for both the album Cuts Like a Knife and later his release for MTV Unplugged) and “Remember”, which was recorded on his first album. Adams’ second album, You Want It You Got It, was recorded in New York City it marked Adams’ first album co-produced by Bob Clearmountain. It was released in 1981 and contained the FM radio hit, “Lonely Nights”.
The self-titled debut album was released in February of 1980, and marked the beginning of what was to become a long songwriting partnership between Adams and co-writer Jim Vallance. With the exception of “Remember” and “Wastin’ Time”, most of the album was recorded from October 29 to November 29, 1979 at Manta Studios in Toronto and co-produced by Adams and Vallance. The album was certified gold in Canada in 1986.
Adams’ second album, You Want It You Got It, was recorded in New York City in two weeks and it marked Adams’ first album co-produced by Bob Clearmountain. It was released in 1981 and contained the FM radio hit, “Lonely Nights”, but it was not until his third album that he achieved international recognition, popularity and sales.
Cuts Like a Knife his third album was released in 1983,. Many believe this was Adams’ breakout album due mainly to the lead singles. “Straight from the Heart” and “Cuts Like A Knife”. The album reached #10 number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. The title cut “Cuts Like a Knife” charted at # 15. The third release from the album “This Time” placed on the Hot 100. “Cuts Like a Knife” became Adams’ most recognizable and popular song from the album.. The album peaked at # 8 on the Billboard 200 album chart and achieved three times Platinum status in Canada, plus platinum in the United States.
Released quickly thereafter was probably Bryan’s most popular L.P. ” Reckless” was co-produced by Adams and Bob Clearmountain, peaked at number one on the Billboard 200. The album was released in 1984 and featured the singles “Run to You”, and “Summer of ‘69″.
Another hit single “It’s Only Love” was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. In 1986, the song won an MTV award for Best Stage Performance. After the release of the album, Adams was nominated for Best Male Rock Performance. The album is Adams best-selling album in the United States and was certified five times platinum.
“Heaven” peaked in the top ten. “Heaven” would become the most successful single from Reckless at the time of its release on the pop charts, reaching # 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and # 9 on the mainstream rock chart. Additional hits off the album included ” One Night Love Affair” and “Run to You”
Sidenotes:
In 2005, “Anthology, the first 2-disc compilation was released, containing two new tracks. The US release features a new version of “When You’re Gone”, a duet with Pamela Anderson.
In 2006, Adams contributed to the soundtrack of the film, The Guardian starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. Adams wrote and performed the theme song “Never Let Go”. Adams also co-wrote the song “Never Gonna Break My Faith” for the film Bobby. The song was performed by the R&B singers Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige and earned him a Golden Globe Nomination in 2007.
Adams released his eleventh effort 11 internationally on March 17, 2008. The album was released in the US exclusively at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club retail stores on May 13, 2008. The first single released from the album was “I Thought I’d Seen Everything”.
The album debuted at number one in Canada (making it his first album to reach that position since Waking Up the Neighbours in 1991). In the United States the album charted at number eighty one.
Adams in 1985 opened the US transmission of Live Aid from Philadelphia. A social activist, his next appearance was for Amnesty International in February 1987 on Rock For Amnesty with Paul McCartney.
As Always
Peace
Visit Bryan Adams
Led Zep, the Stones and The Who are just some of our favorites. Any modern bands come to mind? What are your thoughts? Register on Rock and Roll Blog now and get published within minutes. Before posting, it is recommended that you review our posting guidelines.
