Bryan Adams (other)

Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and photographer. He has been described as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million records and singles worldwide. Adams has had 25 top-15 singles in Canada and a dozen or more in each of the US, UK, and Australia.

At age 15, Adams replaced Nick Gilder as lead singer of glam rock band Sweeney Todd and at age 20 his eponymous debut album was released. He rose to fame in North America with the 1983 top ten album ''Cuts Like a Knife'', featuring its title track and the ballad " Straight From the Heart", his first US top ten hit. His 1984 Canadian and US number one album, '' Reckless'' (which became the first album by a Canadian to be certified diamond in Canada), made him a global star with six charting singles including " Run to You" and "Summer of '69", both top ten hits in the US and Canada, and the power ballad "Heaven", a US number one hit. His 1987 album '' Into the Fire'', with its US and Canadian top ten song, "Heat of the Night", rose to number two in Canada and the top ten in the US and several other countries. In 1989, he ended the decade by co writing with fellow Canadian songwriter Jim Vallance and American songwriter Diane Warren "When the Night Comes", played at the end credits of that year's Tom Selleck starred crime drama, ''An Innocent Man''.

In 1991, Adams released "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", which went to number one in at least 19 countries, including for 16 straight weeks in the UK. It is one of the best-selling singles of all time, having sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. The song was included on Adams' ''Waking Up the Neighbours'' (1991), a worldwide number one album that sold 16 million copies, including being certified diamond in Canada. Another major hit off the album was the Canadian number one and US number two hit "Can't Stop This Thing We Started", which also went top ten in several other countries. Beginning in 1993, Adams' hits were mostly ballads, including the worldwide number one or two hits "Please Forgive Me" (1993); " All for Love" (1993); and "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" (1995), the latter two topping the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Adam's 1993 greatest hits compilation album, '' So Far So Good'', topped the charts in numerous countries selling 13 million copies worldwide, including being certified 6× platinum in Canada, 5× platinum in the US, and 14× platinum in Australia.

In 1996, Adams' ''18 til I Die'' was a top five album in many countries, but only reached number 31 in the US. He did duets with Barbra Streisand ("I Finally Found Someone" (1996), his last US top ten hit) and Melanie C (" When You're Gone" (1998), an international top five hit). In the 1990s, Adams had six European Radio Airplay number one songs for 32 weeks, the fourth and third most, respectively; and three number one songs on the European Sales Chart for 29 weeks total, the most weeks of any artist. Since 1999, Adams released eight albums, three reaching number one in Canada, and the last three reaching the top three in the UK, Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

In 2008, Adams was ranked 38th on the list of all-time top artists on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists (40–21)
''Billboard''. Retrieved August 1, 2015 Adams has won 20 Juno Awards and a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television amongst 16 Grammy nominations, and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards and three Academy Awards for his songwriting for films. Adams has been inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Canada's Walk of Fame, the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. On May 1, 2010, Adams received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for his 30 years of contributions to the arts.

Life and career

Early life

Bryan Guy Adams was born on November 5, 1959, in Kingston, Ontario, the son of Elizabeth Jane (née Watson) and Conrad J. Adams, an English couple who emigrated to Canada from Plymouth in the 1950s. One of his grandmothers was born in Malta. His father, a Sandhurst officer in the British Army, joined the Canadian Army and later worked as a United Nations peacekeeping observer and Canadian foreign service diplomat.

Adams travelled with his parents to diplomatic postings in Lisbon (where he attended the American International School of Lisbon) and Vienna (where he attended the American International School Vienna) during the 1960s, and to Tel Aviv during the early 1970s. Raised in Ottawa, he attended Colonel By Secondary School in the Beacon Hill neighbourhood of Ottawa. In 1974, Adams, his mother, and younger brother Bruce moved to North Vancouver while his father was posted abroad. While there, he attended Argyle Secondary School and Sutherland Secondary School.

Early career

Adams bought his first electric guitar at the age of 10 in Reading, an Italian brand from Gherson, based on a Fender stratocaster. In an interview with music magazine ''Guitar World'', Adams said:

"I bought an imitation Les Paul at a Five and Dime store in Ottawa, Canada, in 1971," Adams recalled. "Before that, I had an imitation Strat which I bought in Reading, England in 1970.

It felt real at the time to have a Les Paul, even though I'm a massive Ritchie Blackmore fan - still am. I was heavily into Humble Pie's ''Rockin' the Fillmore'' album at the time, and both Peter Frampton and Steve Marriott were on Les Pauls. It's rock guitar heaven, that album."

He left school to play in a group called "Shock" and used the funds his parents had saved for his college education to buy an Estey grand piano to tinker with. At one point he sold pet food and worked as a dishwasher in a restaurant, which paid the rent. He grew an interest in bands such as CCR and Deep Purple, and attended concerts by Led Zeppelin, T. Rex, Elton John, and Tina Turner. He started working in the Vancouver music scene with bands and as a studio session singer. At the age of 15, he became the vocalist for glam rock band Sweeney Todd, replacing their original vocalist Nick Gilder.
With Adams the band re-recorded "Roxy Roller", the Canadian hit single from their first album, which came in at No. 99 on the US charts. The band then recorded their second album ''If Wishes Were Horses'' (1977) with Adams billed as "Bryan Guy Adams" on vocals. Adams left the band at age 16. In 1978, at age 18, Adams met Jim Vallance through a mutual friend in a Vancouver Long and McQuade musical instrument store. Vallance was the former drummer and principal songwriter for Vancouver-based rock band Prism, and had recently quit that band to focus on a career as a studio musician and songwriter. They agreed to meet at Vallance's home studio a few days later. This proved to be the beginning of a partnership which was prolific and continuous through the 1980s, together they co-wrote for Adams and a long list of recordings for other artists, including Kiss, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Johnny Hallyday, Bonnie Raitt, Rod Stewart, Bonnie Tyler, Loverboy, Carly Simon and Neil Diamond to name a few, and while discontinuous, , is still in existence.

Later in 1978, Adams signed to A&M records for one dollar. A&M remixed one of Adams' demos as a disco song "Let Me Take You Dancing", featuring Adams' vocals sped up to meet the 122 BPM dance tempo. The song made the Canadian ''RPM'' chart in March 1979 along with its B-side "Don't Turn Me Away". In 1979, he made an agreement with Canadian manager Bruce Allen, who at that time also worked for Bachman–Turner Overdrive and Loverboy; to this day Allen is still his manager.

1980s

Adams's self-titled debut album, mostly co-written with Jim Vallance, was released in February 1980. With the exception of "Remember" and "Wastin' Time", most of the album was recorded in October and November 1979 at Manta Studios and co-produced by Adams and Vallance. The album was certified gold in Canada in 1986. Singles released from it included "Give Me Your Love", "Remember" and "Hidin' from Love", with the latter having the most success, reaching number 64 on the Canadian RPM Current Hit Radio chart; none reached the US Billboard Hot 100.

Adams's second album, ''You Want It You Got It'', was released in 1981 and contained the FM album-oriented rock radio hit, "Lonely Nights", which reached number three on the US Album Rock Tracks chart. The same song was reinterpreted by Uriah Heep for the album ''Head First'', released in 1983. The most successful song off the album in Canada was "Fits Ya Good" which reached the top 30 on the RPM Top 40 Chart; it also reached number 15 on the US Album Rock Tracks chart. From January to May 1982, Adams spent months traveling on his "You Want It You Got It Tour"; within a few months the album had been picked up across the United States and Adams was soon on tour opening for the Kinks and Foreigner.

''Cuts Like a Knife'', which was released in January 1983, was Adams's breakout album. " Straight from the Heart" was the first single released from the album; it reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 20 on the Canadian RPM Top 40 chart, and number one on the Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart. In September 1983, Bonnie Tyler released her version for the studio album ''Faster Than the Speed of Night''. The second single, "Cuts Like a Knife", rose to number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, number six on the US Album Rock Tracks Chart, and number 12 on the Canadian RPM Top 40 Chart. The third single, " This Time", was also a top 30 hit in the US and Canada. Overseas, the latter two singles were both Top 20 hits in New Zealand, but there was little success in any other countries, aside from "Straight From the Heart" and "This Time" reaching the top 50 in the UK. Three other tracks, "Take Me Back", "I'm Ready" and "The Only One", also received substantial airplay on North American rock radio stations, each making the US Album Rock Tracks chart. The album peaked at number eight on both the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart and in Canada, achieving three times platinum status in Canada, platinum status in the United States and gold status in Australia. In October, Adams joined Jim Vallance at the Yamaha Music Festival in Japan. The ''Music Express'' national popular opinion poll voted him Canada's best male singer for 1982. In 1983, Adams travelled to America, opening for Journey and performing on over 100 dates in five months. On July 30, 1983, he performed at Day on the Green, sharing the stage with Journey, Triumph, Eddie Money and Night Ranger.

A&M released the film soundtrack of the album ''A Night in Heaven'', with the power ballad "Heaven" on it. "Heaven" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1985. Among his awards for 1983 were the Juno Award for Best Male Vocalist.

The album '' Reckless'' was released in late 1984, and peaked at number one on both the ''Billboard'' 200 and the Canadian Album Chart, while reaching number two in Australia and number seven in the UK. The album featured six singles: " Run to You", "Somebody", "Heaven", "Summer of '69", "One Night Love Affair", and "It's Only Love", a duet with the female star and " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" Tina Turner. All six singles peaked in the Top 15 of the US Billboard Hot 100, only the third album to achieve this with the rockers "Run to You" (number six) and "Summer of '69" (number five) peaking in the top ten, and the ballad "Heaven" reaching number one. "Run To You" was the most successful single at album-oriented rock stations in the US, as it spent four weeks at the top of the mainstream rock tracks chart; "Somebody" reached number one for a single week on that chart; while "It's Only Love" and "One Light Love Affair" each rose to number 7. "Summer of '69" had gotten a minor amount of airplay upon the initial release of the album, making it ineligible to re-chart on the mainstream rock track chart when it was released as single in summer 1985.

"Run To You" was the biggest hit off ''Reckless'' in Canada reaching number four, with "Summer of '69" and "Heaven" both peaking at number 11, "Somebody" peaking at number 13, "It's Only Love" hitting number 14, and "One Night Love Affair" reaching number 19. "Summer of 69" also reached the top ten in New Zealand and Norway, and the Top 20 in Sweden, Australia and Austria, but only peaked at number 42 in the UK and number 62 in West Germany. Adams has stated that "Summer of '69" was not a success when initially released in the UK because British radio stations did not add it to their play lists like they had "Run To You". However, it gained popularity over time and was certified Platinum (600,000) in sales in the UK in 2019, and its Spotify streams were at 280 million as of 2019, twice that of "(Everything I Do) I Do For You." In the Low Countries it achieved its maximum popularity in 1990 when it peaked at number 4 in 17 weeks on the Netherlands' singles chart, and reached number 8 on the Belgium chart.

"It's Only Love" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group in 1986. In 1986, the song won an MTV award for Best Stage Performance. ''Reckless'' also earned Adams a Grammy nomination for Best Male Rock Performance. In December 1984, Adams embarked on a two-year world tour to launch the album starting in Canada and United States, then into Japan, Australia, back to the UK, where for dates he supported Tina Turner for her Private Dancer Tour, and again to Canada. After winning four Juno Awards, he headed south towards the American West Coast, culminating with two dates at the Paladium in Los Angeles. ''Reckless'' eventually went Diamond in sales in Canada, the first album by a Canadian artist to do so, while reaching 5× and 3× Platinum in the US and UK. ''Reckless'' has sold over 12 million copies worldwide, and won the Juno Award for Album of the Year.

1985 was an intense and demanding year. On February 10, he recorded the Northern Lights single "Tears Are Not Enough", an improvised supergroup with Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and other Canadian artists. Adams was the author of the lyrics and the album, the mission was to raise funds to help the 1983-85 famine in Ethiopia. The song was issued as a single by Columbia Records in March of that year, and quickly reached number one on the Canadian Top 40 chart. It also finished number one on the year-end Canadian charts for 1985. The song's video also received extensive airplay on MuchMusic. Participation was incredible: the single went triple platinum immediately, although independently recorded by the USA for Africa project, it was included in the full-length ''We Are the World'' album. On July 13, Adams attended the Live Aid concert, from Philadelphia. He took the stage at JFK Stadium in front of over 100,000 people and the band played "Kids Wanna Rock", "Summer Of '69" and "Cuts Like A Knife", before concluding with "Tears Are Not Enough". Bryan Adams sang a small passage of this song on Live 8 in Barrie during All For Love. In September 1985, Adams worked on Roger Daltrey's sixth solo album '' Under a Raging Moon''. The album was a tribute to The Who's drummer Keith Moon, who died in 1978. Adams co-wrote two tracks for the album: " Let Me Down Easy" and "Rebel". The track "Let Me Down Easy" was a Top 15 Hit on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks. Nearly 30 years later, Adams would release his own version of "Let Me Down Easy" on a 30-year anniversary version of ''Reckless''.

In January 1986, Adams provided the ending background vocals to the song "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)" by Canadian rock band Glass Tiger for their debut album '' The Thin Red Line''. It reached number one in Canada and number two in the United States.

His follow-up album to ''Reckless'' was '' Into the Fire'' (1987). This album contained the hit songs "Heat of the Night", which went to the top ten in both Canada and the US, and " Hearts on Fire". In December 1987, Adams contributed the song "Run Rudolph Run" to the album ''A Very Special Christmas'', which benefited the Special Olympics. The album was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipment of four million copies in the United States, is the 19th best-selling Christmas/holiday album in the United States during the SoundScan era are 2,520,000 copies sold. In May 1988, Tommy Mandel joined the Adams band as new keyboardist.

In June 1989, he teamed up with famed producer/composer Robert John "Mutt" Lange at London's Olympic Studios to write more material for the upcoming LP. Bryan attended a press conference on June 8 to launch the North American release of Rainbow Warriors, and also joined artists to re-record the classic Deep Purple hit "Smoke On The Water" in aid of Armenian earthquake victims. In August 1989, he recorded the backup vocals for the Belinda Carlisle song "Whatever It Takes" from the ''Runaway Horses'' album. Also during that time, Adams contributed to Mötley Crüe's work on the album '' Dr. Feelgood'', doing the backing vocals of "Sticky Sweet" and Charlie Sexton doing the backing vocals of "Don't Look Back" from the ''Charlie Sexton'' album. In October 1989, Adams performed two club benefit concerts at 86 Street Music Hall in Vancouver on 18 & 19. "A Night for the Environment" raised $40,000.00 for four local environmental groups. Bryan is nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Performance (Music) for CBS's "Live In Belgium" television special. In November 1989, Adams flew to London, England on the 18th for press interviews for the upcoming shows of New Year's Eve in Japan. He resumes writing material for the album with Mutt Lange and attends Tina Turner's 50th birthday party at London's prestigious Reform Club. In December 1989, the long-awaited first live LP was released. Entitled '' Live! Live! Live!'', it was recorded live at the Rock Werchter festival on July 3, 1988, in Werchter, Belgium. Adams returned to Little Mountain Sound Studios mid-month to record even more material for the next album. The release date was tentatively scheduled for April 1990.

1990s

He returned to London and joined Eric Carmen in the studio to record the backing vocals for "Feels Like Forever", a song written by Adams for Eric's then-upcoming LP. Production of the Adams project continued with Mutt Lange in England for the next two months. In 1990, he received the prestigious Order Of British Columbia. He starred in two European festivals in Midfyns and Rosskilde, Denmark, on June 28. Adams added vocal tracks on the melody of David Foster's "River Of Love" in his home studio in Vancouver. On July 21, 1990, Adams took part in Roger Waters's concert production of ''The Wall - Live In Berlin'', to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall eight months earlier. Adams performed the Pink Floyd track "Young Lust." A live album and video of the concert was released in August 1990. Adams performed on September 28, 1990, in Chile in the huge 55,000-seat Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos in Santiago, then headed to Buenos Aires, in Argentina, the next day to perform alongside David Bowie and Mick Taylor at Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti

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