NOVEMBER 5, 1959 – Born on this day in Kingston, Ontario, Canada: Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter/musician/photographer/actor/record producer/social activist BRYAN ADAMS
Adams was born to British parents Capt. Conrad J. Adams and Elizabeth Jane Adams (née Watson) who had immigrated from England in the 1950s to Canada. Adams’s father, a Sandhurst officer, joined the Canadian Army and later spent time as a United Nations peacekeeping observer, which led to him becoming a Canadian foreign service diplomat. Adams traveled with his parents to diplomatic postings in Portugal and Vienna, Austria during the 1960s and to Israel during the early 1970s.
By the time Adams was 12years old, he and his younger brother Bruce had lived in Israel and all over Europe. Moving from place to place as a child prepared him for touring as a singer/guitarist. “It made me accustomed to traveling” Adams told Ken Miller in Seventeen magazine: “My younger brother and I had a good time at the hotels, stealing the soap from the maids’ trays and all that. I was the influence there—we were quite mischievous.”
Just like his father and grandfather, Bryan Adams attended strict British military schools. However, true to the rock n’ roll rebel image, he grew his hair long, lambasted his teachers, and eventually got expelled. He also revolted against the strict rules his father set at home. At the age of 10, Adams got his first guitar, and from then on, music absorbed all of his attention. Two years later, Adams moved with his family to Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. Soon after, his parents divorced, driving him further into reclusion with his music. Adams didn’t see his father again until after the release of his second album.
Adams was preoccupied with his music throughout his teenage years, and was not distracted easily. “In high school, I was too far into my music to even pay attention to girls.” Adams told Steve Pond in Rolling Stone. “I’d run after the occasional girl, but music and rock n’ roll bands were far more interesting to me.”
At the age of 14, Adams worked as a paperboy and as a dish washer at the Tomahawk Restaurant to save money for a proper guitar. He started auditioning as a guitarist while rehearsing his own band in his mother’s rented basement in North Vancouver. Adams elected to sing until they found a singer, but they never found one, and his auditioning landed him a few jobs with bands like Shock. Initially hired as a guitarist, when the group couldn’t find a singer Adams decided to attempt it himself, along with booking and managing the band. But he still wasn’t old enough to hang out in bars, so he had to stay behind in the dressing rooms between sets. He soon joined Sweeney Todd (with future solo artist Nick Gilder), who in 1976 released “If Wishes Were Horses” with the 15-year-old Adams as the singer. He quit school to play nightclubs and go on the road and upon his return he settled into the Vancouver studio scene, working as a background vocalist for the CBC and working with keyboardist Robbie King, whom Adams attributes as having given him his first paying session.
In 1978, at the age of 18, Adams met Jim Vallance introduced by a mutual friend in a Vancouver music 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, which proved to be the beginning of a partnership which still exists today. Later in 1978, Adams signed to A&M records for the paltry sum of one dollar. 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. Both songs were covered by other artists even before his first album was released. Also recorded during this time was the disco song “Let Me Take You Dancing,” which made the Canadian RPM chart in March 1979 and its B-Side “Don’t Turn Me Away”. “Straight From The Heart” was also written during this period. The song was later recorded for Adams’s third album “Cuts Like A Knife” in 1983 and released as a single, becoming Adams’s first top ten record in the U.S. in 1983.
Adams’s self-titled debut album was released in February 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 29 October up until 29 November 1979 at Manta Studios in Toronto and co-produced by Adams and Vallance. The album was certified gold in Canada in 1986.
Adams’s second album “You Want It You Got It”, was recorded in New York City in two weeks and it marked Adams’s 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.
Adams also co-wrote songs for other bands during this time including Billboard charted songs like “No Way to Treat a Lady” for Bonnie Raitt, “Don’t Let Him Know” for Prism, “Teacher Teacher” for 38 Special, “Edge Of A Dream” for Joe Cocker, Bonnie Tyler, KISS, and many more.
“Cuts Like a Knife”, which was released in January 1983, was Adams’s breakout album due mainly to the lead singles. “Straight from the Heart” was the most successful song, reaching #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Another single, “Cuts Like a Knife” charted at #15. “This Time” also placed on the Hot 100. Music videos were released for four of the singles from the album. “Cuts Like a Knife” arguably became Adams’s most recognizable and popular song from the album. Its music video received heavy airplay on music television channels. The album peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200 album chart and achieved three times platinum status in Canada, platinum in the United States and gold in Australia.
Adams’s album “Reckless”, co-produced by Adams and Bob Clearmountain, peaked a t#1 on the Billboard 200. The album was released in November 1984 and featured the singles, “Run to You”, “Summer of ’69”, “Heaven”, “One Night Love Affair”, “Somebody”, and “It’s Only Love”, a duet with Tina Turner. All the singles had accompanying music videos and all charted on the Billboard Hot 100 but only “Run to You”, “Summer of ’69”, and “Heaven” peaked in the top ten. “Heaven” became the most successful single from “Reckless” at the time of its release on the pop charts, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 on the mainstream rock chart. “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’s best-selling album in the United States and was certified five times platinum.
In December 1984, Adams embarked on a massive 2-year world tour to launch the album starting in Canada and United States, then into Japan, Australia, back to the UK and again to Canada. After winning four Juno Awards, he headed south towards the American West Coast, culminating with 2 dates at the studded Paladium in Los Angeles.
After the tour in the United States, Adams took part of a grand ensemble of Canadian artists named Northern Lights, who recorded the song “Tears Are Not Enough” for the African famine relief effort. Adams later headed back to Europe for a fifty-city concert tour with rock singer Tina Turner, culminating in April with his return to London to headline three sold-out shows at the Hammersmith Odeon. Adams began the first leg of his tour entitled “World Wide in ’85” which started in Oklahoma and ended in October 1985. Adams later visited Vancouver, Canada, and afterward returned to the American East Coast to play 2 sold-out concerts in New York.
In 1985 Adams worked on Roger Daltrey’s sixth solo album “Under a Raging Moon”, which was a tribute album to The Who’s former drummer Keith Moon who died in 1978. Adams co wrote two tracks for the album those being: “Let Me Down Easy” and “Rebel” the track “Let Me Down Easy” was a Top 15 Hit on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks and featured Adams playing guitar and singing backing vocals aside Roger Daltrey also with Robbie McIntosh playing guitar in the music video.
The follow-up album to “Reckless” was “Into the Fire” which was released in 1987. The album was recorded at Cliffhanger Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia and mixed at AIR Studios in London and Warehouse Studio in Vancouver. This album contained the hit songs “Heat of the Night” and “Hearts on Fire” and hit the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic.
In 1989 Adams did backup singing on Mötley Crüe’s album “Dr. Feelgood” and also on Belinda Carlisle’s song “Whatever It Takes” which appeared on her album “Runaway Horses”.
In 1990, Adams voiced the evil rat henchman Hoodwink in the Canadian children’s animated television special “The Real Story of the Three Little Kittens” which was created and produced for “The Real Story of…” (a.k.a. Favorite Songs) anthology series. It was first broadcast on CTV Television Network in Canada and later on HBO in USA.
Adams’s next album, “Waking Up the Neighbours”, co-produced by Adams and Mutt Lange, peaked at number six on the Billboard 200. It was even more successful on the other side of the Atlantic, reaching #1 on both big European markets, the UK and Germany. The album was released in September 1991 and featured “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You”, his second #1 hit single in the Billboard Hot 100. This song was featured on the album and in the movie “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”, starring Kevin Costner and Alan Rickman. The single topped the charts in numerous countries around the world including big markets such as the US, the UK, France, Australia and Germany. “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” spent 16 consecutive weeks at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, breaking a record previously held by Slim Whitman with Rose Marie since 1955. It also achieved record-breaking sales in the US. Canadian content regulations were revised in 1991 to allow radio stations to credit airplay of this album towards their legal requirements to play Canadian music. Adams won a Grammy Award in 1991 for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television.
Adams further supported the album with his tour, “Waking Up the World” which started on 4 October 1991, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. On December 18, 1991, Adams played two first-ever shows in Reykjavík, Iceland and then performed in the U.S. with a concert at the Ritz Theatre in New York City onJanuary 1oth. It was a sell-out in less than twenty minutes. In attendance were music legends Ben E. King and Nona Hendryx. The Canadian leg of the “Waking Up The World” tour kicked off in Sydney, Nova Scotia on January 13, 1992, and wrapped up with a standing room only concert in Vancouver, Canada, on January 31st. In February 1992, he started touring in New Zealand and Australia for seven dates—kicking off with a press conference in Sydney. On February 21st, the tour headed to Japan for approximately a dozen shows in six cities. The tour continued through several European countries in June 1992, including Italy, Germany, Holland and Scandinavia, and in July 1992, Bryan performed for the first time in Hungary and Turkey (where he filmed his video for “Do I Have To Say The Words?”). During the long tour, further singles from the “Waking Up the Neighbours” album were released: In the US, the rocky “Can’t Stop This Thing We Started” peaked at # 2, and “Do I Have to Say the Words?” reached #11. In the UK, “Thought I Died and Gone to Heaven” was the most successful single behind “(Everything I Do) I Do it for You” by reaching the Top 10. In September through December 1993, the tour took place in the US. The Asian tour headed to Thailand, Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong in February 1993, before returning to the US during March through May.
In 1993 he collaborated with Rod Stewart and Sting for the single “All for Love” written for the Motion Picture Soundtrack of the movie “Three Musketeers”. The single topped the charts worldwide. In November 1993 Adams released a compilation album entitled “So Far So Good”, that again topped the Charts in numerous countries such as the UK, Germany and Australia. It included a brand new song called “Please Forgive Me”, that became another #1 single in Australia as well as reaching the Top 3 in the US, the UK and Germany. It was followed in 1995 by “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?” (song released with the Motion Picture Soundtrack of the movie Don Juan DeMarco). It became another number 1 in the US and Australia as well as a Top 5 hit in the UK and Germany. Released in June 1996, the album “18 til I Die” contained the UK Top 10 singles “The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me” and “Lets Make a Night to Remember”. The album peaked at #31 on the Billboard 200 in the United States and held that position for three weeks. It was more successful in Europe and Australia and reached the top spot on the UK charts for Adams’s third #1 in a row. The album has been certified platinum in the United States and is Adams last studio effort which has been certified by the RIAA. “18 til I Die” was certified three times platinum in Canada and Australia and two times platinum in the UK. On July 27th, Adams performed at the Wembley Stadium in London in front of a crowd of about 70,000. It was his second sold-out concert there and it is often considered as his biggest concert ever as it went out live to 25 countries and fans from all over the world came up to watch the performance.It also received rave reviews from critics and fans alike. In December 1997, Adams released “MTV Unplugged” with three new tracks: “Back to You”, “A Little Love” and “When You Love Someone”. “Back to You” was the first single, followed by “I’m Ready”, an acoustic version of the Cut’s Like A Knife track. The album was a top 10 success in Germany while both singles reached the top 20 in the UK.
In 1996, Adams joined good friend & idol Don Henley on stage with a Duet at Live at Honors, Everybody Knows.
“On a Day Like Today” was released in 1998 and was the first studio album since 1981’s “You Want It You Got It” which wasn’t certified by the RIAA. This release coincided with his contract being sold to Interscope Records. Despite Interscope’s involvement or lack of, “On a Day Like Today” enjoyed tremendous success internationally, entering the Top 5 in Germany and was certified platinum in the UK. It generated two British Top 10 singles: “Cloud Number Nine” and “When You’re Gone”, which featured Melanie C of The Spice Girls.
To commemorate the millennium, Adams released “The Best of Me”, his most comprehensive collection of songs at that time, which also included two new songs, the title track “The Best of Me” and the UK #1 track “Don’t Give Up”. The album reached the Top 10 in Germany and was certified three times platinum in Canada and Platinum in the UK. The single from the album, “The Best of Me” was a very successful hit with the exception of the US, where neither the single or the album were released by Interscope Records.
In 2000, Adams wrote and sang on a song for Chicane’s album “Behind the Sun” called “Don’t Give Up”. Even though his voice is somewhat altered electronically, it is still recognizable. An official music video was made of the song, in which Adams also appears.
In 2002, Adams wrote and performed the songs for the DreamWorks animated film, “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron”. The songs were included on the film’s soundtrack. The most successful single from the soundtrack was “Here I Am”, a British Top 5 and German Top 20 hit. The song also gave him his fourth Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Song from a Motion Picture.
In 2004, ARC Weekly released its chart of top pop artists since the last 25 years and Adams came up at #13 in the chart with four number-one singles, ten top five hits and 17 top ten hits. Six years after the release of On a Day Like Today, Room Service was released in September 2004. It topped the charts in Germany and Switzerland and peaked at number four in the UK, selling 440,000 copies in its first week in Europe and thus debuted at number one on Billboard’s European album chart. The single, “Open Road”, was the most successful single from the album and peaked at #1 in Canada and #21 in the UK. In May 2008, the album was also released in the US but charted only at number 134 on the Billboard 200.
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 Melanie C. Also in 2005, Adams re-recorded the theme song for the second season of Pamela’s Fox sitcom “Stacked”.
In 2006, Adams wrote and performed the theme song “Never Let Go” which was featured in the closing credits of the film The Guardian starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. 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 album internationally on March 17, 2008. It was appropriately called “11”. 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”. Adams did an 11-day, 11-country European acoustic promotional tour to kick off the release of the album. The album debuted at number one in Canada (making it his first album to reach that position since “Waking Up the Neighbours” in 1991) as well as reaching number two in Germany. In the United States, the album charted at #80. In May 2009, Bryan Adams announced on his Twitter account that he has started writing and recording a new album in Paris.
Adams was one of the four musicians who were pictured on the second series of the Canadian Recording Artist Series to be issued by Canada Post stamps on July 2, 2009. The total estimated number of Bryan Adams stamps that were printed is one and one-half million.
In December 2009, he wrote, produced and performed the song “You’ve Been a Friend to Me” for the Disney film “Old Dogs”. In February 2010, Adams released “One World, One Flame” – a track used as a theme song by the German TV Station ARD for their Olympic coverage of Olympic Games in Vancouver.
On February 12, 2010, Adams performed a duet with Nelly Furtado. The song was called “Bang the Drum” and was co-written with Jim Vallance for the opening ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics Games in Vancouver, British Columbia. The ceremony was held indoors at BC Place Stadium.
Adams performed at a party that Wayne Gretzky and Jaromír Jágr attended during Olympics, this brought all three together once again, following Gretzky’s final game in 1999 at Madison Square Garden, when Gretzky then played for the New York Rangers and Jágr was with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Adams then sang the Canadian national anthem and ad-libbed a line to acknowledge Gretzky’s departure, singing, “We’re gonna miss you Wayne Gretzky.”
Adams was one of several well-known Canadian musicians to visit Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at his official residence. Originally the visit was meant to be Adams’s plea to the Prime Minister to change the archaic copyright laws, instead Harper turned it into a photo op for himself and an informal “jam session”.
In November 2010, Adams released the acoustic album “Bare Bones”. It was recorded live at various locations on his “Bare Bones Tour” earlier in the year. It was certified gold in India a year later, and he thanked all his Indian fans for supporting him.
Bryan Adams & Keith Scott during their tour in Bangalore, India in 2011
On February 19, 2011, Bryan Adams and his band played in Kathmandu, Nepal making him the first ever international artist to perform in Nepal which was organized by ODC Network (P) LTD. Bryan Adams performed at the opening ceremony of the International Cricket Council’s World Cup tournament on February 17, 2011 in Dhaka, Bangladesh and also performed in a solo concert in the next day.
On November 19, 2011, Adams wrote and recorded the dance music single/video for the Loverush UK! single “Tonight in Babylon” in Southwark, London. The next day, he performed “When You’re Gone” on the TV show “The X Factor” in the UK with the remaining acts in the competition.
In July 2012, Adams was featured as the voice of the lead character of a dog called Jock, in the animated South African film “Jock of the Bushveld”. He also wrote and sang two of the main songs: “Way Oh” and “By Your Side”. The American released of the film was retitled “Jock the Hero dog”.
In 2012, he wrote and sang on the dance song “Tonight In Babylon”, by London duo Loverush UK!. This song was also recorded/released on his Bare Bones Sydney Opera House video.
In 2013, he wrote and sang on “After All” with Michael Bublé from his album To Be Loved. Also in 2013, the Bare Bones acoustic show, “Live at the Sydney Opera House” recorded in 2011, is released on DVD and CD.
In an interview on March 18, 2014, Adams revealed that he has signed a three album contract with Verve Records in the U.S.A. With one album celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Reckless, a new album of covers, and another one with new songs produced by Jeff Lynne.
“Tracks of My Years” was released on September 30, 2014 and reached #1 on the Canadian album chart. The album contains cover songs and one original song written with Jim Vallance.
On July 13, 2014, Adams presented a live concert on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City, Canada. Adams was moved by the crowd and mentioned: “Quebec City is the Capital of music and artists.”
As a photographer, Adams has worked with many of his musical peers, including Lana Del Rey, The Who, Sting, Shania Twain, Mick Jagger, Arcade Fire, Ray Charles, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, Robert Plant, Take That, Joss Stone, Plácido Domingo, Sarah McLachlan, Celine Dion, Billy Idol, Moby, Lindsay Lohan, Amy Winehouse, Annie Lennox, Peter Gabriel, Bryan Ferry, Lenny Kravitz, Die Antwoord, Boy George and Morrissey to name a few. On November 27, 2000 Adams played onstage with The Who at the Royal Albert Hall. A DVD of the concert was issued. Adams photographed the band and his photos appear in the DVD booklet.
In 2002, Adams was invited, along with other photographers from the Commonwealth, to photograph Queen Elizabeth II during her Golden Jubilee; one of the photographs from this session was used as a Canadian postage stamp in 2004 and again in 2005 (see Queen Elizabeth II definitive stamp (Canada)), another portrait of both Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip is now in the National Portrait Gallery in London. Adams released a photographic book entitled Wounded – The Legacy of War, to highlight the real human consequences of war in November 2013. Adams has also recorded songs critical of warfare on past albums.
Adams released a photographic book entitled “Wounded – The Legacy of War”, to highlight the real human consequences of war in November 2013. Adams has also recorded songs critical of warfare on past albums.
SOURCES
http://www.bryanadams.com/
http://www.bryanadams.org/about-ba
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001898/bio
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Bryan_Adams.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Adams
http://www.thebryanadamsfoundation.com/
http://bryanadamsphotography.com/
https://www.facebook.com/bryanadamsofficial
https://twitter.com/bryanadams