Introduction

Bryan Adams is a Canadian singer, guitarist, songwriter, producer, actor, photographer and social activist. He is best loved for his songs and distinct raspy vocals. He is one of the most famous names in the world of Rock and Roll. He has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and has collected numerous awards and nominations. He has been nominated for 15 Grammys, 56 Juno Awards out of which he won 20 Juno Awards and one Grammy Award for ‘Best Song Specifically Written for a Motion Picture or Television’. He has been nominated three times for Academy Awards and five times for Golden Globe Awards for his contribution to film music. He was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 1998 and gained a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011. Adams has actively contributed to humanitarian causes through charity work and concerts. He received the Order of Canada and Order of British Columbia for his philanthropic work as well as contributions to music.

EARLY LIFE

Bryan Adams was born on 5th November, 1959 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. His parents were British immigrants to Canada. His father Capt. Conrad J. Adams was employed with the United Nations as a Canadian diplomat. Adams with his mother (Elizabeth Jane Adams) and younger brother Bruce travelled all over Europe and Israel for his father’s diplomatic postings.

Bryan Adams got his first guitar at the age of 10. A year later, he bought for himself an electric guitar. He dropped out of school at 15 to join a band. Soon he met a drummer and his lifetime collaborator Jim Vallance in 1978. They began writing songs together that were later sung by other artists too. Adams received an offer from A&M Records for a recording contract at the age of 18. Since then, Adams has released 14 commercially successful albums.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Bryan Adams was determined to succeed as a singer. His first two albums Bryan Adams (1980) and You Want It You Got IT (1981) received a lukewarm response. Undeterred, Adams released his third album Cuts Like A Knife in 1983. The songs “Straight from the Heart” and “Cuts like a Knife” reached Top 10 and Top 15 respectively on Billboard. The success of this album brought international recognition and fame to Bryan Adams. With his fourth album Reckless (1984), Adams became an international superstar and got his first Grammy nomination. Reckless is considered his best album of the 80s. In 1987, Into The Fire, a socially conscious album, spawned the song “Heat of the Night”, which was a platinum hit and received a Grammy nomination.

Bryan Adams started the 90s decade with his biggest hit song “Everything I Do, I Do It For You”. Part of the album Waking Up The Neighbors in 1991, this song is the second best selling single of all times behind Michael Jackson’s “We Are The World”. It sold more than 3 million records in the US. The album sold more than 4 million copies in the US and bagged six Grammy nominations. “Everything I Do, I Do It For You” won the Grammy for ‘Best Song Specifically Written for a Motion Picture or Television’. He released a greatest hits album in 1993 which delivered his third # 1 hit song, “Please Forgive Me”. His fourth chart topper "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" written for the movie Don Juan DeMarco came in 1994. Since then Bryan Adams has released six more successful albums: 18 Til I Die (1996), Unplugged (1997), On a Day Like Today (1998), The Best of Me (1999), Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (soundtrack) (2002) and Room Service (2004).

Bryan Adams is an active philanthropist working for various causes for the last 30 years. He supports animal rights, education for all children and participates in concerts to raise funds for disaster victims. His “Bryan Adams Foundation” has been supporting many causes and has often been commended for its remarkable work. Some of his charitable concert tours include “A conspiracy of Hope” tour for Amnesty International, Nelson Mandela birthday party concert, “The Wall” tour in Berlin to commemorate the fall of Berlin Wall and the CBC Benefit concert for the victims of the Indian Ocean Tsunami. Adams has performed in Karachi, Pakistan to support education for underprivileged children in the country. He also participated in the inauguration ceremony of the 2011 Cricket World Cup tournament in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Bryan Adams is also a recognized photographer. He was lauded for his work of photographing British soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Remember these soldiers and the consequences of War was an exhibition of photographs of injured servicemen at Somerset House, London. Bryan Adams has taken up serious photography as his new career path.

TOP 10 HIT SONGS

1. “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” - Waking Up The Neighbors (1991)

2. "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" – Don Juan De Marco (1994)

3. "Please Forgive Me" – So Far So Good (1993)

4. “Summer of '69” – Reckless (1984)

5. “Heaven” - Reckless (1984)

6. “Here I Am” - Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)

7. “Run to You” - Reckless (1984)

8. “The Best of Me” – The Best of Me (1999)

9. “All for Love” – The Three Musketeers (1993)

10. “Do I Have to Say the Words?” - Waking Up The Neighbors (1991)