Bryan Adams (1959-)

Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams

Year Born: 1959

Year of Induction: 1998

Member of CAB Hall of Fame

Adams, Bryan (1959- )

Bryan Adams – Canada’s international superstar of the 90s – was born on November  4th, 1959 in Kingston, Ontario.  At age 26, Bryan had a million-seller album in Canada – a ‘first’ for a Canadian artist. His album went on to sell 4,000,000 copies in the United States providing six Top Ten singles – one of which (Heaven) achieved Number One on Billboard’s Hot 100.

Bryan’s musical career began to blossom in 1975 after he and his mother moved to Vancouver. In 1977, fresh out of high school, Bryan teamed-up with Jim Vallance, (a member of the group Prism), and the pair composed a number of songs for Prism, Loverboy and several other groups. Bryan and Jim collaborated with David Foster in writing the Ethiopian famine relief anthem – Tears Are Not Enough

Having achieved world-wide recognition by 1987, Bryan Adams  was chosen to headline the Prince’s Trust Fund charity pop concerts at Wembley Arena in London, England.  There, he performed three Beatles songs and was joined by the three remaining Beatles themselves, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison. Eric  Clapton,  Mark King and Boy George also joined in.

By 1998, Bryan had to his credit two-dozen hit-singles. His songs had reached #1 status in over 30 countries. Sales of his albums world-wide had soared to 55,000,000. More will be on their way after he releases his 11th album “A Day Like Today”.

In recognition of his outstanding achievements, in 1990, the Canadian Government, with the approval of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, named Bryan Adams an Officer of the Order of Canada. The same year, he was given the Artist-of-the-Decade Award. He has won several Grammys (USA) and Junos (Canada), and has been the recipient of awards from several foreign countries, among them – Germany, Ireland, Australia, Austria, Japan and the United Kingdom.  His smash hit Everything I Do, I Do For You earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest-running top single in British music history.

On November 3, 1998, in front of an audience of 1500 broadcast executives, engineers, news directors and equipment exhibitors attending the Annual Meeting of the  Canadian Association of Broadcasters in Vancouver (the city where he grew-up), Bryan Adams was inducted into the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame.

Said CAB President Michael McCabe “Bryan Adams is a superb ambassador for Canadian  culture.  He has contributed enormously to music, to charitable causes, and to radio, which, in turn, has helped his career. I cannot think of a more worthy addition to the Hall of Fame.”

Bryan Adams thus joined other Canadian artists recognized for “outstanding talent, for enhancing Canadian culture and for enriching the lives of Canadians through private radio.”

In 2006 he was finally inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Written by J. Lyman Potts – October, 1996