Later he headed south towards the American West Coast, culminating with two dates at the studded Paladium in Los Angeles.Īfter the tour in the United States, Adams traveled to Ethiopia to aid famine relief in the country.Īdams was also 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.Īdams 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 in London. In early 1985, Adams' started a tour throughout the United States, then later Japan, Australia, Europe and at last Canada.Īfter winning four Juno Awards Adams started a Canadian tour through major cities across that country. "Heaven" would become 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 number nine on the mainstream rock chart.ĭEC Adams and his touring band which consists of Keith Scott, Dave Taylor, Pat Steward and Johnny Blitz played concerts in Chicago, Detroit, New York and Philadelphia. The album is Adams best-selling album in the United States and was certified five times platinum.Īll 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. After the release of the album, Adams was nominated for Best Male Rock Performance. In 1986, the song won an MTV award for Best Stage Performance. The hit single "It's Only Love" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. It is co-produced by Adams and Bob Clearmountain, and peaked at number one on the Billboard 200.
Adams' best-selling album, Reckless is released. OCT "Run to You" is released been his first truly big hit making CAN #2, IRE #8, UK #11 and US #6
The album peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 album chart and achieved three times platinum status in Canada, platinum in the United States and gold in Australia Its music video received heavy airplay on music television channels. "Cuts Like a Knife" arguably became Adams' most recognizable and popular song from the album. Music videos were released for four of the singles from the album. CAN #9ĪUG "This Time" is released and placed at CAN #14, UK #40 and US #23 MAY Single "Cuts Like a Knife" is released and charts at US #15. It was his first US Top 10 hit making #9. It was Adams' breakout albumįEB "Straight from the Heart" is released. JAN The album Cuts Like a Knife is released. It became was of his first big radio hits making #2 on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks JULY Adams' second album, You Want It You Got It, is recorded in New York City in two weeks and is released on this dayĪdams also co-wrote many songs for other bands during this time including "War Machine" and "Rock and Roll Hell" for Kiss, and "No Way To Treat A Lady" for Bonnie Raitt. The album was certified gold in Canada in 1986. OCT - NOV Most of the debut album is recorded at Manta Studios in Toronto and co-produced by Adams and VallanceįEB His self-titled debut album is released, and marked the beginning of what was to become a long songwriting partnership between Adams and co-writer Jim Vallance. Both songs were covered by other artists even before his first album was released.Īlso recorded during this time was a demo of the song, "Let Me Take You Dancing". 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. Not long afterwards he signed with them for the sum of one dollar. A serendipitous meeting with drummer Jim Vallance in a Vancouver music store led to a song-writing partnership that continues to this day.Īt the age of 18, Adams sent a few demo recordings to A&M Records in Toronto. Subsequently, most of his youth was spent growing up in Europe and the Middle East, part of the time in Birre, Portugal, situated close to Lisbon where he learned the Portuguese language.Īdams' family returned to Canada and settled down in North Vancouver, British Columbia. He washed dishes, sold pet food, and worked in record stores, and at the age of 15, Adams quit school to play in nightclubs with bands like Shock and Sweeney Todd, who released an album called If Wishes Were Horses with the fifteen year old Adams as lead singer. As Adams' father was a diplomat, he grew up travelling around the world with his parents.
Adams was born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, to English parents.