Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams

Active - 1989 - 2013  |   Born - Nov 5, 1959 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada  |   Genres - Music, Nature, Adventure

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Biography by AllMovie

Born on November 5, 1959 in Kingston, Ontario, Bryan Adams has gone on to be one of the most successful and recognizable Canadians in the American film industry, even though this recognition comes from his voice rather than his physical appearance.

Adams first found stateside popularity in 1983 with the release of his album Cuts Like a Knife. It was also in 1983 that his music was first used for a motion picture with the recording of Heaven for A Night in Heaven. Adams' popularity continued throughout the 80s (during which he had a bit part in the 1989 Clint Eastwood excursion Pink Cadillac), but it wasn't until 1991, when Adams wrote Everything I Do, I Do It For You for Kevin Costner's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves that he met with record-breaking success. The song's single sold over 3 million copies in the United States, becoming the second best-selling single after We Are the World. The song also netted Adams a Golden Globe nomination and a Grammy for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television. Following this success, Adams continued to write songs for movies, including All For Love for The Three Muskateers (1993), Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman for 1995's Don Juan DeMarco (for which he garnered Oscar and Golden Globe nominations as well as his fourth #1 hit), and I Finally Found Somone for Barbra Streisand's The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), for which he received his third Oscar nomination as well as a Top 10 hit.

Adams has been called the most successful Canadian singer ever, an honor that he undoubtedly owes in part to the movies. Out of all of his number one hits, only one, Please Forgive Me, was not written for a film. His work continued to appear in many movies over the years including 102 Dalmatians, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Bobby, and The Guardian, and he had a hand in composing the score for Color Me Kubrick.

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Factsheet

  • Lived in Austria, England, Israel and Portugal while growing up (his dad was a British diplomat); moved to North Vancouver in the early '70s with his mother after his parents separated. 
  • Dropped out of high school after successfully auditioning for Canadian rock group Sweeney Todd, who were in need of a singer when Nick Gilder left to pursue a solo career.
  • Recorded one album (If Wishes Were Horses...) with Sweeney Todd before moving on.
  • Topped the singles charts with "(Everything I Do) I Do for You" (1991), "All for Love" (1993), "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" (1995) and "Heaven" (1985), but only scored one No. 1 album in the U.S.---1984's Reckless.
  • Is an avid photographer whose work has appeared in Esquire and Vanity Fair; has published several photography books.
  • Was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2006.