Bryan Adams “Summer of ‘69” released

Summer of ‘69 Bryan Adams

Writer(s): Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance (see lyrics here) Released: June 17, 1985 First Charted: December 8, 1984 Peak: 5 US, 4 RR, 40 AR, 42 UK, 11 CN, 14 AU, 7 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.61 US, 1.8 UK, 4.42 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 258.44 video, 848.95 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Rock singer/songwriter and guitarist Bryan Adams was born in 1959 in Canada. He became the lead singer of Sweeney Todd at age 16, but left within a year to start a solo career. His self-titled debut came in 1980, but his big break came with 1983’s Cuts Like a Knife which gave him a top-10 hit in the United States with “Straight from the Heart” and two more top-40 hits. His next album, 1984’s Reckless, was a blockbuster, hitting #1 in the U.S. and selling more than 5 million copies. The album featured six top-20 hits, including the #1 “Heaven.” The lead single, “Run to You,” was a top-10 hit and topped the album rock charts. It set him up for three more hits on that chart before year’s end; one of those songs was “Summer of ’69.” Surprisingly, it only reached #40 on that chart, but it fared much better when released as a single six months later. It became his fourth top-10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was about the “dilemma between settling down or trying to become a rock star.” WK Adams said, “It’s a very simple song about looking back on the summertime and making love.” SF It went through multiple changes because neither Adams nor co-songwriter Jim Vallance thought it was strong enough for the album. Early versions were called “Best Days of My Life.” The song refers to people who Adams knew, including a former drummer (Jimmy) and his sound manager (Jody). WK Adams, who would have only been nine years old in the summer of 1969, claimed “69” referred to the sex position. Vallance said, “When we recorded the demo in my basement, towards the end of the song Bryan sang a little naughty bit: ‘me and my baby in a 69.’ We had a laugh about it at the time and Bryan decided to keep it when he did the final recoriding a month or two later.” WK Vallance has also said, “I think ‘Summer of ‘69’ was Bryan and I at our best.” SF Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 11/6/2022.