Bryan Adams
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Biography
Bryan Adams has established himself as both a successful rock musician and a singer-songwriter of romantic movie theme ballads. Born in Canada to British parents, he dropped out of school at age 16 to pursue his music career. After appearing with a few bands, he was signed to a recording contract by A&M Records (Canada). His eponymous debut album followed in 1980. Three years later, Adams had his first Top Ten hit single, "Straight From the Heart," a track on his third album "Cuts Like a Knife."
Adams had his first brush with films in 1983 when one of his songs was added to the soundtrack to the uneven "A Night in Heaven." The song, "Heaven," eventually became Adams first Number One single in the USA two years later. By that time he had begun his secondary career as a movie songwriter, co-writing two tunes for the soundtrack of "Teachers" (1984). In 1988, he made his feature acting debut in Clint Eastwood's "Pink Cadillac," to which he also contributed a song, but Adams has (as of 1997) yet to make a follow-up appearance in a movie.
In the 90s, Adams refashioned his image from hard-rocker to soft balladeer, beginning with "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You," the love theme to "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991). The film, starring Kevin Costner, was a hit or miss reinterpretation of the classic story, but the theme was appropriately romantic and appealed to the film's female viewers. Adams performed the song, which he co-wrote with Michael Kamen and Robert John 'Mutt' Lange. Their combined efforts earned the trio an Oscar nod for Best Original Song, but the juggernaut of Disney and "Beauty and the Beast" proved insurmountable. (They fared better at the 1992 Grammy Awards.) With Sting and Rod Stewart, Adams recorded "All for Love," a gentle song that served as the theme for the 1993 remake of "The Three Musketeers." Adams shared a second Oscar nomination (again with Kamen and Lange) for the hauntingly lovely "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" from "Don Juan DeMarco" in 1995. The following year, his duet with Barbra Streisand, "I Finally Found Someone" (from Streisand's "The Mirror Has Two Faces") brought him a third Oscar nod.
Despite his promising career as a film songwriter, Adams has not abandoned his rock'n'roll roots. In 1996, he released his tenth album, "18 'Til I Die" and headed a European tour.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Film Production - Main (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Music (Special)
Misc. Crew (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1976
Dropped out of school at age 16 to form first band Shock
1977
Joined band Sweeney Todd; began writing songs with Jim Vallance
1978
Signed to a recording contract by A&M Records Canada; had minor hit with "Let Me Take You Dancing" (1979)
1980
Released first solo self-titled album
1981
Made first U.S. tour
1983
Released first U.S. Top 10 song "Straight From the Heart"
1983
Made appearance on "American Bandstand"
1983
Third album Cuts Like a Knife went platinum
1983
First song to be featured in a film "Heaven" used in "A Night in Heaven"; song was not originally written for film
1984
Contributed first original songs for a feature soundtrack to "Teachers"
1985
Released first No. 1 single "Heaven"
1985
First No. 1 album, Reckless
1988
Feature film debut, a small role in "Pink Cadillac"; also contributed song to soundtrack
1991
Earned first Oscar nomination for "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" from "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"
1993
With Rod Stewart and Sting, recorded "All for Love," the theme for remake of "The Three Musketeers"
1995
Received second Oscar nomination for "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" from "Don Juan DeMarco"
1996
Collaborated with Barbra Streisand, Marvin Hamlisch, and Robert 'Mutt' Lange on "I Finally Found Someone," the love theme for Streisand's "The Mirror Has Two Faces"
1999
Released greatest hits collection The Best of Me
2002
Wrote and recorded songs for soundtrack of animated film "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron"
2005
Released Anthology, a two-disc retrospective collection of hits
2005
Published first book of photos in U.S. (for Calvin Klein) titled American Women; proceeds from book went to breast cancer research
2006
Earned Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song for "Never Gonna Break My Faith," which was featured in "Bobby"
2010
With Nelly Furtado, performed duet "Bang the Drum" for opening ceremony Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver
2012
Published photography book Exposed
Family
Companions
