The life of Bryan
At 12 he could already play piano and at 16 he quit school to pursue a musical career full time and even ended up singing in a later version of Vancouver band Sweeney Todd. At 17 he met songwriter Jim Vallance, and the pair became a songwriting team before Adams signed with A&M Records in 1978. He had a minor disco-tinged hit with Let Me Take You Dancing in 1979, his solo debut album didn't do all that well, but his You Want It You Got It LP led to opening slots for the likes of The Kinks.
Cuts Like a Knife was Adams' breakthrough recording -- earning him his first Top 40 hits in the States with Straight From the Heart, the title track and This Time. Reckless, in 1984, earned Adams No. 1 album status and yielded the hits Run to You, Heaven and Summer of '69.
With 1987's Into the Fire, Adams became the most successful Canadian recording artist and was named Artist of the Decade by the Canadian Recording Industry Association in 1990.
You want it, you got it ... Adams from A to Z
Bryan Adams was born Nov. 5, 1959, in Kingston, Ont., and lived in Portugal, Israel and Austria before settling in Vancouver with his mother and younger brother Bruce after his parents' divorce.