“I’ve never really thought of myself as a good singer or a good guitarist”: Bryan Adams on the simplicity behind his success
He pays tribute to his longtime songwriting partner Jim Vallance for being a “great teacher”.
Image: Mickey Bernal/Getty Images
He might be one of the most successful artists of all time, but Bryan Adams has said in a new interview that he never considered himself a good musician.
In an interview with Classic Rock, he’s asked what he thought about his classic hit Summer of ’69 being streaming over a billion times. “Nice,” he replies, “I don’t think about it. I’ve never really thought of myself as a good singer, or a good guitarist.
“I’d made the best of what I could with the three chords that I knew. When it came to the songs, I figured if I could remember it, and I could sing it, that’s good enough. However, simple is difficult. I really must give credit to Jim [Vallance, Adams’ songwriting partner]. Great teacher. Always would be there to help me filter out the shite.
“That everyman thing we’ve been talking about, it’s about making music that everybody can sing. Isn’t that the joy of it? And everyone can sing Summer Of ’69. That’s the magic of it.”
This summer, Adams gained headlines due to his response when a fan crashed the stage during a performance of the 1984 classic, as NME reported.
Adams was performing in Salt Lake City, Utah, when a fan jumped on the stage and grabbed his microphone. However, he simply stepped back to let the fan sing the intro, and he got to the second line before security removed him.
He then picked up where the fan left off, and posted a video of the moment on Instagram with the caption, “Sometimes you just gotta laugh”.
He was praised for his reaction by plenty of his followers, and the moment clearly didn’t faze him, as he was able to complete the show without any additional mishaps.