Summer of '69

After a tour supporting his album Cuts Like a Knife, Adams immediately started the recording sessions for the new album, Reckless. "Summer of '69" was finished on January 25, 1984,{{cite book |title=Album notes for Anthology by Dave Marsh (CD booklet). A&M Records (A&M 5613) |date=August 11, 2010}} co-written with Jim Vallance in his basement studio. The song went through a number of changes because neither Adams nor Vallance was convinced it was a strong enough song to be featured on the album. In their first draft, the lyric "summer of '69" appeared only once. At that time the two were planning to title it "Best Days of My Life" instead. While the phrase "Best Days of My Life" appeared seven times in the first draft, on the final draft it had been replaced by "Summer of '69" and appeared only two times throughout the song.

The two had been inspired after listening to "Strawberry Fields Forever" by the Beatles which was a homage to John Lennon's childhood. They wanted to replicate the same feeling about childhood and living out the dream of becoming musicians. When writing the lyrics "Jimmy quit, Jody got married", Vallance suggested using "Woody quit and Gordy got married", referring to members of his Vanderhoof high school band The Tremolones (later known as 4Most),{{cite web | last=Dickson | first=Courtney | title=The band that inspired rock anthem Summer of '69 is reuniting | website=CBC | date=May 20, 2024 | url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/summer-of-69-band-vanderhoof-jim-vallance-1.7209405 | access-date=2024-09-12}} but Adams liked his version better. Adams mentioned once in an interview that "Jimmy" was one of his early drummers. "Jody" is a reference to Adams' sound manager, Jody Perpick, who got married during the album's recording session.

On the song's first demo, it started with a 12-string riff, just like the breakdown section in the middle of the song, but this was replaced with a chunky 6-string intro on the second demo. The song was recorded three to four times, in different ways, with both Adams and Vallance still not convinced that it was finished. "Summer of '69" is written in the key of D major.{{Cite web|last1=Bryan|first1=Adams|last2=Jim|first2=Vallance|last3=Bryan|first3=Adams|date=October 1, 2010|title=Summer of '69|url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0072609|access-date=2021-06-03|website=Musicnotes.com|archive-date=June 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603075321/https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0072609|url-status=live}}

When Adams appeared on The Early Show in 2008, he was asked about "Summer of '69" and its lyrical meaning. Adams said the song was not about the summer of 1969 but about having sex in the summertime; "69" being a reference to the sexual position 69.{{cite news |title=Bryan Adams: Hit Was About Sex, Not 1969 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bryan-adams-hit-was-about-sex-not-1969/ |work=CBS News |date=September 8, 2008 |access-date=January 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080909004951/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/08/earlyshow/leisure/music/main4425534.shtml |archive-date=September 9, 2008}} Also available in video form at {{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8-21ZNzeUA |title=Bryan Adams Talks '69' |via=YouTube |publisher=CBS |date=September 8, 2008 |access-date=January 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114164531/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8-21ZNzeUA |archive-date=January 14, 2019 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last=Savage |first=Mark |date=March 7, 2019 |title=Bryan Adams explains why Summer of 69 flopped in the UK |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-47473120 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225130852/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-47473120 |archive-date=December 25, 2020 |access-date=December 15, 2020 |work=BBC News}} Vallance, however, has gone for the more conventional interpretation of the title being a reference to a year. He notes Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty", which contains references to 1965 and 1969, as his own influence, and recalls Adams citing the film Summer of '42 as his."{{cite web | url=http://jimvallance.com/01-music-folder/songs-folder-may-27/pg-song-adams-summer-of-69.html | title=Summer of '69 | publisher=Jimvallance.com | access-date=August 11, 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926075104/http://jimvallance.com/01-music-folder/songs-folder-may-27/pg-song-adams-summer-of-69.html | archive-date=September 26, 2010 }} However, Vallance stated on the Song Facts message board that "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 recording a month or two later."{{Cite web |url=https://uproxx.com/music/is-bryan-adams-summer-of-69-about-what-you-think-it-is/ |title=Is Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69" About What You Think It Is? |date=November 5, 2014 |access-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726225608/https://uproxx.com/music/is-bryan-adams-summer-of-69-about-what-you-think-it-is/ |url-status=live }}

Cash Box said of the single that it "recalls the sound and arrangement of Springsteen with Adams' own streamlined sheen."{{cite magazine|title=Single Releases|magazine=Cash Box|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1985/CB-1985-06-29.pdf|date=June 29, 1985|accessdate=2022-07-29|page=9}}

File:Flickr Bryan Adams in Peterborough 2009 (09).jpg, Canada]]

Upon the release of the album Reckless in November 1984, "Summer of '69" received some airplay on album-oriented rock radio stations but was mostly overshadowed by the tracks "Run to You" and "It's Only Love", only managing to reach number 40 on Billboard's Top Rock Tracks chart. After it was released as a single in June 1985, "Summer of '69" climbed to number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and helped push Reckless to the number one position on the Billboard 200 album chart in August 1985.{{refn|group=note|The Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart did not include re-currents so the song's popularity on album-oriented rock radio in mid-1985 is not reflected on that chart.}} Like the previous single released from Reckless, "Heaven", "Summer of '69" was a commercial success worldwide. On the UK Singles Chart, "Summer of '69" debuted at number fifty-nine, and managed to climb up the chart, and two weeks later reached its peak position of 42, on August 24, 1985. The single remained on the country's chart for four consecutive weeks from August to September 1985, before falling out of the top 100. The track debuted in New Zealand at number twenty-two on September 22, and peaked at number seven in the fifth week on the New Zealand Singles Chart. The song debuted at 95 on the Canadian RPM Singles Chart on June 29, 1985,{{cite web | url = http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.0542&type=2&interval=20&PHPSESSID=1eslr84up6jai4j6cngk0p4cu2 | title = Top Singles – Volume 42, No. 16, June 29, 1985 | work = RPM | access-date = August 11, 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121017235912/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.0542&type=2&interval=20&PHPSESSID=1eslr84up6jai4j6cngk0p4cu2 | archive-date = October 17, 2012 }} jumping to fifty in its second week{{cite web | url = http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.0548&type=2&interval=20&PHPSESSID=1eslr84up6jai4j6cngk0p4cu2 | title = Top Singles – Volume 42, No. 18, July 13, 1985 | work = RPM | access-date = August 11, 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121017235931/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.0548&type=2&interval=20&PHPSESSID=1eslr84up6jai4j6cngk0p4cu2 | archive-date = October 17, 2012 }} and peaking at eleven on September 14, 1985, after spending seven weeks on the chart.{{cite web | url = http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.0573&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=1eslr84up6jai4j6cngk0p4cu2 | title = Top Singles – Volume 43, No. 1, September 14, 1985 | work = RPM | access-date = August 11, 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121018000037/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.0573&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=1eslr84up6jai4j6cngk0p4cu2 | archive-date = October 18, 2012 }}

The song debuted at its peak position, number 9, on August 10, on the Norwegian Singles Chart and stayed there for another four weeks before falling off the charts. "Summer of '69" charted on the Swedish Singles Chart for five consecutive weeks. Having debuted at number twenty on December 13, and peaked at number thirteen two weeks later. The single spent another three weeks on the chart before falling off. The track peaked at number seventeen on the Austrian Singles Chart, and remained on the country's chart for five weeks. The single's most commercially successful charting territory was the Netherlands, where it peaked at number 4 on September 22, 1990. The single's least successful chart territory was Germany. Having peaked on the country's singles chart at number sixty-two, the single spent the next five weeks fluctuating down the chart.

In 1985 the song won the BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.) Citation of Achievement for US radio airplay, the following year 1986 – Procan Award (Performing Rights Organization of Canada) for Canadian radio airplay and in 2000 it won a Socan Classics Award for more than 100,000 Canadian radio performances.

As of 2017, "Summer of '69" was, at number 115, the only song from 1995 or earlier among the 150 most streamed songs of all time in Canada by Canadian artists.{{Cite web|url=https://musiccanada.wordpress.com/2017/06/30/top-150-canadian-streaming-songs/|title=Top 150 Canadian Streaming Songs|date=July 2017|access-date=January 26, 2021|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112213607/https://musiccanada.wordpress.com/2017/06/30/top-150-canadian-streaming-songs/|url-status=live}} As of 2017, it was the 41st highest selling digital song of all time by a Canadian artist in Canada and the highest selling such song from before 2005.{{Cite web|url = https://musiccanada.wordpress.com/2017/06/30/top-150-canadian-artist-digital-songs/|title = Top 150 Canadian Artist Digital Songs|date = July 2017|access-date = January 26, 2021|archive-date = August 29, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210829230205/https://musiccanada.wordpress.com/2017/06/30/top-150-canadian-artist-digital-songs/|url-status = live}} Between 1996 and 2017, it was the 53rd most played song by a Canadian artist on Canadian radio stations of all format types, the only song before 1990 in the top 150 most played songs.

In May 2021 the Official Charts Company included it in the list of huge selling summer songs in the UK.{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/huge-selling-summer-songs-including-grease-calvin-harris-and-bryan-adams__19476/|title=Huge selling 'summer' songs, including Grease, Calvin Harris and Bryan Adams|last=Copsey|first=Rob|date=May 29, 2021|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=June 14, 2021|archive-date=June 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210619095959/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/huge-selling-summer-songs-including-grease-calvin-harris-and-bryan-adams__19476/|url-status=live}}

"Summer of '69" has found itself in several "best of" lists compiled by various music publications and critics, including the following:

In a poll conducted by Decima Research in 2006, "Summer of '69" was voted the best driving song among Canadians who sing in their cars. The song topped the survey with both sexes, and with French and English-speaking Canadians.{{cite web | url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/summer-of-69-tops-list-of-favourite-driving-songs-1.581661 | title = Summer of '69 tops list of favourite driving songs | date = August 8, 2006 | publisher = Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC.ca) | access-date = August 11, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070125032503/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2006/08/08/poll-driving-songs.html | archive-date = January 25, 2007 | url-status = live }} In 2010, the song was voted the "hottest summer song" in Germany.{{cite web | url = http://www.swr.de/diebesten/abstimmung/-/id=6193508/nid=6193508/did=6499326/1ud2hc8/index.html | title = Hits, die in Sommerstimmung (...) | language = de | publisher = Südwestrundfunk (Southwest Broadcasting) | access-date = August 12, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111019213450/http://www.swr.de/diebesten/abstimmung/-/id=6193508/nid=6193508/did=6499326/1ud2hc8/index.html | archive-date = October 19, 2011 | url-status = live }} In another poll, this time by Canadian magazine Chart, "Summer of '69" was voted the fourth best song of all time in 2000;{{cite web | url =http://www.chartattack.com/DAMN/2000/06/3012.cfm | title=Top 50 Canadian Songs Of All-Time | date = June 30, 2000 | work = Chart | access-date = August 12, 2010 | url-status =usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010428233008/http://www.chartattack.com/DAMN/2000/06/3012.cfm |archive-date=April 28, 2001}} four years earlier it had been voted the twenty-fourth best song of all time.{{cite web | url = http://www.chartattack.com/top50/sing100.html | title=Top 100 Canadian Singles of All-Time | year = 1996 | work = Chart | access-date = August 12, 2010 | url-status = usurped |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/19981205042120/http://www.chartattack.com/top50/sing100.html |archive-date = December 5, 1998}} The song was ranked No. 17 on CBC Radio's 50 Tracks: The Canadian Version.{{cite web | url = http://www.cbc.ca/50tracks/essentialcanadianmusic.html| title="50 Tracks" list of essential Canadian music | year = 2005 | publisher = CBC Radio | access-date = August 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050412002329/http://www.cbc.ca/50tracks/essentialcanadianmusic.html |archive-date=April 12, 2005}} In 2008, the song was voted the 87th best-song of all time by radio listeners in Norway, becoming the second highest Adams song ranked, the highest being "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" from 1991.{{cite web | url = http://vgd.no/musikk-tv-og-film/musikk/tema/1427671/tittel/topp-1000-liste-paa-radio-norge/innlegg/22849547 | title = Topp 1000 liste på Radio Norge | year = 2008 | language = no | work = Verdens Gang | access-date = August 15, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110203042251/http://vgd.no/musikk-tv-og-film/musikk/tema/1427671/tittel/topp-1000-liste-paa-radio-norge/innlegg/22849547#post22849547 | archive-date = February 3, 2011 | url-status = live }} It was voted the fourth best song ever on Radio 2, a Belgian radio station, in 2008.{{Cite web |date=December 31, 2008 |title=Ann Christy stoot Queen van eerste plaats op Radio 2 |url=https://www.hbvl.be/cnt/aid785185 |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=Het Belang van Limburg |language=nl-BE |archive-date=September 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907121046/https://www.hbvl.be/cnt/aid785185 |url-status=live }}

In its 2005 list "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born", Blender ranked the song 70th and commented that the song "made people who hadn't yet had either a first love or a first band nostalgic for the experience".

The music video, released in 1985, was directed by Irish director Steve Barron.{{cite web | url=http://skolarbete.nu/skolarbeten/bryan-adams/ | title=The Life Of Bryan | language=da | publisher=Skolarbete.nu | access-date=August 11, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328170944/http://skolarbete.nu/skolarbeten/bryan-adams/ | archive-date=March 28, 2013 | url-status=dead }} In 1985 the music video was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in the category for Best Male Video. While the song did not win the award, it was one of the four nominated songs from Adams' fourth studio album Reckless.{{cite news | url = http://www.rockonthenet.com/artists-a/bryanadams.htm | title = Rock On The Net: Bryan Adams | publisher = rockonthenet.com | access-date = August 11, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101203053342/http://www.rockonthenet.com/artists-a/bryanadams.htm | archive-date = December 3, 2010 | url-status = live }} The video includes appearances by Lysette Anthony and Garwin Sanford.

• 7" single

1. "Summer of '69" – 3:36
2. "The Best Was Yet to Come" – 2:52

• Bryan Adams – Vocals and Rhythm Guitar
• Keith Scott – Lead Guitar
• Tommy Mandel – Synthesizer and Organ
• Dave Taylor – Bass
• Pat Steward – Drums
• Jim Vallance – Tambourine

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|artist=Bryan Adams|title=Summer of '69|award=Platinum|number=8|certyear=2022|relyear=1985|access-date=July 7, 2022}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|type=single|artist=Bryan Adams|title=Summer of '69|award=Platinum|number=3|certyear=2023|relyear=1985|id=13176|access-date=November 23, 2023}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|type=single|artist=Bryan Adams|title=Summer of '69|relyear=1985|certyear=2023|award=Gold|number=3|access-date=January 26, 2023}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|type=single|artist=Bryan Adams|title=Summer of '69|relyear=1985|certyear=2023|award=Platinum|access-date=November 12, 2023}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Bryan Adams|title=Summer of '69|relyear=2004|certyear=2024|award=Platinum|number=5|id=10925-270-1|access-date=November 18, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Bryan Adams|title=Summer of '69|nocert=true|salesamount=1,606,647|salesref={{cite web|url=http://www.defjampromo.com/files/2009/10/BB-Digital-Songs-Chart-Wk.-Ending-6-23-16.pdf|publisher=Nielsen Soundscan|title=Chart: Digital Songs|date=June 23, 2016|access-date=November 8, 2021|archive-date=September 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909231507/http://www.defjampromo.com/files/2009/10/BB-Digital-Songs-Chart-Wk.-Ending-6-23-16.pdf|url-status=live}}}}

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Category:1984 songs

Category:1985 singles

Category:Bryan Adams songs

Category:Canadian pop rock songs

Category:Fiction set in 1969

Category:Music videos directed by Steve Barron

Category:Songs written by Jim Vallance

Category:Songs written by Bryan Adams

Category:A&M Records singles

Category:Song recordings produced by Bob Clearmountain

Category:Songs about nostalgia