BRYAN ADAMS

FAMOUS CANADIAN SINGER

Biography of Bryan Adams, famous Canadian artist for ESL Reading Comprehension practice

Bryan Adams is one of Canada’s most famous singers. He has also been very successful as a songwriter for other singers. His music is a mixture between rock and pop. His songs have been at the top of the charts for more than twenty years.

Bryan Adams was born in 1959 in Kingston, Ontario. His parents came to Canada in the 1950’s from England. Bryan’s father worked as a Canadian Diplomat and the family lived in many countries including Israel, Portugal, Austria, England and Canada. Bryan considers Vancouver, British Columbia as his hometown.

Bryan quit school at the age of 16 to play in a band called Shock. He worked for a year as a dishwasher in a local restaurant. He did not enjoy it, but he saved up $1,000.00 to buy an electric guitar that he still has. Bryan joined a band called Sweeny Todd and they recorded two albums.

In 1980, Bryan recorded his first solo song but he was not very happy about it. The record company sped up his voice and changed the background to a disco beat. It sold 250,000 copies and it was played in discos all over the world. He also had his first solo album in 1980 called Bryan Adams, but it did not sell very well. He had to sing in radio commercials to pay his bills. Bryan started playing in small clubs and arenas to promote his second album You Want it, You Got It. The media finally began to notice him.

In 1981, Bryan recorded his third album called Cuts like a knife, which did very well. He began to tour the world with the very popular band Journey. Bryan’s album Reckless in 1984 had six ‘top 20’ singles. His song Heaven became the most popular song in the United States and was also in a movie. Bryan Adams was now considered a superstar.

The song The Summer of ’69 is one of Bryan’s biggest hits and is about his memories of summer when he was younger. The opening lyrics to the song refer to when Bryan was 10 years old and bought his first guitar.

I got my first real six-string

Bought it at the five-and-dime

Played it till my fingers bled

It was the summer of ‘69

He and some boys from school formed a band and played in his parent’s basement. Bryan learned how to play a guitar and piano without ever taking lessons.

In 1987, his album Into the Fire sold one million copies and only had one top 10 song. Bryan spent over a year and a half doing concerts around the world. All of his concerts sold out.

Throughout his career, Bryan has spent a lot of his time helping charitable causes. In 1985, Bryan performed in the Live Aid concert where he sang a duet with Tina Turner called “It’s only love”. Bryan began touring with other famous singers to raise awareness and money for Amnesty International. He also sang with other famous Canadians in the song Tears are Not Enough to raise money to help people starving in Africa. He performed in a concert during apartheid in South Africa to support the release of political prisoner Nelson Mandela. He has also performed for many other causes such as Cancer and endangered animals.

In 1988, Bryan appeared as an actor in a move with Clint Eastwood called “Pink Cadillac”. Bryan has written many songs that have been in movies. Bryan’s hit song Everything I do I do it for You from the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves starring Kevin Costner was released in 1991. The song went to number 1 in its first week in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. The album called Waking up the Neighbours (Sept. 1991) was so popular that it was the number one album for 16 weeks in the United Kingdom. The album sold 5.5 million copies worldwide and was the number one album in ten different countries.

Bryan spent 1992 to 1994 touring the world doing concerts. He released a greatest hits package in 1993, which sold over 13 million copies. Bryan wrote and sang All for Love with fellow musicians Sting and Rod Stewart for the movie Three Musketeers. In 1995, his song Have you ever really loved a woman from the movie Don Juan de Marco was the number one song in the United States for four weeks. In 2002, Bryan Adams wrote all of the songs for the very successful animated movie Spirit. Bryan’s songs are played throughout the movie.

To this day, Bryan continues to sell out concerts and make new music. Bryan Adams has become one of the most popular singers and songwriters in the world.

Vocabulary: (highlighted in text above)

rock (MUSIC) [Show phonetics]
noun [U]
a type of popular music with a strong loud beat which is usually played with electric guitars and drums:
a rock group
a rock star
pop (MUSIC) [Show phonetics]
noun [U] (FORMAL popular music)
modern popular music, usually with a strong beat, created with electrical or electronic equipment, and easy to listen to and remember:
pop music
a pop concert/song
What do you want to listen to - jazz, classical or pop?
The song reached No. 32 in the pop charts.
She wants to be a pop singer/star like Madonna.

solo [Show phonetics]
noun [C] plural solos
a musical performance done by one person alone, or a musical performance in which one person is given special attention:
a trumpet solo
Parker's solo on 'A Night in Tunisia' was so amazing that the pianist backing him simply stopped playing.

disco (plural discos) [Show phonetics]
noun [C] (OLD-FASHIONED discotheque)
an event where people dance to modern recorded music for entertainment, or a place where this often happens:
disco music/lights

beat [Show phonetics]
noun [C or U]
1 a regular movement or sound, especially that made by your heart:
I put my head on his chest but I could feel no heart beat.
My heart missed a beat when she said, "Yes, I'll marry you".
2 in music, a regular emphasis, or a place in the music where such an emphasis is expected:
The guitar comes in on the third beat.
Make sure you play on the beat (= on the beats).
He tapped his foot to the beat (= rhythm) of the music.

commercial [Show phonetics]
noun [C]
an advertisement which is broadcast on television or radio:
a commercial break

arena [Show phonetics]
noun [C]
1 a large flat enclosed area used for sports or entertainment:
an Olympic/a sports arena
promote (ENCOURAGE) [Show phonetics]
verb [T]
to encourage the popularity, sale, development or existence of something:
Advertising companies are always having to think up new ways to promote products.
The Institute is intended to promote an understanding of the politics and culture of the Arab world.
Greenpeace works to promote awareness of the dangers that threaten our planet today.
It has long been known that regular exercise promotes all-round good health.

reckless [Show phonetics]
adjective
doing something dangerous and not caring about the risks and the possible results:
He was found guilty of reckless driving

lyrics [Show phonetics]
plural noun
the words of a song, especially a pop song:
Paul Simon writes the lyrics for most of his songs.

throughout [Show phonetics]
preposition, adverb
in every part, or during the whole period of time:
People throughout the country are out of work.
He yawned throughout the performance.
The school has been repainted throughout.

charitable [Show phonetics]
adjective [before noun]
giving money, food or help free to those who are in need because they are ill, poor or homeless:
a charitable foundation/organization/trust
The entire organization is funded by charitable donations.
The school has charitable status (= It is officially a charity).

duet [Show phonetics]
noun [C]
a song or other piece of music sung or played by two people

Amnesty International group noun [S]
an international organization which works to persuade governments to release people who are in prison for their beliefs and to stop the use of torture and punishment by death

starving [Show phonetics]
adjective
1 dying because of not having enough food:
The cats were neglected and starving.
2 INFORMAL very hungry:
Isn't lunch ready yet? I'm starving.

badams.jpg (2531 bytes)

apartheid [Show phonetics]
noun [U]
(in the past in South Africa) a political system in which people of different races are separated:
the long-awaited dismantling (= end) of apartheid

release (MAKE FREE) [Show phonetics]
verb [T]
1 to give freedom or free movement to someone or something:
He was released from prison after serving two years of a five-year sentence.

endangered [Show phonetics]
adjective
endangered birds/plants/species animals or plants which may soon not exist because there are very few now alive

release (MAKE PUBLIC) [Show phonetics]
verb [T]
1 to allow something to be shown in public or to be available for use:
Police have released a picture of the man they want to question.
The minister has released a statement explaining the reasons for his resignation.
2 If a company releases a film or musical recording, it allows the film to be shown in cinemas, or makes the musical recording available for the public to buy:
The band's latest album will be released next week.

animated [Show phonetics]
adjective
describes films, drawings, puppets or models that are photographed and shown in a way that makes them move and appear to be alive
animation [Show phonetics]
noun [C or U]
moving pictures:
Encyclopedias on CD-ROM include sound, illustrations and simple animations.
Thanks to computer animation, it is now possible to make cartoon films much more quickly than in the past.

Exercise: Matching vocabulary to definitions from the text.

1) Find and circle the following words in the biography of Bryan Adams.

throughout	duet	disco	endangered	charitable
starving	rock	release	pop	Beat
Amnesty International	reckless	released	lyrics	commercial
animated	arena	solo	apartheid	single

2) Put the terms from the table above beside the correct definition below.

	to give freedom or free movement to someone or something
	a type of popular music with a strong loud beat which is usually played with electric guitars and drums
	a large flat enclosed area used for sports or entertainment
	(in the past in South Africa) a political system in which people of different races are separated
	to encourage the popularity, sale, development or existence of something
	an event where people dance to modern recorded music for entertainment, or a place where this often happens
	in music, a regular emphasis, or a place in the music where such an emphasis is expected
	an advertisement which is broadcast on television or radio
	modern popular music, usually with a strong beat, created with electrical or electronic equipment, and easy to listen to and remember
	dying because of not having enough food
	a musical performance done by one person alone, or a musical performance in which one person is given special attention:
	the words of a song, especially a pop song
	species animals or plants which may soon not exist because there are very few now alive
	in every part, or during the whole period of time
	giving money, food or help free to those who are in need because they are ill, poor or homeless
	a song or other piece of music sung or played by two people
	an international organization which works to persuade governments to release people who are in prison for their beliefs and to stop the use of torture and punishment by death
	doing something dangerous and not caring about the risks and the possible results:
	to allow something to be shown in public or to be available for use:
	describes films, drawings, puppets or models that are photographed and shown in a way that makes them move and appear to be alive

PICTURES OF BRYAN ADAMS:

bry005.jpg (17077 bytes) bry007.jpg (16921 bytes) bry008.jpg (22559 bytes) Bryadams002.jpg (14798 bytes) bryanadams.jpg (3671 bytes)

Links:

BryanAdams.Com - The Official Bryan Adams Site.
Acclaimed Bryan Adams - Resource page with biography, awards, discography, photos, and links.
BAFans' Bryan Adams Pages - Includes photos, lyrics, discography, press articles, fanclub and tour information, news, and the possibility to send an electronic postcard.
Bryan Adams - Waking Up The Web - Features biographies, picture gallery, rare sounds, articles, discography, quiz, top 20 and reviews.
Bryan Adams Live Recording Site - Includes a collection of live audio and video downloads.
Bryan Adams on the WWW - Video clips, real audio clips, a lyrics archive, huge picture gallery, guitar tabs and multimedia.
Bryan Adams Til I Die - A fan site featuring news, biography, lyrics, concert reviews, album covers, photos, and downloads.
Bryan Online - Picture gallery, concert dates and reviews, fan section, discography, sound files, chords, and lyrics.
GoodLyrics - Lyrics for many songs released by Bryan Adams.
Kat's Bryan Adams Site - News, biography, discography, lyrics, pictures, sound and video files, concert reviews, and tour dates.
Launch.com: Bryan Adams - Bryan Adams talks to mylaunch about his success, new album, and about teaming up with other celebrities to record songs. Bryan Adams pictures, audio clips and links.
MTV: Bryan Adams - Features music video clips from his albums.
Rebel News - Concerts, links and discography.
RollingStone.com: Bryan Adams - Includes bio, photo gallery, news, discography, album reviews, audio/video, and message boards.
So Far Still Good - Dutch Bryan Adams fan club. Offers a discography, headlines, pictures and lyrics.
Sonicnet.com: Bryan Adams - Includes album reviews, music news, audio downloads, biography, discography, links, and a bulletin board.

Bryan Adams Web page designed by: Jennifer McKay, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

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