Summer of '69

Not to be confused with Summer '68, a song by Pink Floyd.
For the upcoming Hulu film, see Summer of 69.

"Summer of '69"
Single by Bryan Adams
from the album Reckless
B-side
  • "Kids Wanna Rock"
  • "The Best Was Yet to Come"
ReleasedJune 17, 1985
Recorded1984
Genre
Length3:36
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Bryan Adams singles chronology
"Heaven"
(1985) 		"Summer of '69"
(1985) 		"One Night Love Affair"
(1985)
Audio sample
"Summer of '69"

"Summer of '69" is a song recorded by the Canadian singer Bryan Adams from his fourth album, Reckless. It is an up-tempo rock song about a dilemma between settling down or trying to become a rock star. The track was written by Adams and his longtime songwriting collaborator Jim Vallance. "Summer of '69" was produced by Adams and Bob Clearmountain. "Summer of '69" was released in June 1985 under A&M Records as the fourth single from Reckless.[1] According to later claims by Adams, the title is a reference to the sex position, not the year, but Vallance disputes this.[3]

The song was released with two B-side tracks: "Kids Wanna Rock" and "The Best Was Yet to Come", which had previously appeared on the albums Reckless and Cuts Like a Knife respectively. "Summer of '69" received favourable reviews from music critics. The music video for the song, which was filmed by Steve Barron, features Adams and his backing band in a variety of settings, including running from the police. The single had a strong effect on music charts internationally; in the UK it was acclaimed as one of Adams’s best, with its highest peaks being number four in the Netherlands and number five in the United States. Amongst songs recorded by Canadian artists, it is the most streamed and most digitally purchased song within Canada amongst songs originally released before the start of the digital download era (approximately 2005).[4] It is also the most played song on Canadian radio amongst songs by Canadian artists originally released before 1990.[5]

"Summer of '69" remains popular to this day in many countries around the world[6] and is known as a quintessential summer song.[7] Adams sang "Summer of '69" during the 2011 Cricket World Cup opening ceremony in Bangladesh.[8] In 2019 Adams performed a duet version of "Summer of '69" with Taylor Swift during her Reputation Tour in Toronto, Canada.[9]

  1. ^ a b Steve Sullivan (2017). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings. Vol. 3. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 580. ISBN 978-1-4422-5449-7. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  2. ^ Andrew Jett. "10 Best Pop Rock Songs". Mademan. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  3. ^ "Is Bryan Adams' 'Summer of '69' About What You Think It Is?". November 5, 2014. Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  4. ^ "Nielsen and Billboard's Canada 150 Charts". July 2017. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  5. ^ "Top 150 Canadian Airplay Songs – All Formats". July 2017. Archived from the original on February 2, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  6. ^ Jolly, Joanna (September 3, 2011). "Close-up: Nepal's love for Bryan Adams hit Summer of '69". BBC News. Archived from the original on April 23, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  7. ^ Long, Sam (April 8, 2022). "The Double Meaning Behind "Summer of '69," by Bryan Adams". American Songwriter. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  8. ^ "Grand ceremony launches World Cup". BBC. February 17, 2011. Archived from the original on February 19, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  9. ^ "Taylor Swift Surprises Toronto Crowd With Bryan Adams 'Summer of '69' Duet: Watch". August 5, 2018. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2019.