How the Record ‘Reckless’ Transformed Bryan Adams From Scrappy Underdog To Pop Royalty in 1984

The 80s were the era of the mega-album, behemoths that spat out hit after hit and dominated radio for multiple years. These LPs often came from the biggest names in the industry, those who needed just one name to convey their significance: Michael, Bruce, Prince, Madonna.

Bryan Adams couldn’t quite get away with the one-name thing, considering he came into the release of his 1984 album Reckless with far less recognition than those others. But the LP ended up being one of the true heavyweights of that era anyway.

A Slow Build

Bryan Adams started his musical career as a solo rocker in an era dominated by powerhouse bands. As such, the late 70s were a rough stretch for the Canadian artist, as he struggled to get record bigwigs interested in his work.

Perhaps his biggest break came when he met Jim Vallance, a fellow Canadian musician who was leaving behind his performance days in favor of a songwriting career. The two men immediately hit it off as musical partners. From the beginning of his recording career, which started with a self-titled LP in 1980, he and Vallance wrote most of Adams’ material together.

After Adams’ first two albums mostly flopped, he started gaining traction in the US on Cuts Like A Knife in 1983. Still, he wasn’t yet making much money from his efforts, so he kept his nose to the grindstone, writing with Vallance and preparing for album #4. As it turned out, that would be the breakthrough.

Help from Tina

Bryan Adams had the ballad “Heaven” in the can for his next album, having recorded it for a 1983 album. In the meantime, his songwriting efforts with Vallance continued to get better through sheer practice. The two men worked side by side, notebook paper in hand, composing the songs for Reckless, many of which would become massive hits.

During the process, Adams had the honor of recording a song with Tina Turner. Turner had originally asked Adams to write for her. Since he was hip deep in recording Reckless, he countered and inquired if she might sing on one of those tracks. She obliged, turning “It’s Only Love” into a powerhouse duet.

Adams had most of Reckless mapped out after recording sessions in Canada. But at the last moment, he and producer Bob Clearmountain sensed that they needed more of a rock element to the album. Late additions “One Night Love Affair” and “Kids Wanna Rock” brought the thunder and put the icing on the cake for the LP.

An Album That Wouldn’t Quit

A&M Records wanted Bryan Adams to release “Heaven” as the album-opening single. Adams fought the decision, instead choosing the moody rocker “Run To You”, which he and Vallance had originally pitched to Blue Öyster Cult. It was much more representative of what the rest of the album had to offer.

“Heaven” eventually served its purpose, however, becoming Adams’ first No. 1 single. Reckless spun out five hits, including “Summer Of ’69”, the nostalgic rocker that many consider to be Adams’ signature song. Adams finally had to put his foot down and stop the record company from digging deeper into the album for more singles.

After Reckless, the scrappy underdog became the established superstar. To his credit, the music Bryan Adams has released ever since shows that he never lost the hunger for greatness that drove this career-defining album.

(Photo by Fryderyk Gabowicz/picture alliance via Getty Images)