Eyes of a Woman is the second of Agnetha Fältskog's 1980s post-ABBA solo albums. Eric Stewart (of 10cc fame) produced. It was Fältskog's second album to reach the UK Top 40, reaching No.38. In Sweden, the album peaked at No. 2. It also reached the Top 20 in Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium.

The album was recorded in the Polar Music Studios in Stockholm. Sessions began in early October 1984 and lasted until the end of November. Two of the songs recorded, "Turn the World Around" and "You're There", were not included on the initial album, but were released as B-sides. "You're There" and "I Won't Let You Go" were composed by Faltskog herself with lyrics by Eric Stewart.

The tracks "One Way Love" and "I Won't Let You Go" were released as singles throughout Europe. Agnetha also performed "One Way Love" at the Montreux Music Festival in 1985.

During the photo sessions for the sleeve of the album, Agnetha posed at the terrace of Drottningholm Palace, the official residence of the Swedish royal family, in Stockholm.

Long time ABBA fan Elvis Costello submitted a track "Shatter Proof" for inclusion on the album, however Agnetha decided against recording it^[1].

Track listing[link]

Side One

1. "One Way Love" (Jeff Lynne) – 3:56
2. "Eyes of a Woman" (Paris Edvinson, Marianne Flynner) – 3:56
3. "Just One Heart" (Paul Muggleton, Robert Noble) – 3:43
4. "I Won't Let You Go" (Agnetha Fältskog, Eric Stewart) – 3:39
5. "The Angels Cry" (Justin Hayward) – 4:22
6. "Click Track" (Jan Ince, Phil Palmer) – 2:52

Side Two

1. "We Should Be Together" (Jay Gruska, Tom Keane) – 3:57
2. "I Won't Be Leaving You" (Eric Stewart) – 5:32
3. "Save Me (Why Don't Ya)" (Eric Stewart) – 4:37
4. "I Keep Turning Off Lights" (China Burton) – 3:37
5. "We Move as One" (John Wetton, Geoffrey Downes) – 4:04

2005 Remastered Bonus Tracks:

1. "You're There" (Agnetha Fältskog, Eric Stewart) – 3:29
2. "Turn the World Around" (Randy Edelman)– 4:15
3. "I Won't Let You Go" (Extended Version) (Agnetha Fältskog, Eric Stewart) – 6:02
4. "The Way You Are" (with Ola Håkansson) (T. Norrel-Oson, A. Bard) – 3:45
5. "Fly Like the Eagle" (with Ola Håkansson) (T. Norrel-Oson, A. Bard) – 3:05

References[link]

A Woman was Charlie Chaplin's ninth film for Essanay Films. It was made in Los Angeles at the Majestic Studio and released in 1915. The film starts with Chaplin meeting Edna (Edna Purviance) and her parents in a park; the mother is played by Marta Golden and the father by Charles Insley. In this film, Chaplin dresses as a woman to fool Edna's father. It was the third and last time Chaplin played the role of a woman on film. He played a woman in two Keystone films: The Masquerader and A Busy Day.

Cast[link]

• Charles Chaplin - Gentleman/'Nora Nettlerash'
• Edna Purviance - Daughter of the House
• Charles Inslee - Her Father
• Marta Golden - Daughter of the House
• Margie Reiger - Father's Lady Friend
• Billy Armstrong - Father's Friend
• Leo White - Idler in the Park

External links[link]

• A Woman at the Internet Movie Database
• A Woman is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]

This article about a short silent comedy film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw performing for the United States Air Force in 2003
Background information
Birth name	Samuel Timothy McGraw
Born	(1967-05-01) May 1, 1967 (age 45) Delhi, Louisiana, U.S.
Origin	Start, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres	Country
Occupations	Musician, actor
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Curb Big Machine
Associated acts	Faith Hill, The Dancehall Doctors, Nelly, Taylor Swift, Def Leppard, Mindy McCready, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lionel Richie
Website	timmcgraw.com

Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the Soundscan era.^[1] He is married to country singer Faith Hill and is the son of former baseball player Tug McGraw.

McGraw had 11 consecutive albums debut at Number One on the Billboard albums charts. Twenty-one singles hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. He has won 3 Grammys, 14 Academy of Country Music awards, 11 Country Music Association (CMA) awards, 10 American Music Awards, and 3 People's Choice Awards. His Soul2Soul II Tour with Faith Hill is the highest grossing tour in country music history, and one of the top five among all genres of music.^[2]

McGraw has ventured into acting, with supporting roles in The Blind Side (with Sandra Bullock), Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, and Four Christmases (with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon), and lead roles in Flicka (2006) and Country Strong (2010). He was a minority owner of the Arena Football League's Nashville Kats. Taylor Swift's debut single, "Tim McGraw", refers to him and his song, "Can't Tell Me Nothin'".^[3]

In acknowledgement of his grandfather's Italian heritage, McGraw was honored by the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) in 2004, receiving the NIAF Special Achievement Award in Music during the Foundation's 29th Anniversary Gala.

Early life[link]

McGraw was born Samuel Timothy McGraw in Delhi, Louisiana, to Elizabeth "Betty" Ann D'Agostino, a waitress, and Frank Edwin "Tug" McGraw Jr., who later became a relief pitcher for the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies. McGraw is of Italian and some Irish descent on his mother's side, and of Scots-Irish and distant German descent on his father's side.^[4][5] In 1966, Tug was a pitcher for the Jacksonville Suns, and he lived in an apartment above Betty D'Agostino, who attended Terry Parker High School. The pair had a relationship, and when Betty became pregnant, her parents sent her to Louisiana to live with relatives and to have the baby.^[6]

Start, Louisiana, welcome sign notes that McGraw once resided there.

Reared by his mother in Start, also in Richland Parish, east of Monroe, McGraw grew up believing his stepfather, Horace Smith, was his father. From the time of his mother's marriage until the time he met his biological father, his last name was Smith. At age 11, McGraw discovered his birth certificate while searching his mother's closet to find pictures for a school project. After his discovery, his mother revealed that his biological father was Tug McGraw, and took Tim to meet him for the first time.^[5] For seven years, Tug denied being Tim's father. Tim was 18 years old when Tug first realized how much Tim looked like him at that age, and he acknowledged paternity. They remained close until Tug's death in 2004.

As a child, McGraw loved to play competitive sports, including baseball, even though he did not know his natural father was a professional athlete.^[5] He attended Northeast Louisiana University, now the University of Louisiana at Monroe, on a baseball scholarship,^[7] and became a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.^[8] During his college period, he learned to play guitar, and would frequently perform and sing for tips, although he claims that his roommates often hid the guitar because he was so bad.

His mother, Betty, returned to Jacksonville, Florida in 1987, and McGraw followed. He attended Florida Community College at Jacksonville for one term, and occasionally sat in with local bands.^[6] In 1989, on the day his hero Keith Whitley died,^[7] McGraw dropped out of college to head to Nashville and pursue a musical career.^[5]

1990s[link]

[edit] Tim McGraw

Tim McGraw's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

McGraw came to the attention of Curb Records in 1990. After cutting a demo single, McGraw gave a copy to his father, Tug McGraw. A man who was friends with Curb Records executives heard the demo while driving with Tug McGraw one day and recommended that Curb contact the young singer. Several weeks later, he was able to play his tape for Curb executives, after which they signed him to a recording contract.^[5] Two years later, in 1992, he had his first minor hit with "Welcome to the Club" off his self-titled debut album. Although the album failed to make much of a dent on the charts, McGraw did have two other minor hits from it in 1993: "Memory Lane" and "Two Steppin Mind".^[7]

[edit] Not a Moment Too Soon

His second album, Not a Moment Too Soon, was much more successful, becoming the best-selling country album in 1994. The first single, "Indian Outlaw", caused considerable controversy, as critics argued that it presented Native Americans in a patronizing way.^[7] Some radio stations refused to play it,^[9] but the controversy helped spur sales, and the song became McGraw's first top-ten country single (getting as high as No. 8), and reaching No. 15 on the pop chart.^[10]

The second single from the album, "Don't Take the Girl", became McGraw's first No. 1 country hit, and "helped cement his image as a ruggedly good-looking guy with a sensitive side".^[9] The following year, the album's title track became a No. 1 country single, while "Down on the Farm" reached No. 2, and "Refried Dreams" reached the top 5. The album sold over 6 million copies, topping the Billboard 200 as well as the country album charts.^[7] On the strength of this success, McGraw won Academy of Country Music awards for Album of the Year and Top New Male Vocalist in 1994.^[11]

[edit] All I Want

All I Want, released in 1995, continued his run of success, debuting at No. 1 on the country charts. The album sold over 2 million copies and reached the top 5 on the Billboard 200. "I Like It, I Love It" reached No. 1 on the country charts as the lead-off single, while "She Never Lets It Go to Her Heart" also went to No. 1 in 1996. "Can't Be Really Gone", "All I Want Is a Life", and "Maybe We Should Just Sleep on It" were all top 5 hits.^[7]

In 1996, McGraw headlined the most successful country tour of the year, The Spontaneous Combustion Tour, with Faith Hill as his supporting act. Faith Hill broke off her engagement to her former producer Scott Hendricks so that she and McGraw could start dating each other; they then married on October 6, 1996. The couple have since had three daughters: Gracie Katherine (born May 1997), Maggie Elizabeth (born August 1998), and Audrey Caroline (born December 2001).^[12]

[edit] Everywhere

McGraw's next album, 1997's Everywhere, again topped the country charts and reached No. 2 on the album charts, selling 4 million copies.^[7] Four singles ("It's Your Love", "Everywhere", "Where the Green Grass Grows", and "Just to See You Smile") reached the top of the country charts from the album, with the last of these setting a new record by spending 42 weeks on the Billboard charts.^[13] The Country Music Association awarded Everywhere its Album of the Year award for 1997.

[edit] A Place in the Sun

A Place in the Sun in 1999 continued McGraw's streak, debuting atop both the US pop and country album charts^[11] and selling 3 million albums. It featured another four chart-topping singles on the country charts including "Please Remember Me", "Something Like That", "My Best Friend", and "My Next Thirty Years". "Some Things Never Change" reached No. 7 on the country chart.^[7] He also contributed a song for the Grammy-winning tribute album to Bob Wills: Ride With Bob. His song, a cover of "Milk Cow Blues", was recorded as a duet with Asleep at the Wheel, whom he had met while performing together at the George Strait Country Music Festival.^[11]

McGraw recorded two more duets with his wife in the late 1990s, both of which appeared on her albums. "Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me", off of her multi-platinum 1998 album Faith, reached the top five of the US country charts,^[7] while her follow-up and 1999 album Breathe featured "Let's Make Love", which would win a Grammy Award in 2000 for Best Country Vocal Collaboration.^[11]

2000s[link]

[edit] Greatest Hits

In 2000, McGraw released his Greatest Hits album, which topped the charts for nine weeks and sold almost 6 million copies, making it one of the biggest-selling albums in the modern country market. In the latter half of the year, he and Hill went out on the Soul2Soul Tour, playing to sellout crowds in 64 venues, including Madison Square Garden. It was one of the top tours of any genre in the US, and the leading country tour during 2000.^[13]

While in Buffalo, New York, McGraw and Kenny Chesney became involved in a scuffle with police officers after Chesney attempted to ride a police horse. McGraw came to Chesney's aid after police officers nearby believed the horse was being stolen and tried to arrest him. The two were arrested and charged with assault, but were later cleared. During a concert with the George Strait Country Music Festival several weeks later, Hill, dressed as a police officer, made an unscheduled appearance at the end of McGraw's set and led him off the stage.^[14]

[edit] Set This Circus Down

McGraw's next album, Set This Circus Down, was released in April 2001, and spawned four number-one country hits: "Grown Men Don't Cry", "Angry All the Time" (with Faith Hill), "The Cowboy in Me", and "Unbroken". He provided harmony vocals for the Jo Dee Messina song "Bring On the Rain", which he also produced. The song topped the country charts.^[11]

Hungry for more of his music, fans downloaded a version of his performance of the song "Things Change" from his appearance at the Country Music Association Awards Show. The song was played extensively on radio, becoming the first country song to appear on the charts from a fully downloaded version.^[13]

[edit] Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors

In 2002, McGraw bucked country music traditions by recording his album Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors with his tour band The Dancehall Doctors. Unlike rock music, where it is commonplace for touring bands to provide the music on albums recorded by the artist they support, country albums are typically recorded with session musicians.^[15] McGraw chose to use his own touring band, in order to recognize their part in his success, and to capture some of the feel of a real band.^[13]

All of the Dancehall Doctors have worked with McGraw since at least 1996. They include:

• Darran Smith – lead guitar, acoustic guitar
• Bob Minner – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin
• Denny Hemingson – steel guitar, electric, baritone, and slide guitars, dobro
• John Marcus – bass guitar
• Dean Brown – fiddle, mandolin
• Jeff McMahon – piano, organ, synthesizer, keyboards
• Billy Mason – drums
• David Dunkley – percussion^[13]

The album debuted at No. 2 on the country albums charts,^[5] with the single "Real Good Man" reaching No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart. "She's My Kind of Rain" reached No. 2 in 2003, and "Red Ragtop" reached the top 5. The album also featured a cover version of Elton John's early 1970s classic "Tiny Dancer", as well as appearances by Kim Carnes on "Comfort Me" (a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks) and Don Henley and Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles on "Illegal".

[edit] Live Like You Were Dying

2004's Live Like You Were Dying continued McGraw's record of commercial success. The title track, dedicated to his father Tug McGraw, who died of a brain tumor earlier in the year, was a soaring ode to living life fully and in the moment,^[16] while the second single "Back When" was a paean to an easy nostalgia. Live Like You Were Dying spent seven non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on Billboard (10 weeks on Radio & Records), and went on to become the biggest hit single of the year. It also became one of the most awarded songs/records by winning ACM Single and Song of the Year, CMA Single and Song of the Year, and a Grammy.

In late 2004, his unlikely duet with hip-hop artist Nelly on "Over and Over", a soft ballad of lost love, became a crossover hit,^[17] spending 10 weeks atop the Top 40 chart. "Over and Over" brought McGraw a success he had never previously experienced on contemporary hit radio or rap radio, and brought both artists success neither had previously experienced in the hot adult contemporary market. The song also spent a week at the top of the charts in the United Kingdom, becoming McGraw's first British hit single and Nelly's third number one hit in the country after Dilemma and My Place. 'Over and Over' also reached the top of the charts in Australia, New Zealand and the Republic of Ireland, and the top ten in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Romania and Switzerland.

Throughout the 2005 NFL season, McGraw sang an alternate version of "I Like It, I Love It" every week during the season. The alternate lyrics, which changed each week, would make reference to plays during Sunday's games, and the song would be played alongside video highlights during halftime on Monday Night Football.^[18] Later in the year, McGraw became a minority owner of the Arena Football League's Nashville Kats when majority owner Bud Adams (owner of the NFL's Tennessee Titans) was awarded the expansion franchise.^[19]

[edit] Let It Go

In April 2006, McGraw and Hill began their 73-concert 55-city Soul2Soul II Tour, again to strong commercial acceptance. The tour grossed nearly $89 million and sold almost 1.1 million tickets, making it the top grossing tour in the history of country music.^[20] It was named "Major Tour of the Year" by the prestigious Pollstar Magazine, beating out such heavyweights as Madonna and the Rolling Stones. In a special gesture, the couple donated all of the profits from their performance in New Orleans to Hurricane Katrina relief.^[21]

McGraw, along with Kenny Chesney, contributed to a version of Tracy Lawrence's song "Find Out Who Your Friends Are", which can be found on Lawrence's album For the Love. Although the official single version features only Lawrence's vocals, many stations have opted to play the version with McGraw and Chesney instead.

McGraw released his eleventh album, Let It Go, on March 27, 2007. The album's debut single, "Last Dollar (Fly Away)", reached No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, marking McGraw's first No. 1 single since "Back When" in late 2004. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and No. 1 on the Billboard Country Album chart, marking his fourth No. 1 top 200 album and ninth No. 1 country album.^[22] His daughters can be heard singing the chorus during the last few seconds of the song on the video.

During the Academy of Country Music awards show on May 21, 2007, McGraw performed a song titled "If You're Reading This", which he co-wrote with The Warren Brothers.^[23] Several radio stations began to play the live recording of the song; as a result, it entered the Hot Country Songs chart at No. 35.^[24]

McGraw also produced the debut album of country music duo Halfway to Hazard. The duo's first single, "Daisy", peaked at No. 39 on the country charts in the summer of 2007.

In the summer of 2007, McGraw and Hill toured together once again in the Soul2Soul 2007 tour.

In the January 18, 2008 edition of the USA Today newspaper, McGraw was stated to be featured on the Def Leppard album Songs from the Sparkle Lounge, having also co-written the first single, "Nine Lives", with Def Leppard band members Joe Elliott, Phil Collen, and Rick Savage. The unusual pairing goes back to 2006 when McGraw joined Def Leppard onstage for the song "Pour Some Sugar On Me", and then collaborated on the song "Nine Lives" afterward. The album was released on April 25, 2008.

In May 2008, he hit the road with the Live Your Voice tour. The mainly-outdoor arena concert tour was his first solo outing in nearly three years. Also in May 2008, he debuted a new song off of his follow-up to Let It Go at the Stagecoach Music Festival in Indio, California.

In July 2008, McGraw's sixth single, and the title track of his album, "Let It Go", was released to country radio. Following that, a seventh single, "Nothin' to Die For", entered the Country charts at No. 57 in late December. McGraw released his third greatest-hits package, Greatest Hits 3 on October 7, 2008. The album features 12 tracks. McGraw was set to debut a new song on the 2009 ACM Awards, but then cancelled his performance; he was replaced by Blake Shelton, who sang "She Wouldn't Be Gone".

[edit] Southern Voice

McGraw's twelfth studio album, Southern Voice, was released October 20, 2009, and led by the single "It's A Business Doing Pleasure With You", which was shipped to radio outlets in late June 2009.^[25] Southern Voice was argued to be McGraw's last album for Curb Records, following the dispute over releasing his third Greatest Hits collection back in October 2008 without his permission. McGraw did not approve of the release. On November 30, 2010, Curb Records released his fourth greatest hits compilation, Number One Hits.

2010s[link]

[edit] Emotional Traffic and Curb Records lawsuit

On January 2, 2011, McGraw announced plans for his Emotional Traffic Tour featuring opening acts Luke Bryan and The Band Perry.^[26] Sirius XM announced on March 30, 2011 that they would be launching Tim McGraw radio, a commercial-free music channel devoted to McGraw's music, and featuring an in depth interview with McGraw as well.^[27]

McGraw has also finished work on a new album, also entitled Emotional Traffic, his last album with Curb Records.^[28] On May 13, 2011, Curb Records filed a breach-of-contract suit against McGraw.^[29] The label alleged that McGraw recorded tracks for his Emotional Traffic album too early prior to its delivery to the label.^[29] Several days later, McGraw filed a counter suit against the label seeking advance payment and recording-fund reimbursement, unspecified damages, and a jury trial.^[30] A trial is scheduled to begin in July 2012.^[31][32]

In November 2011, a judge granted McGraw permission to record music for another label, ending his relationship with Curb Records that began in 1990.^[31][32] A few hours after the ruling, Curb released "Better Than I Used to Be", the second single from Emotional Traffic.^[33][34] The album was released on January 24, 2012.^[34]

In December 2011, McGraw released his first Christmas single, "Christmas All Over the World", on his own label StyleSonic records. He is also said to be recording his debut album for the label. On May 21, 2012, he signed with Big Machine Records.^[35]

Acting[link]

McGraw's first acting appearance came in a 1995 episode of The Jeff Foxworthy Show, where he played Foxworthy's rival.

In 2004, McGraw played a sheriff in Rick Schroder's independent release Black Cloud. Later in the same year, McGraw received critical acclaim as the overbearing father of a running back in the major studio Texas high school football drama Friday Night Lights. The Dallas Observer said the role was "played with unexpected ferocity by country singer Tim McGraw".^[36] The movie went on to gross over $60 million dollars worldwide at the box office,^[37] and sold millions in the DVD market. Most recently, it was named one of the Top 50 High School Movies of All Time (No. 37) by Entertainment Weekly.

McGraw's first lead role was in the 2006 film Flicka, which was released in theaters October 20, 2006. In the remake of the classic book My Friend Flicka, McGraw played the father, Rob, costarring with Alison Lohman and Maria Bello. The family-friendly movie debuted in the top 10 list and has grossed over $25 million at the box office.^[38] McGraw again achieved critical acclaim for his acting.^[39][40]

Shortly before Flicka opened, McGraw received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star is located at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. near stars in the sidewalk honoring Julie Andrews, William Shatner, and the late Greta Garbo. One of his Flicka co-stars, Alison Lohman, attended the ceremony that included comments from Billy Bob Thornton, McGraw's co-star in the film Friday Night Lights.^[41]

In addition to acting in Flicka, McGraw served as executive producer of the soundtrack album, which was released by his record label, StyleSonic Records, in association with Curb Records and Fox 2000 films. It featured the closing credit song "My Little Girl", one of the first two songs that McGraw recorded that he also co-wrote (the other being "I've Got Friends That Do", both of which were included on Greatest Hits Vol. 2).^[42] The song was nominated by the Broadcast Film Critics for "Best Song" in a film, and the movie was nominated in the category "Best Family Film (Live Action)". The movie proved to be another success in the DVD market, and has sold over a million copies, debuting at No. 3 on the DVD sales chart.^[38]

McGraw also had a small part in the Michael Mann–produced 2007 film The Kingdom, reuniting him with Friday Night Lights director Peter Berg. McGraw played a bitter, angered widower whose wife was killed in the terrorist attack that is the centerpiece of the movie.

On November 22, 2008, McGraw made his first appearance on Saturday Night Live. He also played "Dallas McVie" in Four Christmases.

His house appeared in an episode of CSI with special guest Taylor Swift.

McGraw appeared in the 2009 film The Blind Side as Sean Tuohy, husband of Sandra Bullock’s character, Leigh Anne Tuohy. The Blind Side is based on the true story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, taken in and adopted by the Tuohys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. In addition to his appearance in the film, McGraw's hit song "Southern Voice" was played during the closing credits of the film.

He is among the stars of Dirty Girl, a film that premiered on September 12, 2010, at the Toronto Film Festival, along with Juno Temple, Milla Jovovich, William H. Macy and Dwight Yoakam.

Also in 2010, McGraw starred in Country Strong as James Canter, the husband and manager of the fictional country singer Kelly Canter (portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow).^[43]

Charitable efforts[link]

As his success has grown, McGraw has become increasingly interested in giving back to the community. When McGraw first reached fame in 1994, he established his annual Swampstock event. It began as a charity softball game to raise money for hometown little league programs; the event now includes a celebrity softball game and a multi-artist concert that attracts over 11,000 fans per year. The combined events have funded new Little League parks and equipment, and have established college scholarship funds for students in the northeast Louisiana area.^[44]

From 1996 to 1999, McGraw hosted an annual New Year's Eve concert in Nashville with special guests including Jeff Foxworthy, the Dixie Chicks, and Martina McBride. The 1997 show raised over $100,000 for the Country Music Foundation Hall of Fame and Museum. Beginning in 1999, McGraw would pick select cities on each tour, and the night before he was scheduled to perform, would choose a local club and host a quickly-organized show. This tour-within-a-tour became known as "The Bread and Water Tour", and all proceeds from the show would go to a charity from that community.^[44]

In the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina, McGraw and his wife, who was raised in Mississippi, joined groups taking supplies to Gulfport, Mississippi. The two also hosted several charity concerts to benefit those who were displaced by the storm.^[45] Later in the year, the couple established the Neighbor's Keeper Foundation, which provides funding for community charities to assist with basic humanitarian services, in the event of a natural disaster, or for desperate personal circumstances.

McGraw is also a member of the American Red Cross National Celebrity Cabinet, to which various celebrities donate their time, skills, and fame, to help the Red Cross highlight important initiatives and response efforts.^[46]

McGraw has helped out with charity events held by Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre. The Brett Favre Fourward Foundation has featured McGraw (and at other times Faith Hill) performing concerts during dinners and auctions that benefit children with disabilities in Wisconsin and Mississippi. One instance is recorded on Favre's official website.^[47]

On July 12, 2007, it was made public that McGraw and his wife Faith Hill, while in Grand Rapids, Michigan for a performance, donated $5000 to Kailey Kozminski, 3-year-old daughter of Officer Robert Kozminski, a Grand Rapids police officer who was killed on July 8, 2007 while responding to a domestic disturbance.^[48]

In June 2010, McGraw and his wife Faith Hill organized Nashville Rising, a benefit concert aimed to raise $2 million for The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee in response to the flood in early May that killed 22 people and caused $2 billion in damage.^[49]

Politics[link]

Tim McGraw poses for a sailor at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida on May 5, 2010, before performing at the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass military appreciation day.

McGraw, a Democrat, has stated that he would like to run for public office in the future, possibly for Senate or Governor of Tennessee, his home state.^[50][51] In the same interview, he praised former President Bill Clinton.^[51] He has referred to himself as a "Blue Dog Democrat" and stated that he supported presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008.^[52]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Tim McGraw (1993)
• Not a Moment Too Soon (1994)
• All I Want (1995)
• Everywhere (1997)
• A Place in the Sun (1999)
• Set This Circus Down (2001)
• Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors (2002)
• Live Like You Were Dying (2004)
• Let It Go (2007)
• Southern Voice (2009)
• Emotional Traffic (2012)

Compilation albums[link]

• Greatest Hits (2000)
• Reflected: Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (2006)
• Greatest Hits: Limited Edition (2008)
• Collector's Edition (2008)
• Greatest Hits 3 (2008)
• Limited Edition: Greatest Hits: Volumes 1, 2 & 3 (2008)
• Number One Hits (2010)

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

^[53]

Further reading[link]

• Brown, Jim; Sparrow, Susan. Faith Hill & Tim McGraw: Soul 2 Soul. Quarry Music Books, 2002. ISBN 1-55082-293-4
• Gray, Scott. Perfect Harmony: the Faith Hill & Tim McGraw Story. 1st ed. Ballantine Books, 1999. ISBN 0-345-43412-9
• McGraw, Tim. Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors: This is Ours. Atria Books, 2002. ISBN 0-7434-6706-X
• Nichols, Tim, and Craig Wiseman. Live Like You Were Dying. Rutledge Hill P, 2004. ISBN 1-4016-0212-6
• Trimble, Betty "McMom". A Mother's Story. D'Agostino/Dahlhauser/Ditmore Pub, 1996. ISBN 1-886371-32-6

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tim McGraw

• Official website
• Tim McGraw at Allmusic
• Tim McGraw at Country Music Television
• Tim McGraw at the Internet Movie Database
• Tim McGraw at People.com

Bryan Adams
Background information
Birth name	Bryan Guy Adams
Born	(1959-11-05) 5 November 1959 (age 52) Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, photographer, actor, record producer, social activist
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, bass, harmonica
Years active	1977–present
Labels	Polydor
Website	bryanadams.com

Bryan Adams, OC OBC (born Bryan Guy Adams, 5 November 1959) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. For his contributions to music, Adams has many awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations, 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television in 1992. He has also won MTV, ASCAP, and American Music awards. In addition, he has won two Ivor Novello Awards for song composition and has been nominated for several Golden Globe Awards and three times for Academy Awards for his songwriting for films.

Adams was awarded the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia for contributions to popular music and philanthropic work via his own foundation, which helps improve education for people around the world.^[1][2]

Adams was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with the 2,435th star in March 2011 and Canada's Walk of Fame in 1998,^[3] and in April 2006 he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at Canada's Juno Awards.^[4] In 2008, Bryan was ranked 38 on the list of All-Time top artists by the Billboard Hot 100 50th Anniversary Charts. On 13 January 2010, he received the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award for his part in numerous charitable concerts and campaigns during his career,^[5] and on 1 May 2010 was given the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for his 30 years of contributions to the arts.^[6]

Early life[link]

Adams was born in Kingston, Ontario, to parents Conrad and Jane, who had emigrated from England in the 1950s.^[7] From his grandmother, he also inherited Maltese ancestry. Originally a soldier in England, Adams' father became a Canadian diplomat, latterly attached to the United Nations.^[7] Adams grew up traveling around the world with his parents, with his father's diplomatic postings in Europe and the Middle East. He traveled through the United Kingdom, and the Middle East, and spent more than four years in Lisbon, Portugal and a year in Vienna, Austria. After his parents divorce,^[7] in 1973 Adams and his mother returned to settle in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Music career[link]

Early career[link]

Around the age of 14-15, Adams worked as a dishwasher to save money for a proper guitar. He quit the job after a year and started auditioning as a guitarist while rehearsing his own band in his mother's rented basement in North Vancouver. Adams elected to sing until they found a singer, but they never found one, and his auditioning landed him a few jobs, with bands like Shock and Sweeney Todd, who in 1976 released If Wishes Were Horses with the 15-year-old Adams as the singer.^[8] He quit school to play nightclubs and go on the road and upon his return he settled into the Vancouver studio scene, working as a background vocalist for the CBC and working with keyboardist Robbie King, whom Adams attributes as having given him his first paying session.

In 1978, at the age of 18, Adams met Jim Vallance introduced by a mutual friend in a Vancouver music store. Vallance was the former drummer and principal songwriter for Vancouver based rock band Prism and had recently quit that band to focus on a career as a studio musician and songwriter. They agreed to meet at Vallance's home studio a few days later, which proved to be the beginning of a partnership which still exists today. Later in 1978, Adams signed to A&M records for the paltry sum of one dollar.^[9] Some of the first demos written in 1978 have surfaced over the years, most notably "I'm Ready" (recorded for both the album Cuts Like a Knife and later his release for MTV Unplugged) and "Remember," which was recorded on his first album. Both songs were covered by other artists even before his first album was released. Also recorded during this time was Adams' first single, "Let Me Take You Dancing," which made the Canadian RPM chart in March 1979 and it's B-Side Don't Turn Me Away, which has never appeared outside of the original 7" and 12" singles. An early version of "Straight From The Heart" was written during this period. The song was later recorded for Adams' third album "Cuts Like A Knife" in 1983 and released as a single, becoming Adams's first top ten record in the US in 1983.

1980s[link]

Adams' self-titled debut album was released in February 1980, and marked the beginning of what was to become a long songwriting partnership between Adams and co-writer Jim Vallance. With the exception of "Remember" and "Wastin' Time", most of the album was recorded from 29 October up until 29 November 1979 at Manta Studios in Toronto and co-produced by Adams and Vallance. The album was certified gold in Canada in 1986.^[10]

Adams' second album, You Want It You Got It, was recorded in New York City in two weeks and it marked Adams' first album co-produced by Bob Clearmountain.^{[citation needed]} It was released in 1981 and contained the FM radio hit "Lonely Nights," but it was not until his third album that he achieved international recognition, popularity and sales.

Adams also co-wrote many songs for other bands during this time including "War Machine" and "Rock and Roll Hell" for Kiss, and "No Way to Treat a Lady" for Bonnie Raitt.^{[citation needed]}

Cuts Like a Knife, which was released in January 1983, was Adams' breakout album due mainly to the lead singles. "Straight from the Heart" was the most successful song, reaching number ten on the Billboard Hot 100.^[11] Another single, "Cuts Like a Knife" charted at number 15. "This Time" also placed on the Hot 100. Music videos were released for four of the singles from the album. "Cuts Like a Knife" arguably became Adams' most recognizable and popular song from the album. Its music video received heavy airplay on music television channels. The album peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 album chart and achieved three times platinum status in Canada, platinum in the United States and gold in Australia.^[10][11][12]

Adams' best-selling album, Reckless, co-produced by Adams and Bob Clearmountain, peaked at number one on the Billboard 200. The album was released in November 1984 and featured the singles, "Run to You", "Summer of '69", "Heaven", "One Night Love Affair", "Somebody", and "It's Only Love", a duet with Tina Turner. All the singles had accompanying music videos and all charted on the Billboard Hot 100 but only "Run to You", "Summer of '69", and "Heaven" peaked in the top ten. "Heaven" became the most successful single from Reckless at the time of its release on the pop charts, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number nine on the mainstream rock chart.^[11] "It's Only Love" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. In 1986, the song won an MTV award for Best Stage Performance.^[13] After the release of the album, Adams was nominated for Best Male Rock Performance.^[13] The album is Adams' best-selling album in the United States and was certified five times platinum.^[14]

In December 1984, Adams and his touring band, which consisted of Keith Scott, Dave Taylor, keyboarder Johnny 'Blitz' Hannah and new drummer Pat Steward, played concerts in Chicago, Detroit, New York and Philadelphia.^[15] In early 1985, Adams started a tour throughout the United States, then later Japan, Australia, Europe and at last Canada.^[15] After winning four Juno Awards, Adams started a Canadian tour through major cities across that country. Later he headed south towards the American West Coast, culminating with 2 dates at the studded Paladium in Los Angeles.^[15]

After the tour in the United States, Adams took part of a grand ensemble of Canadian artists named Northern Lights, who recorded the song "Tears Are Not Enough" for the African famine relief effort. Adams later headed back to Europe for a fifty city concert tour with rock singer Tina Turner culminating in April with his return to London to headline three sold-out shows at the Hammersmith Odeon.^[15] Adams began the first leg of his tour entitled "World Wide in '85" which started in Oklahoma and ended in October 1985.^[15] Adams later visited Vancouver, Canada, and afterward returned to the American East Coast to play 2 sold-out concerts in New York.^[15]

The follow-up album to Reckless was Into the Fire which was released in 1987. The album was recorded at Cliffhanger Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia and mixed at AIR Studios in London and Warehouse Studio in Vancouver. This album contained the hit songs "Heat of the Night" and "Hearts on Fire" and hit the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic.^{[citation needed]}

In 1989 Adams did backup singing on Mötley Crüe's album Dr. Feelgood and also on Belinda Carlisle's song "Whatever It Takes" which appeared on her Album Runaway Horses.^{[citation needed]}

1990s[link]

Adams' next album, Waking Up the Neighbours, co-produced by Adams and Mutt Lange, peaked at number six on the Billboard 200.^[11] It was even more successful on the other side of the Atlantic, reaching number 1 on both big European markets, the UK and Germany. The album was released in September 1991 and featured "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", his second 1 hit single in Billboard Hot 100. This song was featured on the album and a movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner and Alan Rickman. The single topped the charts in numerous countries around the world including big markets such as the US, the UK, France, Australia and Germany. "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" spent a record-breaking 16 consecutive weeks at number 1 on the UK Singles Chart. It also achieved record-breaking sales in the US.^[14][16][17] Canadian content regulations were revised in 1991 to allow radio stations to credit airplay of this album towards their legal requirements to play Canadian music.^[17] Adams won a Grammy Award in 1991 for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television.^[18][19]

Adams further supported the album with his tour, Waking Up the World which started on 4 October 1991, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. On 18 December 1991, Adams played two first-ever shows in Reykjavík, Iceland and then performed in the U.S. with a concert at the Ritz Theatre in New York City on 10 January.^[15] It was a sell-out in less than twenty minutes.^[15] In attendance were music legends Ben E. King and Nona Hendryx.^[15] The Canadian leg of the Waking Up The World Tour kicked off in Sydney, Nova Scotia on 13 January 1992, and wrapped up with a standing room only concert in Vancouver, Canada, on 31 January. In February 1992, he started touring in New Zealand and Australia for seven dates—kicking off with a press conference in Sydney. On 21 February, the tour headed to Japan for approximately a dozen shows in six cities. The tour continued through several European countries in June 1992, including Italy, Germany, Holland and Scandinavia, and in July 1992, Bryan performed for the first time in Hungary and Turkey (where he filmed his video for "Do I Have To Say The Words?"). During the long tour, further singles from the Waking Up the Neighbors album were released: In the US, the rocky "Can't Stop This Thing We Started" peaked at number 2, and "Do I Have to Say the Words?" reached number 11. In the UK, "Thought I Died and Gone to Heaven" was the most successful single behind "(Everything I Do) I Do it for You" by reaching the Top 10. In September through December 1993, the tour took place in the US. The Asian tour headed to Thailand, Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong in February 1993, before returning to the US during March through May.^[15][19]

In November 1993 Adams released a compilation album entitled So Far So Good, that again topped the Charts in numerous countries such as the UK, Germany and Australia. It included a brand new song called "Please Forgive Me", that became another number 1 single in Australia as well as reaching the Top 3 in the US, the UK and Germany. In 1994 he collaborated with Rod Stewart and Sting for the single "All for Love" written for the Motion Picture Soundtrack of the movie Three Musketeers. The single topped the charts worldwide. It was followed in 1995 by, "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" (song released with the Motion Picture Soundtrack of the movie Don Juan DeMarco). It became another number 1 in the US and Australia as well as a Top 5 hit in the UK and Germany. Released in June 1996, the album 18 til I Die contained the UK Top 10 singles "The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me" and "Lets Make a Night to Remember". The album peaked at number thirty-one on the Billboard 200 in the United States and held that position for three weeks.^[11] It was more successful in Europe and Australia and reached the top spot on the UK charts for Adams' third number 1 in a row.^{[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]} The album has been certified platinum in the United States and is Adams last studio effort which has been certified by the RIAA.^[14] 18 til I Die was certified three times platinum in Canada and Australia and two times platinum in the UK. On 27 July Adams performed at the Wembley Stadium in London in front of a crowd of about 70,000. It was his second sold-out concert there and it is often considered as his biggest concert ever as it went out live to 25 countries and fans from all over the world came up to watch the performance.It also received rave reviews from critics and fans alike.^[10][12][30] In December 1997, Adams released MTV Unplugged with three new tracks: "Back to You", "A Little Love" and "When You Love Someone". "Back to You" was the first single, followed by "I'm Ready", an acoustic version of the Cut's Like A Knife track. The album was a top 10 success in Germany while both singles reached the top 20 in the UK.

On a Day Like Today was released in 1998 and was the first studio album since 1981's You Want It You Got It which wasn't certified by the RIAA.^[14] This release coincided with his contract being sold to Interscope Records. Despite Interscope's involvement or lack of, On a Day Like Today enjoyed tremendous success internationally, entering the Top 5 in Germany and was certified platinum in the UK. It generated two British Top 10 singles: "Cloud Number Nine" and "When You're Gone", a duet with Melanie C of The Spice Girls.

To commemorate the millennium, Adams released The Best of Me, his most comprehensive collection of songs at that time, which also included two new songs, the title track "The Best of Me" and the UK number 1 track "Don't Give Up". The album reached the Top 10 in Germany and was certified three times platinum in Canada and Platinum in the UK. The single from the album, "The Best of Me" was a very successful hit with the exception of the US, where neither the single or the album were released by Interscope Records.

2000–present[link]

Bryan Adams playing in Hamburg, Germany.

In 2000, Adams wrote and sang on a song for Chicane's album Behind the Sun^[31] called "Don't Give Up". Even though his voice is somewhat altered electronically, it is still recognisable. An official music video was made of the song, in which Adams also appears.^[32]

In 2002, Adams wrote and performed the songs for the DreamWorks animated film, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. The songs were included on the film's soundtrack. The most successful single from the soundtrack was "Here I Am", a British Top 5 and German Top 20 hit. The song also gave him his fourth Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Song from a Motion Picture.

In 2004, ARC Weekly released its chart of top pop artists since the last 25 years and Adams came up at number 13 in the chart with four number-one singles, ten top five hits and 17 top ten hits. Six years after the release of On a Day Like Today, Room Service was released in September 2004. It topped the charts in Germany and Switzerland and peaked at number four in the UK, selling 440,000 copies in its first week in Europe and thus debuted at number one on Billboard's European album chart. The single, "Open Road", was the most successful single from the album and peaked at number one in Canada and number twenty-one in the UK. In May 2008, the album was also released in the US but charted only at number 134 on the Billboard 200.

In 2005, Anthology, the first 2-disc compilation was released, containing two new tracks. The US release features a new version of "When You're Gone", a duet with Melanie C. Also in 2005, Adams re-recorded the theme song for the second season of Pamela's Fox sitcom Stacked.

In 2006, Adams wrote and performed the theme song "Never Let Go" which was featured in the closing credits of the film The Guardian starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. Adams also co-wrote the song "Never Gonna Break My Faith" for the film Bobby. The song was performed by the R&B singers Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige and earned him a Golden Globe Nomination in 2007.^[33]

Adams released his eleventh album internationally on 17 March 2008. It was appropriately called 11. The album was released in the US exclusively at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club retail stores on 13 May 2008.^[34] The first single released from the album was "I Thought I'd Seen Everything". Adams did an 11-day, 11-country European acoustic promotional tour to kick off the release of the album.^[35] The album debuted at number one in Canada (making it his first album to reach that position since Waking Up the Neighbours in 1991) as well as reaching number two in Germany. In the United States, the album charted at number 80.^[11] In May 2009, Bryan Adams announced on his Twitter account that he has started writing and recording a new album in Paris. Bare Bones is certified Gold in India.^[36]

Adams was one of the four musicians who were pictured on the second series of the Canadian Recording Artist Series to be issued by Canada Post stamps on 2 July 2009.^[37] The total estimated number of Bryan Adams stamps that were printed is one and one-half million.^[38] In December 2009, Adams wrote, produced and performed the song "You've Been a Friend to Me" for the Disney film Old Dogs.^[39]

In February 2010 he released "One World, One Flame" – a track used as a theme song by the German TV Station ARD for their Olympic coverage of Olympic Games in Vancouver.^{[citation needed]}

On 12 February 2010, Adams performed a duet with Nelly Furtado. The song was called "Bang the Drum" and was co-written with Jim Vallance for the opening ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, in front of 60,000 spectators at BC Place Stadium.^{[citation needed]}

Adams performed at a party that Wayne Gretzky and Jaromír Jágr attended during Olympics, this brought all three together once again, following Gretzky's final game in 1999 at Madison Square Garden, when Gretzky then played for the New York Rangers and Jagr was with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Adams then sang the Canadian national anthem and ad-libbed a line to acknowledge Gretzky's departure, singing, "We're gonna miss you Wayne Gretzky."

Adams was one of several well known Canadian musicians to visit Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at his official residence. Originally the visit was meant to be Adams's plea to the Prime Minister to change the archaic copyright laws (http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/04/03/straight-from-the-heart/), instead Harper turned it into a photo op for himself and an informal "jam session".^[40] His latest album, Bare Bones, has been certified gold in India, and he thanked all his Indians fans for giving him such support.^[36]

Bryan Adams & Keith Scott during their tour in Bangalore, India in 2011

On 19 February 2011 Bryan Adams and his band played in Kathmandu, Nepal making him the first ever international artist to rock Nepal which was organized by ODC Network (P) LTD.^[41] Bryan Adams performed at the opening ceremony of ICC World Cup Cricket 2011 on 17 February in Dhaka, Bangladesh^[42] and also performed in a solo concert in the next day.^[43]

On 14 March 2011, Adams announced that he and co-founder of his foundation and girlfriend, Alicia Grimaldi, were expecting a baby and on 22 April 2011, Grimaldi gave birth to a daughter, Mirabella Bunny.^[44]

On 10 September 2011, Taylor Swift covered Bryan Adams' song Summer of 69 at her concert at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. On 19 November 2011, Bryan recorded the music video for "Tonight In Babylon" in Southwark, London. On 20 November 2011, he performed on the UK X Factor with the remaining acts in the competition.

On 31 January 2012, Adams announced a 20-date concert tour across Canada between April and June, to be followed by a new studio album expected to be released late in the year.^[45]

Social activism[link]

Bryan Adams during the visit to Nepal in 2011

Most of Adams' philanthropic activity is dedicated to his foundation "The Bryan Adams Foundation", which aims to advance education and learning opportunities for children and young people worldwide, believing that an education is the best gift that a child can be given. The foundation is mostly funded by his photographic activities.

Since the 1980s, Adams has participated in concerts and other activities to help raise money and awareness for a variety of causes. His first high profile charity appearance came in 1985 when he opened the US transmission of Live Aid from Philadelphia.^[46] In June of the next year, Adams participated in the two-week Amnesty International "A Conspiracy of Hope" tour alongside Sting, U2 and Peter Gabriel.^[46] In 1986 Adams performed at The Prince's Trust All-Star Rock Concert in Wembley Arena to celebrate first 10 years of the Trust and again in June 1987 at the 5th Annual Prince's Trust Rock Gala along with Elton John, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and others. The following year Adams performed at the Nelson Mandela birthday party concert at Wembley Stadium.

Adams helped commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall when, in 1990, he joined many other guests (including his songwriting partner Michael Kamen) for Roger Waters' massive performance of The Wall in Berlin, Germany.^[47] He performed the Pink Floyd songs What Shall We Do Now? and Young Lust during the performance of The Wall, and then joined Waters, Joni Mitchell, Cyndi Lauper, Van Morrison, Paul Carrack and others to perform Waters' "The Tide Is Turning" to close the concert.^{[citation needed]} His version of Young Lust, peaked at number 7 at Mainstream Rock Tracks.^{[citation needed]}

During his tours of 1992-1994, Adams successfully campaigned for the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary with Greenpeace Chairman David McTaggart.^{[citation needed]} The two of them distributed over 500,000 postcards at concerts around the world encouraging people to write to politicians of countries blocking the vote, encouraging them to vote yes for the creation of the sanctuary at the meetings of the International Whaling Commission. IWC officially created the sanctuary on 26 May 1994.^[48]

On 24 April 1993, Adams joined Farm Aid VI alongside Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Ringo Starr.^{[citation needed]}

On 29 January 2005, Adams joined the CBC benefit concert in Toronto for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Twenty years after performing at Live Aid in the USA, Adams played at Canada's Live 8 show in Barrie, Ontario.^[49] Later that year, he performed in Qatar and raised £1.5M ($2,617,000) from the concert. He also auctioned a white Fender Stocaster guitar signed by many of the world's prominent guitarists. The guitar raised a total of 3.7 million US dollars for charity and thus set a record as the world's costliest guitar.^[49] The money went to Qatar's "Reach Out to Asia" campaign to help the underprivileged across the continent.^[49][50] Money raised also went to some of his own projects like rebuilding a school in Thailand and building a new sports center in Sri Lanka, both of which had been devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami.^[49]

Adams in Karachi, Pakistan

On 29 January 2006, Adams became the first Western artist to perform in Karachi, Pakistan after 11 September attacks, in conjunction with a benefit concert by Shehzad Roy to raise money for underprivileged children to go to school.^[51] Some of the proceeds of that concert also went to victims of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake.^[51]

On 18 October 2007, Adams was billed to perform in Tel Aviv and Jericho as part of the OneVoice Movement concerts, hoping to aid in solving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.^[52] The peace concert for supporters of a two-state solution to the conflict with Israel was called off because of security concerns.^[52]

Adams supports the animal rights group PETA (People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals) by shooting photos for them and writing letters. He's written to the CEO of KFC restaurants in Canada in November 2007, asking them to become leaders in using more modern and more humane methods of killing chickens.^[53] Adams has been a vegan since 1989 and was also a nominee for PETA's "Sexiest Vegetarians of the Year".

On 25 May 2005, Adams raised £1.3M with cousin Johnny Armitage, from a concert and auction entitled Rock by the River for the Royal Marsden Hospital in London.^[54] On 15 May 2006, Adams returned to London to attend the Hope Foundation's event (hosted by designer Bella Freud), helping to raise a portion of the £250,000 to support the Palestinian refugee children.^[55] The following June, he offered individuals from the public the chance to bid to sing with him live in concert at three different charity auctions in London. Over £50,000 was raised with money going to the NSPCC, Children in Need, and the University College Hospital.^[56] On 28 February 2008 he appeared in One Night Live at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada with Josh Groban, Sarah McLachlan, Jann Arden and RyanDan in aid of the Sunnybrook Hospital Women and Babies Program.^[56]

To support the peace in Georgia, Adams played a special outdoor concert in Tbilisi, on 19 September 2008.^{[citation needed]}

He played at The Royal Albert Hall in aid of the Born Free Foundation at "Wild and Live" on 14 November 2009.^{[citation needed]} His foundation raised £170,000 for Kids Company, a UK based charity that helps underprivileged and abused children in London, England.^{[citation needed]}

As a photographer[link]

Adams accepting a LeadAward for photography in 2006

Adams has had his photographs published in British Vogue, L'uomo Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Interview magazine and i-D, among others.^[57] His other photographic efforts include founding Zoo Magazine, the fashion/art magazine based in Berlin, Germany which he shoots for regularly. On 1 June 2005, Calvin Klein published a book of his photos in the United States entitled American Women; proceeds from this book go to breast cancer research for programs at the Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.^[57] Flare Magazine in Canada released a similar book of photos called Made In Canada in December 1999. Both these books were dedicated to his friend Donna, who died of the disease.^[57]

As a photographer, Adams has worked with many of his musical peers, including Sting, Shania Twain, Mick Jagger, Arcade Fire, Ray Charles, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, Robert Plant, Take That, Joss Stone, Plácido Domingo, Sarah McLachlan, Celine Dion, Billy Idol, Moby, Lindsay Lohan, Amy Winehouse, t.A.T.u., Annie Lennox, Peter Gabriel, Bryan Ferry, Lenny Kravitz, Die Antwoord, and Morrissey to name a few.^[58] On 27 November 2000 Adams played onstage with The Who at the Royal Albert Hall. A DVD of the concert was issued. Adams photographed the band and his photos appear in the DVD booklet.

In 2002, Adams was invited, along with other photographers from the Commonwealth, to photograph Queen Elizabeth II during her Golden Jubilee; one of the photographs from this session was used as a Canadian postage stamp in 2004 and again in 2005 (see Queen Elizabeth II definitive stamp (Canada)), another portrait of both Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip is now in the National Portrait Gallery in London.^[59]

Adams supports the Hear the World initiative as a photographer in its aim to raise global awareness for the topic of hearing and hearing loss.^[60]

He photographed Michael J. Fox and Tatjana Patitz in the 2011 Carl Zeiss AG company calendar in New York City in the summer of 2010. The focus was about the size difference of the subjects in a comedic presentation.^[61]

His photographic exhibitions include:

• Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto 1999
• McCord Museum, Montreal 2000
• Saatchi Gallery, London 2000
• Photokina, Köln (Cologne), Germany 2001
• ICA, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London 2004
• Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto 2004
• Calvin Klein, NYC, Dallas, Paris 2005
• Canada House, Trafalgar Square, London 2005-06
• Il Tempio Di Adriano, Rome, Italy, July 2006
• Photokina, Köln (Cologne), Germany, September 2006
• Leica Gallery, Vienna, Austria, November 2006
• Galerija Fotografija, Ljubljana, Slovenia, November 2006
• H.Stern exhibition, São Paulo, Brazil, March 2007
• PhotoEspana, Madrid, Spain, Fotografos Insospechados (Unsuspected Photographers) Mickey Rourke photographs, May–July 2007
• Nunnington Hall, North Yorkshire, England, May–June 2007
• 401 Projects, New York City, September–November 2007
• The Hospital, Covent Garden, London, England, November 2007 (Modern Muses)
• The National Portrait Gallery, London, England, February–May 2008 (Modern Muses)
• Haus Der Kunst, Munich, Germany, May 2008 (Photos of the German National Football Team)
• 14th Street Gallery, New York City, May 2008 (Hear The World) (plus other exhibitions in Berlin and Zurich with the same show)
• Saatchi Gallery, London, July 2009 (Hear The World)
• Calvin Klein American Women 2010, New York City, September 2010

Personal life[link]

Adams never comments on his personal life:^[7]

A vegan, he has homes in: Canada; Chelsea, London;^[7] and Paris, France.^[62]

Discography[link]

Awards[link]

Bryan Adams' star on Canada's Walk of Fame.

In addition to his success at the Junos and Grammys and other music awards, Adams was also nominated for his fifth Golden Globe in 2007 for songwriting on the film Bobby which was sung by Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige, and has been nominated three times for Academy Awards for writing music in film.^[33][63]

File sharing lawsuit[link]

"Somebody" was one of 24 songs in the first file-sharing copyright infringement lawsuit brought by major record labels in the United States to be tried by a jury.

References[link]