Another Indispensable Piece of the '80s Music Puzzle: Bryan Adams

Here's something we all must face. When you study the last two millennia of history, you can't just skip over the Roman Empire because you're more interested in the spiritual contributions of native peoples of the Americas. Well, you can in a physical way, but you'll most certainly be denying yourself a true picture of how the human race has gotten from point A to point B in those 2,000 years.

In much the same way, a thorough examination of '80s music cannot happen without serious attention directed toward major building blocks of the decade like Madonna, Prince and... yes, Bryan Adams. Now, if Madonna is the Roman Empire and Prince is World War II, then I guess maybe I would compare Adams to the Civil War, a major world event but maybe not the most earth-shattering on a universal, international scale.

Still, before I infuriate hordes of historians at the nation's bevy of higher learning institutions, let me draw this musing to a close. As much as I would love to spend significant time exploring the careers of the Minutemen, Howard Jones, Jason & the Scorchers or any number of other influential, underrated and brilliant '80s artists, I'm afraid that proper perspective and scale dictate that I give major mainstream stars like Adams their due for being not only popular but significant cogs in the vast '80s wheel. So, dear class, please turn to page 222 in your texts for the chapter on... the Civil War.

• Bryan Adams Profile
• Top 8 Bryan Adams Songs of the '80s
• Compare prices on Bryan Adams CDs here.
• Bryan Adams Official Website