Bryan Adams Shares the Unexpected Journey of His Iconic Guitar—A Tale of Tragedy, Time, and Reunion

In his 1985 hit “Summer of ’69,” Adams famously reminisced about purchasing his very first guitar.

Bryan Adams exercised a bit of artistic freedom in one of his most iconic songs.

Now 65, the singer recently opened up about a childhood memory tied to his first guitar during an interview, reflecting on a moment that mirrors the famous opening line of his 1985 hit “Summer of ’69,” where he sings about buying his “first real six-string” at a Five and Dime store.

In reality, Adams said he got his first guitar at the age of 12 while visiting his uncle in Reading. Speaking on the I Never Thought It Would Happen podcast with Chris Difford of Squeeze, he recalled the moment.

“I told him I wanted an electric guitar,” Adams explained. “He brought me to a music store in Reading, and I’ve held onto that guitar ever since. It’s an Italian-made model—basically a Stratocaster knockoff.”

Although Bryan Adams has his original guitar today, getting it back was anything but straightforward.

As a child, Adams’ family frequently relocated due to his father’s job with the Canadian Embassy. During one of those moves, they spent a year in Israel. Before leaving the country, Adams handed over his guitar to the neighbor next door, then picked up a new one once he was back in Canada.

“I remember thinking later, ‘Why did I give that away?’” he recalled.

Years later, Adams received an unexpected email from someone claiming to have the same guitar from 1970, asking if he wanted it returned. “I was blown away—of course I said yes,” he said. But after that message, the sender vanished, and Adams assumed the guitar was gone for good.

Roughly a decade passed before fate stepped in again. While at a club in Berlin, a stranger approached him—carrying the very guitar he’d parted with so many years ago.

Adams recounted the surreal moment he was reunited with his childhood guitar. “He told me, ‘I’ve got your old guitar. Just give me your address and I’ll send it,’” Adams said. “I asked if he was the same person who emailed me back in ’94. He said no—he was a friend of that person, who had sadly died in a plane crash. Before passing, he’d said the guitar should be returned to me, and that’s how it found its way back.”

Adams admitted the whole thing sounded unbelievable. “It’s a ridiculous story, but it actually happened,” he said. “I tried playing it again a few times, but the neck seems to have been altered. I never really got around to setting it up properly—it’s just there now. A relic from the past.”

Interestingly, the iconic lyric from “Summer of ‘69” wasn’t literal for co-writer Jim Vallance either. He once shared on his website that his first guitar had actually been a Christmas gift from his parents in 1965.

The song itself serves as a nostalgic reflection—a coming-of-age tale of a young man looking back on the late ’60s with deep affection.