In the mid 1980s one of Canada’s favourite rockers released a ballad that soared to the top: Heaven by Bryan Adams.
Written by Adams and Jim Vallance, the song was initially for the soundtrack of the film A Night in Heaven, a ballad influenced by Journey’s ballad Faithfully. Adams had been the opening act for the band’s Frontiers tour in 1983.
The song was recorded at the Power Station in New York City and was done with the help of drums by Journey’s Steve Smith.
When working on his fourth studio album Reckless, Adams was unsure about including Heaven, but decided to add it to the line-up. The song was the third single released from the successful A&M album, after Run to You and Somebody, both hit singles.
Heaven was released in April 1985, five months after the release of the album in November 1984, and thanks to the success of the album, hit a chord with radio and music video fans, heading up the charts on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song hit number one in June 1985 and for two weeks held the top spot on the Billboard charts.
Certified platinum in Canada, the album was certified platinum five times in the US and the song Heaven as one of the top five songs of 1985.
