Jim Vallance: The Canadian Songwriter Behind a Generation of Rock Hits

The Songwriter Behind Some of Canadian Rock’s Most Enduring Hits

Some songwriters become household names. Others create the songs that make other artists household names.

Jim Vallance belongs firmly among Canada’s most accomplished songwriters. From his defining partnership with Bryan Adams to songs recorded by Heart, Aerosmith, Glass Tiger, Anne Murray, Joe Cocker and many others, Vallance helped shape the sound of popular rock music through the 1980s and beyond.

From Musician to Songwriter

Born in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Vallance studied piano and cello before moving towards rock music. Before becoming known primarily as a songwriter, he played drums with Vancouver rock band Prism. He also helped write the band’s first single, Spaceship Superstar.

However, it was a meeting in 1978 that would change the direction of his career. Vallance met an ambitious 18-year-old singer named Bryan Adams. The two quickly discovered that their musical instincts complemented one another.

Working together, often developing ideas from the ground up, Adams and Vallance began creating the material that would eventually propel Adams from a promising Canadian performer to an international rock star.

The Partnership That Changed Canadian Rock

The breakthrough arrived during the early 1980s. Adams’ 1983 album Cuts Like a Knife produced several songs written with Vallance, including the title track, This Time and Straight from the Heart.

Two years later, the partnership reached another level with Reckless. Released in 1984, the album produced a remarkable run of songs, including:

• Run to You
• Heaven
• Summer of ’69
• Somebody
• It’s Only Love
• Kids Wanna Rock

Heaven became Adams and Vallance’s first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, while Run to You reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart. Decades later, those songs remain staples of classic-rock radio and an important part of Canada’s musical identity.

Beyond Bryan Adams

The success of Adams and Vallance could easily overshadow the rest of Vallance’s catalogue. Yet some of his most interesting work was created with other artists. One particularly notable example is Heart’s What About Love.

Vallance co-wrote the song with Brian Allen and Sheron Alton of the Canadian band Toronto. The group recorded a demo but ultimately decided not to include it on an album. The song sat unused until Heart recorded it several years later.

Released in 1985, What About Love became an international hit and helped launch a major new chapter in Heart’s career. The song was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021. Vallance also contributed to the careers and catalogues of artists including Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Joe Cocker, Joan Jett, Rick Springfield and Rod Stewart.

Helping Launch Glass Tiger

Vallance also played an important role in the early success of Canadian band Glass Tiger. Working with the group, he co-wrote songs for their 1986 debut album The Thin Red Line. Among them was Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone), written with the band and featuring guest vocals from Bryan Adams. The song became Glass Tiger’s breakthrough hit.

Remarkably, Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone) and another future Glass Tiger hit, Someday, were both developed during the group’s first day working with Vallance. It is another example of Vallance’s ability to understand an artist’s identity while helping shape material capable of reaching a much larger audience.

A Songwriter Who Writes for the Artist

One of Vallance’s strengths has been his ability to adapt. Rather than imposing the same songwriting formula on every performer, he has described the importance of understanding an artist’s established sound and then bringing something new to it. That philosophy helps explain the diversity of his catalogue.

His songs have moved comfortably between arena rock, pop, hard rock, adult contemporary and country.

Anne Murray‘s Now and Forever (You and Me) offers a particularly good example. Co-written by Vallance, David Foster and Randy Goodrum, the song reached No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart and was named Song of the Year by the Canadian Country Music Association.

Songs You May Not Know Jim Vallance Wrote

Vallance’s songwriting credits contain plenty of surprises.

Bryan Adams – Summer of ’69
One of the most recognisable Canadian rock songs ever recorded.

Bryan Adams – Heaven
The songwriting partnership’s first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1.

Bryan Adams – Run to You
A defining track from the multi-platinum Reckless album.

Heart – What About Love
Co-written with Brian Allen and Sheron Alton before becoming a major Heart hit.

Glass Tiger – Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)
A breakthrough Canadian pop-rock hit that helped introduce Glass Tiger internationally.

Anne Murray – Now and Forever (You and Me)
A No. 1 country hit co-written with David Foster and Randy Goodrum.

Aerosmith – The Other Side
One of Vallance’s successful collaborations outside his work with Adams.

Recognition and Legacy

Vallance’s contribution to Canadian music extends beyond hit records.

He has served on the boards of SOCAN, the Songwriters Association of Canada and FACTOR, supporting the organisations that help Canadian songwriters and musicians build sustainable careers. His honours include four JUNO songwriter awards, 22 SOCAN Classic Awards and a SOCAN Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2022, Jim Vallance and Bryan Adams were inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame at Massey Hall in Toronto. It was fitting recognition for a partnership that began more than four decades earlier with two young musicians experimenting with song ideas.

The Man Behind the Songs

Jim Vallance’s name may not appear in giant letters on an album cover, but his musical fingerprints are everywhere. His songs helped Bryan Adams become an international star. They helped introduce Glass Tiger to audiences around the world. They became hits for Heart, Anne Murray, Aerosmith and numerous other performers.

More importantly, many of those songs survived the era in which they were created. They remain on radio playlists, concert setlists and personal playlists decades later. That may ultimately be the clearest measure of a songwriter’s success.

Jim Vallance didn’t simply help write Canadian hits. He helped write part of the soundtrack of a generation.

Did You Know?

• A song Vallance wrote travelled into space. Prism’s Spaceship Superstar, which Vallance helped write, was played aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.
• His catalogue with Bryan Adams is enormous. The pair have written more than 100 songs together during a partnership spanning decades.