Bruce Fairbairn facts for kids

Bruce Earl Fairbairn (born December 30, 1949 – died May 17, 1999) was a famous Canadian music producer. He worked from 1976 until his death in 1999. Many people think he was one of the best producers of his time.

Bruce Fairbairn helped create many hugely successful albums. Some of these include Slippery When Wet and New Jersey by Bon Jovi, and Permanent Vacation, Pump, and Get a Grip by Aerosmith. He also produced The Razors Edge by AC/DC and Balance by Van Halen. Each of these albums sold millions of copies!

Fairbairn started as a trumpet player. Later, he began producing music for the Canadian rock band Prism. He won the Canadian music industry's Producer of the Year Juno Award three times. He worked with many well-known international artists like Loverboy, Blue Öyster Cult, Bon Jovi, Poison, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Scorpions, Van Halen, Chicago, The Cranberries, INXS, Kiss, and Yes. Bruce Fairbairn was known for adding cool horn sounds to rock music. He passed away suddenly on May 17, 1999.

Bruce Fairbairn's Music Career

Starting Out with Music

Bruce Fairbairn began playing the trumpet when he was only 5 years old. He also learned to play the piano. Until he was 16, he played trumpet in local community groups. When he was in 10th grade in Vancouver, Bruce started his first band called The Spectres. His manager, Bruce Allen, stayed with him throughout his career.

In the early 1970s, Bruce started producing music. He was part of a jazz-rock band called Sunshyne, where he played trumpet and horn. There, he met Jim Vallance, who later became a very successful songwriter and an important friend in music. After Jim left Sunshyne in 1973, Bruce changed the band's style to blues-rock-pop. He brought in guitarist Lindsay Mitchell to be the singer and songwriter.

Bruce worked hard in 1974 to get a record deal for Sunshyne. He used demo songs written by Lindsay. When he couldn't get a deal by mid-1975, he asked Jim Vallance for help. Jim improved the songs and wrote three new ones for Bruce. One of Jim's songs, "Open Soul Surgery," impressed a record company called GRT. In 1976, they signed Bruce's group to a recording contract.

Producing for Prism

Over the next year, Bruce produced an album using musicians from both Sunshyne and Seeds of Time. The band was renamed Prism, and their first album came out in 1977. This album sold over 100,000 copies in Canada by 1978, earning it "platinum status." Bruce chose not to be a band member of Prism. He was only credited as the producer and a session musician, meaning he played on the album but didn't perform live with them.

Bruce went on to produce Prism's next three albums. All of them also sold very well, reaching platinum or double platinum status in Canada. In 1980, Bruce won his first of three Producer of the Year Juno Awards for Prism's third album, Armageddon.

Working with Loverboy

In 1980, while still working with Prism, Bruce began producing the first album for another Canadian rock band, Loverboy. Their self-titled album, Loverboy, was Bruce's first production to become popular in the United States. This helped him become successful around the world.

More and more international artists wanted to work with Bruce and his assistant, Bob Rock, at Vancouver's Little Mountain Sound Studios. Over the next five years, Bruce produced more international hits. These included Blue Öyster Cult's 1983 album The Revölution by Night, Krokus' 1984 album The Blitz, and Canadian band Honeymoon Suite's 1985 album The Big Prize.

Big Success with Bon Jovi

Bruce Fairbairn's biggest success was producing Bon Jovi's album Slippery When Wet in 1986. This album sold over 28 million copies worldwide and made him a top international producer. Jon Bon Jovi said that Bruce was a trumpet player and didn't play guitar, which allowed the band to be themselves in the studio for the first time.

Bruce once said, "I've been lucky enough to work with so many different talents, but Bon Jovi may be the finest. There was record company pressure to deliver the hits, but they were a joy."

Aerosmith's Comeback

His next big project was Aerosmith's 1987 album Permanent Vacation. This was another huge international success. It included hit songs like "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)", "Angel", and "Rag Doll". Steven Tyler, Aerosmith's singer, said that Bruce was very important in making the album. He helped "relight the fire under Aerosmith."

More International Hits

In 1988, Bruce produced the Bon Jovi album New Jersey. This album set a record for hard rock albums, having five songs reach the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It sold over seven million copies in the United States. Bruce also produced Aerosmith's next album, Pump, in 1989. This album also sold over seven million copies and was praised by critics. It earned him another "Producer of the Year" Juno Award.

In the 1990s, Bruce Fairbairn continued to work with many famous hard rock bands. In 1990, he produced AC/DC's The Razors Edge and Poison's Flesh and Blood. In 1993, he produced another big hit for Aerosmith, Get a Grip. This album sold seven million copies and made Aerosmith even bigger international stars.

Next, Bruce produced Scorpions' Face the Heat and in 1995, Van Halen's Balance. Also in 1995, Bruce went to Jim Vallance's Armoury Studios in Vancouver to work on Chicago's Night and Day: Big Band. He liked the studio so much that he bought it from Jim the next year.

In 1996 and 1997, Bruce produced INXS's album Elegantly Wasted. He also produced The Cranberries' To the Faithful Departed and Kiss' reunion album Psycho Circus. His last completed project was Torch This Place by Atomic Fireballs in 1998. Bruce described this album as "a return to my brass roots," referring to his trumpet playing background.

Bruce Fairbairn's Legacy

Bruce Fairbairn passed away on May 17, 1999, in his Vancouver home. He was working on Yes' album The Ladder at the time. He was survived by his wife, Julie, and their three sons: Scott, Kevin, and Brent. His friend and colleague, Bob Rock, shared that they were planning to meet Bon Jovi for another album together the week Bruce died.

A special event called "A Celebration of the Life of Bruce Earl Fairbairn" was held in Vancouver. More than 300 people attended. Friends shared memories, and there were musical performances. Jon Anderson and Steve Howe from Yes performed a song. Bruce's son, Brent, played "Taps" on his father's trumpet.

In March 2000, Bruce Fairbairn was honored after his death with a Canadian Music Hall of Fame Juno Award for his amazing work in music.

Albums Bruce Fairbairn Produced

Bruce Fairbairn produced many albums for various artists. Here are some of the notable ones:

• 1977: Prism - Prism
• 1979: Prism - Armageddon
• 1980: Loverboy - Loverboy
• 1983: Blue Öyster Cult - The Revölution by Night
• 1985: Honeymoon Suite - The Big Prize
• 1986: Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
• 1987: Aerosmith - Permanent Vacation
• 1988: Bon Jovi - New Jersey
• 1989: Aerosmith - Pump
• 1990: AC/DC - The Razors Edge
• 1990: Poison - Flesh & Blood
• 1993: Aerosmith - Get a Grip
• 1995: Van Halen - Balance
• 1996: The Cranberries - To the Faithful Departed
• 1997: INXS - Elegantly Wasted
• 1998: Kiss - Psycho Circus
• 1999: Yes - The Ladder

See also

In Spanish: Bruce Fairbairn para niños

• Music of Canada
• Canadian Music Hall of Fame