The Great Canadian Road Trip…Song #70/250: Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone) by Glass Tiger

In my previous post *(which you can read here), I wrote about how, as a young man, I discovered that I enjoyed listening to music best by wearing good quality headphones, sitting in a darkened room and letting the words and music of a song fill my mind with imagery and stories. On the other hand, allow me to introduce you to my wife who enjoys wandering around our home belting out snippets of whatever Pop/Rock songs happen to enter her head. We are both as nerdy as they come so it always makes me smile to hear her burst into a soaring rendition of Thin Lizzy’s “Smokin’ in the Boy’s Room” or “It’s Raining Men” by The Weather Girls. Nine times out of ten, if my wife is to belt out a tune, it will probably be a Pop song from her youth from the late 1980s and 90s. For this reason, the song “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)” by Canadian band Glass Tiger is a song that frequently appears on her mental playlist. It is not for nothing that a song such as this became a hit and attracted the attention of Pop-loving folks like my wife. While Glass Tiger have won many awards for their rendition of this song, the reality is that “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)” is a song that the band had little to do with (other than performing it, of course). This song was cooked up by someone who is a master chef when it comes to creating perfect Pop-Rock gems. That certain someone was a man named Jim Vallance. In today’s story, Jim Vallance is every bit as important a player as is Glass Tiger lead singer Alan Frew and the rest of the band. So let’s discover the story behind the song that my wife so blissfully sings so often in our home! Here is the story of “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)” by Glass Tiger as written and produced by Jim Vallance. Enjoy.

As the 1970s came to an end, the music scene in Canada was poised to explode into international prominence. One of the first singers to really break big on the world’s stage was a singer you may have heard of called Bryan Adams. Adams burst onto the Canadian and world music scene with hit after hit such as “Cuts Like a Knife”, “Run To You”, “Summer of 69” and many more. With his raspy voice and boy-next-door good looks, Adams soared to the top of the charts and was often the token Canadian representative at global events such as Live-Aid. While Bryan Adams became a big music star, those in the music business back in Canada all knew that his success was not completely the result of his own efforts. As it turned out, Adams had a musical partner who went by the name of Jim Vallance. Vallance was the person who wrote just about all of the songs that became hits for Adams such as “Cuts Like a Knife”, “Run To You” and “Summer of 69”. Without the songcrafting efforts of Jim Vallance, it is up for debate as to how successful a career Bryan Adams would ever have had on his own. So, what does this have to do with a band from Newmarket, Ontario called Glass Tiger? Well, let me answer that question by first telling you a little bit more about Jim Vallance because his association with Bryan Adams, while his most famous collaborative effort, is not the only accomplishment on his musical resume. This man’s talent is vast and runs deep. Here is his story.

Jim Vallance met Bryan Adams when both were living in British Columbia. At the time that they met, Adams was just another young aspiring singer scuffling along, going from gig to gig, barely eking out a living. Jim Vallance got his big break in the Canadian music business as the drummer and songwriter for a fairly successful rock band called Prism. As a member of Prism, Vallance wrote hit songs such as “Spaceship Superstar” that helped put the band on the musical map of Canada. The experience that Vallance had helping to launch Prism included writing most of the songs on their debut album. In doing so, Vallance got to experience both sides of the creative process. He was involved in the crafting and recording of their songs and he also got to go on tour with the band and play drums in front of thousands of fans each night. It was by seeing the musical business from both perspectives that Vallance began to realize that he preferred being more of a behind-the-scenes player in the industry. Consequently, after Prism’s first tour, Vallance withdrew from the live band. While he continued to feed them new songs on subsequent albums, Jim Vallance made the very important career decision to throw himself completely into the songwriting side of music. It was at this time that he met a young Bryan Adams. The two of them hit it off immediately and the rest, as they say, is Canadian music history. Mostly because of his association with Adams, Jim Vallance is a four-time Juno award winner for Songwriter of the Year. However, while Jim Vallance gained fame as Bryan Adams songwriting muse, he never was satisfied to simply remain in the shadow of his friend. Consequently, during the 80s and 90s, Jim Vallance worked as a songwriter for hire for many of the top artists and bands of the day such as Tina Turner, Aerosmith, Rod Stewart, Bonnie Raitt and even our own Anne Murray. In addition to that, Vallance continued to branch out by offering his services as a record producer which he did for Canadian bands such as Doug and the Slugs and Cano. But a funny thing happened on the way to Jim Vallance establishing a career of his own. While his work with Bryan Adams was always what he was most known for, it was also something that ultimately was holding him back. Whenever an artist or band attains a significant level of commercial success, record executives develop an insatiable appetite for more and more. Thus, the pressure on both Bryan Adams and on Jim Vallance to keep churning out the hits as the 1980s rolled into the 90s was immense. However, with Jim Vallance branching out and working with other artists as songwriter and producer, he didn’t have the time to focus exclusively on Bryan Adams, as he had during their early days together. At one point, as Adams was feeling the heat from fans and from his record label, he demanded that his friend drop all other clients and work exclusively with him. Initially Vallance tried to appease his friend but their relationship had lost its easy rapport and the two had a falling out that lasted for well over a decade. In the meantime, Jim Vallance let it be known that he was for hire again to write songs and produce new albums for others. One of the first bands to contact him was a new band out of Newmarket, Ontario called Glass Tiger.

Glass Tiger formed in 1983 out of the ashes of two other local bands named Onyx and The End. Initially, this new band was called Tokyo but eventually ended up going with the name Glass Tiger. It was as much luck as anything else that brought their career trajectory as a new band in line with that of Jim Vallance, who was looking to write for and to produce new acts. One of the things that Glass Tiger brought into the studio with them was a willingness to be directed by Vallance. At the time, it was Vallance who had the street credibility so Alan Frew and the band were happy to learn from him. One of the first things that he did with the band was to survey them as to their current musical listening habits. At the time, one of the big hits on radio was “Everyone Wants To Rule The World” by Tears for Fears. Frew told Vallance that the guys all liked the construction of that song. Jim Vallance took it from there and helped the band to begin writing their own new songs. The very first song they wrote together was based upon the structure of that Tears For Fears hit. It was a song called “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)”, which also featured backing vocals from Jim’s pal, Bryan Adams. Together with Vallance, Glass Tiger released their debut album called The Thin Red Line. That album also spawned the Top Ten hit “Someday”. The album sold almost a half million copies in Canada and even more in the U.S., where the band was nominated for a Grammy as Best New Duo or Group. With the master craftsman Jim Vallance in their corner, Glass Tiger quickly became one of Canada’s most successful bands. Not only have they had a stellar career in terms of Top Ten hits and record sales but the band itself has proven to be very resilient. The original line up of singer Alan Frew, lead guitarist Al Connelly, keyboardist Sam Reid, bassist Wayne Parker and drummer Michael Hanson has stayed together all throughout their career (except for Hanson, who left after their second album). In the time since The Thin Red Line album exploded onto the Canadian and world music scene, Glass Tiger have headlined many tours within Canada and continue to do so today. They have also toured as opening act for A-list artists and bands such as Tina Turner and Roxette. All in all, Glass Tiger has carved out a very nice career for themselves thanks, in part to their own skill and personalities as performers but also, because of the musical craftsmanship of songwriter and record producer extraordinaire Jim Vallance. 

It is funny how different people can be. There are many for whom dreams of being on red carpets under the brightest of marquee lights is their fondest desire. For others, it is the love of creativity and the process of making something from nothing that turns their crank. Being an introverted person myself, I can understand why someone as talented as Jim Vallance would prefer to work away in relative anonymity. Not everyone is suited to handle the public demands that come with a career in the spotlight. For some like me and, perhaps, like Jim Vallance as well, being able to freely create without having to deal with the distractions of interviews and photo shoots and guest appearances and touring can come as a relief and allow us to focus on the tasks at hand. In my case, that means having the luxury of time and the clear headspace needed to produce five blog posts per week. For someone like Jim Vallance, it means being able to write so many hit songs for so many artists that it almost boggles the mind. For example, in addition to his work with Bryan Adams and Glass Tiger, here are some songs that were, in fact, written by Jim Vallance:  “What About Love?” by Heart, “Rag Doll” by Aerosmith, “Dangerous” by Loverboy, “Somebody Like You” by 38 Special, “Edge of a Dream” by Joe Cocker,  “Now and Forever” by Anne Murray and many, many more. When introverts and extroverts can manage to find each other, amazing things happen. In the world of music, it gave us the wonderful Adams/Vallance partnership for so many years and the Vallance/Glass Tiger partnership as well. For me, it gave me a wonderful marriage. In it, I am the introvert and my wife is the social butterfly. She flutters around our home filling it with song. I am the partner who sits in his chair, smiling away at the sound of it all and writing about it in a post such as this. In marriage, as in music, when the puzzle pieces fit, what results is beauty and Art. As for my fellow introverts, I see you, I understand you and I appreciate you. I would suggest that we get together for a beer or a coffee but, let’s be honest, that would just be awkward for us all. Instead, you keep being you and I will keep being me. Let the impersonal nature of social media unite us in ways that we could never do in person. Thanks to all who sing so that the rest of us may hear. It makes the world a wonderful place for all.

The link to the official website for Glass Tiger can be found here.

The link to the video for the song “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)” by Glass Tiger can be found here. ***The lyrics version is here.

The link to the official website for songwriter/producer Jim Vallance can be found here.

The link to the official website for Bryan Adams can be found here.

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