Bryan Adams enjoyed career-defining success with the release of his signature single, "Summer of '69," in 1985, and almost four decades later, the Canadian rock sensation reveals the inspiration behind it.

The hit record, originally titled Those Were The Best Days Of My Life, drew inspiration from the great American rock hit Night Moves by Bob Seger from 1976.

“That’s such a brilliant song,” Adams praised it while speaking to Classic Rock Magazine. “It always pissed me off that I didn’t write it.”

Adam also praised the lyrics in the 1970s rock staple, where Seger captures the rush of adolescence through vivid snapshots of cars, girls, and long, sweltering summers.

“It’s a nostalgic song,” Adams said, adding. “Romantic. Teenage blues, that awkwardness of trying to figure out sexuality – it’s all there.”

And that’s precisely what Adams delivered in Summer of '69, opening with four lines he’s long taken pride in: “I got my first real six-string/Bought it at the five and dime/Played it ’til my fingers bled/Was the summer of ’69.”

“That’s such a brilliant song,” Adams added. “It always pissed me off that I didn’t write it.”