From “Cuts Like a Knife” to “Summer of ’69,” the Canadian guitar great discusses the gear and solos that have fueled Bryan Adams’ music for more than 40 years
By Joe Bosso
FOR MORE THAN 40 years, Keith Scott has served as Bryan Adams’ lead guitarist, which means he’s performed a cavalcade of ginormous smash hit songs — there’s “Cuts Like a Knife,” “Run to You,” “Summer of ’69,” “It’s Only Love,” “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You,” “One Night Love Affair” and tons more — thousands of times. “I couldn’t guess at the actual number of times we’ve played some of those songs,” he says, then adds with a laugh, “It’s a lot, I know that.”
Even so, the Canadian-born picker maintains that each night on stage feels fresh. “It’s interesting. Back when I was playing clubs, we’d do cover songs,” he says. “After a while, I’d get bored playing the same songs over and over, and I’d want to move on. With Bryan, though, it’s different. For one thing, if a song is popular, the fans end up singing it, and that’s so exciting. But it’s also true that each night presents a new set of challenges. There’s always things you can’t control, so you always play your best, as if you’re performing a song for the first time. The songs deserve it, as do the fans.”
Scott’s vibrant playing style — a fiery, sophisticated blend of gritty blues and subtle jazz turns — has long been the secret sauce of Bryan Adams’ recipe for hits. When each track called for a stand-out moment — whether short, head-turning bursts between passages or high-wattage, hook-filled solos that doubled as songs within songs — Scott came through with uncanny artfulness and dazzling showmanship. Yet he remains something of an elusive figure to most music fans, and even among guitar circles his name is seldom mentioned. He’s the guitar hero nobody really knows.
“It’s never really bothered me,” he says. “I never felt under-appreciated. Put it this way: I know what it entails to become what we call a ‘guitar hero.’ I think you have to go out of your way to be that person, and it has to work for you. I never felt like I was that kind of artist. I’ve always supported singers, and I’m comfortable in that role. I like to play challenging things, but I never wanted to be the guy steering the sh
