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In 1978, at the age of 18, Adams met Jim Vallance, introduced by a mutual friend in a Vancouver music store. Vallance was the former drummer and principal songwriter for Vancouver-based rock band Prism and had recently quit that band to focus on a career as a studio musician and songwriter. They agreed to meet at Vallance's home studio a few days later, which proved to be the beginning of a partnership which still exists today. In 1978, Adams signed to A&M records for one dollar. Some of the first demos written in 1978 have surfaced over the years, most notably 'I'm Ready' (recorded for both the album Cuts like a Knife and later his release for MTV Unplugged) and 'Remember,' which was recorded on his first album. Both songs were covered by other artists before his first album was released. Also recorded during this time was the disco song 'Let Me Take You Dancing,' - which made the Canadian RPM chart in March 1979 - and its B-Side 'Don't Turn Me Away.' 'Straight from the Heart' was also written during this period. The song was later recorded for Adams' third album Cuts like a Knife in 1983 and released as a single, becoming Adams' first top ten record in the U.S. the same year. Adams' fourth solo album, Reckless, co-produced by Adams and Bob Clearmountain, peaked at number one on the Billboard 200. The album was released in November 1984 and featured the singles 'Run To You,' 'Summer Of '69,' 'Heaven,' 'One Night Love Affair,' 'Somebody,' and 'It's Only Love,' a duet with Tina Turner. All these singles had accompanying music videos and all charted on the Billboard Hot 100. In December 1984, Adams embarked on a two-year world tour to launch the album starting in Canada and the United States, then into Japan, Australia, back to the UK and again to Canada.