AS BRYAN ADAMS’ right-hand man, guitarist Keith Scott has clocked up more than 40 years of service for the superstar Canadian rocker. His six-string skills and stylings have been an integral factor in Adams’ illustrious music catalog and career. One listen to his emotionally charged guitar solo on Adams’ “Native Son” perfectly encapsulates everything you need to know about Scott’s guitar mastery.
Now 68, Scott first picked up the guitar at age 14 and learned to play by ear. It wasn’t long before he was paying his dues playing in bands and performing on the club circuit in his native Vancouver. Scott met Adams by chance in 1976, but it wasn’t until five years later that the singer-songwriter came calling and offered him a position in his band.
“I didn’t start working with Bryan until the fall of 1981,” recalls the quietly spoken guitarist. “He had recorded the album in early 1981 and soon after came to see me. I was playing with a club band at the time, and Bryan told me he had made this record in New York using these guys named Mickey Curry [], Tommy Mandel [] and Bob]. He said he didn’t have a budget, otherwise he’d have phoned me and got me in earlier. But Bryan was kind of selling me on what he was planning to do.”
