I can't speak for Bryan -- he has his own thoughts on this -- but my contribution to "Summer of '69" was inspired by two years (1965 and 1969) and two Canadian towns (Vanderhoof and Terrace).

My first band was formed in Vanderhoof in 1965. I was 13 ... the other fellows in the band were a few years older. Wayne Deorksen, Gordon Keith and Chuck Davies on guitar, Dave Snell on bass, and me on drums. We played local dances and parties until my family moved to Terrace in 1967.

I was at Howard's house one day that summer -- July 20, 1969 to be exact. Along with Howard's mom we watched the moon landing "live" on their little B&W television.

Then in August 1969 we heard about a mammoth music festival in Bethel NY called "Woodstock". A film documentary would soon follow.

So if anyone asks about the song "Summer of '69" -- if they want to know what the song is really about -- the answer is ... (wait for it) ... it's about the summer of 1969!

When I was growing up in the 1950's and 60's there were shops called "Five and Dime" where you could (supposedly) buy anything for five or ten cents, which wasn't always true. Now they're called "Dollar Stores"! 

Contrary to what the lyrics say, my first guitar wasn't purchased at the "Five and Dime". It was a gift from my parents for Christmas 1965, when I was thirteen.

Bryan's first guitar was a replica Fender Stratocaster, also not purchased at the "Five and Dime".

Here's a quote (courtesy of MusicNews.com) from a 2025 interview Bryan did on Chris Difford's "I Never Thought It Would Happen" podcast:

Adams reveals his first real six string was actually purchased in a music shop in Reading, UK, when he was 12. And instead of the Summer of 69, it was bought in 1970.

His family moved a lot as a child due to his father working for the Canadian embassy, and after Reading, they moved to Israel. Here he left the guitar with a neighbour and decades later got an email from someone saying they ‘had his first guitar’. He replied and never heard back, but over ten years later someone walked up to him in a club in Berlin and said ‘I've got your first guitar’. The stranger explained that he was the friend of the person who emailed Adams, but he unfortunately died in a plane crash. The guitar was left to him, and aware of his late friend’s desire to reunite it with Bryan, had tracked him down. Bryan has owned the guitar ever since.

Bryan's first band was called "Shock". In the mid-1970s they played Top-40 songs in Vancouver nightclubs. Bryan was 16.

My first band, "The Tremelones", was formed in 1965 in Vanderhoof Canada.

The photo (right) was taken at the Vanderhoof Community Centre, my first ever "paying" gig. I couldn't believe it, we actually got paid to play music ... $2.50 each, for the evening!

There were a few different line-ups, but for the most part it was Wayne Deorksen and Gordy Keith on guitars and me on drums. Gordy's friend Dave Snell played bass with us for a while.  He ordered a Silvertone bass guitar and amplifier from the Sears catalogue, but never became fully proficient.

We changed our name to The Fourmost when my neighbour Chuck Davies joined the band. Chuck was really old (twenty-one), plus he'd recently traveled to England, so he had instant credibility!

Chuck had an electric guitar with a silver sparkle finish and a Fender amp! None of us could sing, so we mostly played instrumentals by The Ventures and The Shadows. "Walk Don't Run", "Wipeout", "Perfidia" and "Apache" were some of our staples.

Before joining The Tremelones I spent many lunch-hours in the school music room with Alan "Whitty" Whitmore. Whitty is the first musician I ever played with, and I have very fond memories of those mid-day "jam sessions".

Lacking a drum kit of my own, I would pound on the school band's snare drum and cymbal while Whitty played his electric guitar through a small amp. 

When the music room was occupied, we'd practice in the school library. This annoyed my French teacher, Mrs. Morrissey, whose classroom was directly across the hallway. 

I got my first real six-string
Bought it at the "Five and Dime"
Played it 'til my fingers bled
It was the summer of '69

Me and some guys from school
Had a band and we tried real hard
Jimmy quit and Jody got married
I shoulda known we'd never get far

Oh when I look back now
That summer seemed to last forever
And if I had the choice
Ya - I'd always wanna be there
Those were the best days of my life

Ain't no use in complainin'
When you got a job to do
Spent my evenin's down at the drive-in
And that's when I met you

Standin' on your mama's porch
You told me that you'd wait forever
Oh and when you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life

Back in the summer of '69

Man we were killin' time
We were young and restless
We needed to unwind
I guess nothin' can last forever - forever, no

And now the times are changin'
Look at everything that's come and gone
Sometimes when I play that old six-string
I think about ya wonder what went wrong

Standin' on your mama's porch
You told me it would last forever
Oh the way you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life

Back in the summer of '69