Bruce Fairbairn was one of the most successful producers of the 1980s, helming massive hits for acts including Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, and Loverboy. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia on December 30, 1949, Fairbairn learned to play the trumpet at age five, and as a teen appeared in a series of local R&B groups. He built his reputation as a producer while with his band Prism, earning the first of three Canadian Juno "Producer of the Year" awards for his work on their 1980 album Young and Restless; his commercial breakthrough followed that same year with Loverboy, as their self-titled debut LP launched the international hits "Turn Me Loose" and "The Kid Is Hot Tonite." Subsequent efforts for Blue Öyster Cult (1983's Revolution by Night) and Krokus (1984's Blitz) solidified Fairbairn's position as one of the top producers in the hard rock arena, and in 1986 he reached his commercial pinnacle with Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet, which sold over 12 million copies.