The song was released with two B-side tracks: "Kids Wanna Rock" and "The Best Was Yet to Come", which had previously appeared on the albums "Reckless" and "Cuts Like a Knife" respectively. "Summer of '69" received favourable reviews from music critics. The music video for the song, which was filmed by Steve Barron, features Adams and his backing band in a variety of settings, including running from the police. The single had a strong effect on music charts internationally, with its highest peaks being number four in the Netherlands and number five in the United States. Amongst songs recorded by Canadian artists, it is most streamed and most digitally purchased song within Canada amongst songs originally released before the start of the digital download era (approximiately 2005). It is also the most played song on Canadian radio amongst songs by Canadian artists originally released before 1990.