This article explores how the Canadian band Glass Tiger, formed in Ontario in 1981, achieved their breakthrough US hit in 1986 with the help of fellow Canadians. Songwriter and producer Jim Vallance, best known as Bryan Adams's chief collaborator, spotted the band's potential from their demo tapes and agreed to produce their debut album, shaping the track that would become "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)". The story matters as a snapshot of Canadian pop music's rise on the US charts during a fiercely competitive 1980s era, and highlights the informal networks of countrymen who helped each other succeed abroad.

During production, Vallance suggested moving the song's hook line from the verse to the refrain, and keyboardist Sam Reid contributed the parts that shaped the track's sound. Vallance also brought in Bryan Adams, then one of the biggest stars in music, to sing alongside frontman Alan Frew on the refrain. The single reached number two in America in 1986, and the band's follow-up ballad "Someday" also charted successfully, cementing Glass Tiger's career. Notably, four of the original five band members remain with the group today.