Jackson Browne - Songs

ABOUT

Jackson Browne (b. October 9, 1948) is a highly acclaimed and veteran folk, country, and soft rock singer-songwriter, pianist, guitarist, and political activist who became famous beginning in the early 1970s as a major figure in the emerging singer-songwriter movement. His best known songs include the rollicking "Doctor My Eyes" (1972), the soaring "Running On Empty" (1978), and the upbeat "Somebody's Baby" (1982), the latter of which is featured in the soundtrack to "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" starring Sean Penn and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Born in Heidelberg, Germany where his father, an American serviceman, was stationed, Browne and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was three and he began in his teens writing songs and performing at various local venues. After graduating high school in 1966, he wrote songs for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and also served for a brief time as a band member. He then moved to New York City's Greenwich Village where he became a staff writer for Elektra Records' publishing company, Nina Music, and worked with Tim Buckley, Nico, Tom Rush, and others. After returning to Los Angeles in 1968, he continued playing local clubs and writing songs for such bands and artists as Gregg Allman, Joan Baez, The Byrds, The Eagles, and Linda Ronstadt. In 1971, Browne signed with Asylum Records, a label newly formed by his manager, David Geffen. The following year, he released his eponymous debut album which became the first in a long string of recordings to eventually go platinum, with "Running On Empty" (1977) propelling him to superstardom.

Jackson Browne debuted in 1972 with "Doctor My Eyes," which reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, made the Adult Contemporary Top 20, and became his greatest hit. His long string of hits through 1986 on both charts also includes "Rock Me On The Water" (1972), "Here Come Those Tears Again" (1977), "Running On Empty" (1978), "Boulevard" (1980), "That Girl Could Sing" (1980), "Somebody's Baby" (1982), "Lawyers In Love" (1983), "Tender Is The Night" (1983), "You're A Friend Of Mine" (1985), and "In The Shape Of A Heart" (1986). Other hits include his unique remake of Maurice Williams' doo-wop classic, "Stay" (1978, b/w/ "The Load-Out"), which has an extended playout and rewritten lyrics imploring the audience to stay for an encore. Browne had two final Top 40 hits on the Adult Contemporary chart with "Anything Can Happen" (1989) and "I'm Alive" (1993).

Jackson Browne is among rock music's all-time top selling artists with over 18 million albums sold in the U.S. to date. His numerous honors and accolades include being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (2004) and the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2007). In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked him at #37 in its list of 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.

LINKS

MERCHANDISE

Disclosure: The following links will take you to various online merchants outside of allbutforgottenoldies.net that sell recordings and other merchandise for the performing artist featured on this page. Please note that these are referral or affiliate links from which allbutforgottenoldies.net may receive, at no additional cost to you, a commission if you should make any purchases through them.


SONGS

To listen to a song clip, click any song title that has a speaker icon. This will take you to a list of links to CD and/or MP3 product pages from one or more online merchants that have sound samples.

Jackson Browne

Jump to:
Previous Artist | Next Artist