b. Clyde Jackson Browne, 9 October 1948, Heidelberg, Germany, but raised in Los Angeles, California, USA, from the age of three. Browne was introduced to folk music while in his teens and began writing songs at the instigation of two high school friends, Greg Copeland and Steve Noonan. The youngsters frequented the Paradox club, a favoured haunt of traditional musicians, where Jackson was introduced to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. He joined the unit in February 1966, only to leave within six months, but some of his early compositions appeared on their subsequent albums. An ensuing contract with Nina Music, the publishing arm of Elektra Records, resulted in several of Browne’s songs being recorded by the label’s acts, including Tom Rush and the aforementioned Noonan. Browne had, meanwhile, ventured to New York, where he accompanied singer Nico during her engagement at the Dom, a club owned by Andy Warhol. The singer’s Chelsea Girl set featured three Browne originals, but their relationship quickly soured and the young musician retreated to California.
In 1968, Browne began work on a solo album but both it and a projected ‘supergroup’, revolving around the artist Ned Doheney and Jack Wilce, were later abandoned. Undeterred, Browne continued to frequent the Los Angeles clubs and music fraternity until a demo tape resulted in a recording contract with the newly established Asylum Records. 1972’s Jackson Browne (sometimes mistakenly called Saturate Before Using because of the confusing lettering at the top of the sleeve) confirmed that the artist’s potential had not withered during earlier prevarications. David Crosby added sterling support to a set including the composer’s own readings of ‘Jamaica Say You Will’ and ‘Rock Me On The Water’, previously covered by the Byrds and Brewer And Shipley, respectively, and ‘Doctor My Eyes’, an up-tempo performance that reached the US Top 10, and was a UK hit in the hands of the Jackson Five. Browne also drew plaudits for ‘Take It Easy’, which he wrote with Glenn Frey during a spell when they shared an apartment and penury. The song was a major success for the latter’s band, the Eagles, and in turn inspired several subsequent collaborations including ‘Nightingale’, ‘Doolin’ Dalton’ and ‘James Dean’.
Browne’s own version of ‘Take It Easy’ appeared on 1973’s For Everyman, which also featured ‘These Days’, one of the singer’s most popular early songs. The album introduced a long-standing relationship with multi-instrumentalist David Lindley, but although the punchy ‘Redneck Friend’ became a regional hit, the set was not a commercial success. Late For The Sky (1974) was an altogether stronger collection, on which Browne ceased relying on older material and in its place offered a more contemporary perspective on brilliant numbers such as the opening title track, ‘For A Dancer’ and the apocalyptic closer ‘Before The Deluge’.
Extensive touring helped to bring Browne a much wider audience and in 1975 he produced Warren Zevon’s debut album for Asylum Records, infusing a measure of consistency to the performer’s jaundiced wit and delivery. These facets contrasted with Browne’s own, rather languid approach, which he attempted to reverse by employing producer Jon Landau for The Pretender (1976). The resultant sense of contrast enhanced much of the material, including the US Top 30 hit ‘Here Come Those Tears Again’ and the anthemic title track. One of the benchmarks of 70s American rock, this homage to blue-collar values became a staple part of AOR radio, while its poignancy was enhanced by the suicide of Browne’s wife, Phyllis, in March 1976. The Pretender earned a gold disc and the singer’s new-found commercial appeal was emphasized with the live album Running On Empty (1977). However, Browne did not meekly repeat the formula of its predecessor and in place of its homogeneous sheen was a set recorded at different locations during a tour. The album included material written by Danny O’Keefe and Danny Kortchmar, as well as an affectionate reading of ‘Stay’, originally recorded by Maurice Williams And The Zodiacs. This performance reached number 20 in the USA, but fared better in the UK, climbing to number 12 and providing the singer with his only major UK hit to date. Despite its rough edges, Running On Empty became the singer’s most popular release (the title track reached number 11 on the US singles chart), closing a particular chapter in his career.
During the late 70s, Browne pursued a heightened political profile through his efforts on behalf of the anti-nuclear lobby. In partnership with Graham Nash and Bonnie Raitt he organized several cross-country benefits culminating in a series of all-star concerts at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The best of these were later compiled on No Nukes. It was 1980 before Browne completed a new studio album, but although Hold Out was undeniably well crafted, it lacked the depth of earlier work. Nonetheless, two of its tracks, ‘Boulevard’ and ‘That Girl Could Sing’, became Top 30 hits in America and the album itself provided the singer with a Billboard 200 chart-topper.
In 1982, the singer reached US number 7 with ‘Somebody’s Baby’, a song taken from the soundtrack of Fast Times At Ridgemont High. Commitments to social causes and his personal life only increased Browne’s artistic impasse and Lawyers In Love was a major disappointment. It did, however, contain the title track and ‘Tender Is The Night’, US hits which combined the lyrical strength of his early work with memorable hooklines. Lives In The Balance (1986), which addressed the Reagan presidential era, showed a greater sense of accomplishment, a feature continued on 1989’s World In Motion. The latter was much less successful than its predecessor, and was the singer’s first album not to go gold.
Following his much-publicized break-up with actress Daryl Hannah, Browne recorded an album of deeply powerful and introspective lyrics, much in keeping with The Pretender. Released in 1993, I’m Alive clearly demonstrated that after more than 20 years of writing songs Browne remained as sharp and fresh as ever. In ‘Sky Blue And Black’ he revisited old territory with what could be interpreted as an updated version of The Pretender’s ‘Sleep’s Dark And Silent Gate’. Unfortunately, the 1996 follow-up, Looking East, was a limp and lifeless album and a bitter disappointment for those expecting another I’m Alive.
Browne’s first album of the new millennium, The Naked Ride Home (2002), was a much better and less rushed effort, with the artist very much back in the poetic muse of earlier albums such as Late For The Sky. Browne parted company with Elektra following the release of a compilation set in 2004. He set up his own label and marked the beginning of a new stage in his career with a live album, featuring acoustic versions of some of his most memorable songs.
Jackson Browne rightly remains a highly regarded singer-songwriter, as testified by the numerous acts who have turned to his work over the years, and in his introduction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in March 2004. The craftsmanship of his lyrics and melody assures him a devoted audience, and, like Neil Young, there is a feeling that his best may still be yet to come.
