Jackson Browne, his debut album, came out on David Geffen’s Asylum Records in 1972. Rolling Stone wrote in its original review that, ‘Jackson Browne’s sensibility is romantic in the best sense of the term: his songs are capable of generating a highly charged, compelling atmosphere throughout, and – just as important – of sustaining that pitch in the listener’s mind long after they’ve ended.’ The now-classic LP introduced ten original songs, including ‘Rock Me On The Water’ and ‘Jamaica Say You Will,’ featuring David Crosby on harmony vocals. Crosby and Graham Nash sang on ‘Doctor My Eyes,’ the album’s first single, which became a #8 hit on Billboard’s pop singles chart.
Browne’s 1973 follow-up, For Everyman, included ‘These Days’ and ‘Take It Easy,’ co-written with Glenn Frey (it been The Eagles’ debut single and breakthrough hit the year before). 1974’s Late For The Sky – cited by Rolling Stone that year as one of the ‘100 Best Albums,’ again in 1997 as one of the ‘200 Essential Rock Collection Albums’ and in 2003 as one of the ‘500 Greatest Albums Of All Time’ – was Browne’s masterpiece of lyrical introspection, with classic songs including ‘Fountain Of Sorrow,’ ‘The Late Show’ and the title track. 1976’s The Pretender also made Rolling Stone’s list of the ‘500 Greatest Albums Of All Time,’ and was Browne’s first to chart in Billboard’s Top 10, peaking at #5. On the heels of that success came what stands as Jackson’s top-selling album, 1977’s 7X platinum, life-on-the-road concept opus, Running On Empty.
Browne’s next project was the all-star series of concerts organized by Bonnie Raitt, Graham Nash, John Hall and Jackson in 1979 to benefit MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy). In addition to serving on the board of MUSE, Jackson helped edit and compile 1980’s 3-LP live album from those shows. No Nukes/The MUSE Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future featured a line-up including Bruce Springsteen, The Doobie Brothers, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Ry Cooder, Chaka Khan, Peter Tosh, and Tom Petty, among others. The album, which includes Jackson’s ‘Before The Deluge,’ climbed to #23 on Billboard’s pop chart, a major feat for a triple album. Currently, Browne, Raitt and Nash are mobilizing behind Nukefree.org, opposing federal bail-out of the nuclear industry.
Jackson’s studio discography continued with 1980’s Hold Out, a #1 album, featuring the hits ‘Boulevard’ and ‘That Girl Could Sing.’ In 1982, Browne scored a #7 hit with the single ‘Somebody’s Baby,’ from the Soundtrack for Fast Times at Ridgemont High. 1983’s Lawyers In Love also delivered several popular singles, including ‘Tender Is The Night’ and ‘For A Rocker.’
In 1986, Jackson continued to develop his social focus with Lives In The Balance. This topical disc was included in Rolling Stone’s 1986 list of ‘Best 100 Albums,’ and again in their 1990 special issue of ‘100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s. ‘1989’s World In Motion was a call to action even more explicitly political than its predecessor.
I’m Alive evidenced a striking return to the personal and romantic subject matter that characterized Jackson’s earlier work. Released in 1993, and widely considered a career highlight, the disc found Jackson revisiting matters of the heart and soul on tracks including ‘My Problem Is You’ and ‘Sky Blue and Black.’ On 1996’s Looking East,
he addresses various aspects of personal growth and social struggle, and their interconnectedness in the world around him.
2002 marked the release of The Naked Ride Home, Jackson’s first suite of all new songs since Looking East.
Jackson Browne’s overall body of work was celebrated in 2004 with the release of Elektra-Rhino’s 2CD compilation The Very Best of Jackson Browne, featuring 32 songs selected from throughout his career. The one earlier compilation of Jackson’s work is Elektra’s 1997 single-disc overview The Next Voice You Hear: The Best of Jackson Browne.
As influential and enduring as his music is Browne’s legacy as an advocate for social and environmental justice. In 2008, he received the NARM Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award; and, in 2007, he received the Chapin-World Hunger Year Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award. In 2004, Jackson was named an honorary Doctorate of Music by Occidental College in Los Angeles, for ‘a remarkable musical career that has successfully combined an intensely personal artist,ry with a broader vision of social justice.’ In 2002, he was the fourth recipient of the John Steinbeck Award, given to artists whose works exemplify the environmental and social values that were essential to the great California-born author.
