Jackson Browne

Singer/songwriter Jackson Browne's introverted, finely observed songs and strong melodic sense made him one of the most influential singer/songwriters of his generation. Browne's early work infused domestic sagas with a sense of romantic doom, making lovers into heroes. In the 1980s, however, Browne began focusing more sharply on socio-political themes which matched his growing social activism.

Jackson Browne's family moved to Southern California when he was young, and in his late teens he played guitar with an embryonic version of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, which later performed his songs. He spent the winters of 1967 and 1968 in Greenwich Village, where he backed Tim Buckley and Nico; she did an early cover of Browne's "These Days." By 1969 he had begun to establish a reputation as a songwriter, and in the next few years Tom Rush, the Byrds, Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, and others performed his songs, and he toured as an opening act for Laura Nyro and Joni Mitchell. Browne's solo debut album produced a hit with "Doctor My Eyes" (Number 8, 1972) and eventually went gold. He cowrote the Eagles' first hit, "Take It Easy."

With each album Browne's following grew. Jackson Browne (Number 53, 1972) went gold; For Everyman (Number 43, 1973) and Late for the Sky (Number 14, 1974) went platinum. The Pretender became his first Top Ten album; its sense of despair derived in part from the suicide of his first wife, Phyllis, in 1976, two and a half years after the birth of their son, Ethan. A 1977 tour produced Running on Empty (Number Three, 1978), a live concept album about touring featuring new material recorded onstage, in hotel rooms, and on the tour bus, including the hit title track (Number 11, Pop) and a remake of "Stay" (Number 20, Pop). Hold Out (1980) went to Number One in its first week of release. Browne's 1983 album, Lawyers in Love (Number Eight), introduced many of the sociopolitical themes he would continue to explore in Lives in the Balance (Number 23, 1986) and World in Motion (Number 45, 1989). Though Lawyers, boosted by the Top 20 title track, hit Number Eight, but did not go platinum.

In 1993 Browne returned to matters of the heart with I'm Alive (Number 40), on which he worked with long-time collaborator and coproducer Scott Thurston (Don Was also produced two tracks). The album generated unusually careful media scrutiny, coming as it did after Browne's highly publicized breakup with actress Daryl Hannah. Browne took a three-year leave from the studio before coming back with Looking East (Number 36, 1996), on which he blended his political voice with his more introspective outlook. The album failed to generate much interest, though, and the following year Browne commemorated his quarter-century of recording with the release of a best-of collection.

Browne has been active in numerous organizations devoted to progressive social change, including MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy), Amnesty International, and the Christic Institute. He has produced albums for Warren Zevon, his former guitarist David Lindley, Native American poet John Trudell, and high school friend Greg Copeland, as well as Nicaraguan group Guardabarranco. He has collaborated with fellow West Coast songwriters, including J.D. Souther, Lowell George, Valerie Carter, and the Eagles.

The Naked Ride Home, Browne's first album of the new millennium, came in 2002. A two-disc collection, The Very Best of Jackson Browne (Number 46, 2004), was released in 2004, and Browne was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Bruce Springsteen that same year. Browne continued to do acoustic solo tours around the world, culminating in compilations Solo Acoustic Vol. 1 (Number 55, 2005) and Solo Acoustic Vol. 2 (Number 24, 2008) released on Browne's label, Inside Recordings. In the fall of 2008 he released Time the Conqueror, his first proper studio album in six years and launched an international tour through 2009.