Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) was an influential singer songwriter of the 1970s and 1980s. He was born in Heidelberg, Germany, but moved to Los Angeles, California at an early age and began singing folk music locally. In 1966, his career began by joining the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band[?].

A talented songwriter from the beginning, Browne signed a publishing contract with Nina Music[?], and his songs were performed by Tom Rush[?], the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, the Byrds and Steve Noonan[?], among others. After moving to Greenwich Village, Browne worked, for a brief period, in Tim Buckley[?]'s back-up band and on Nico's Chelsea Girl[?]. After leaving New York City, Browne formed a folk band with Ned Doheney[?] and Jack Wilce[?]. In 1971, Browne signed with Asylum Records[?] and released Jackson Browne[?] (1972), which included "Doctor My Eyes", a major hit. He didn't sustain pop success, though, and his next album, For Everyman[?] (1973) was a commercial failure. Late for the Sky (1974) established a significant audience for Browne, who released his breakthrough album, The Pretender (1977) soon after the suicide of his wife, Phyllis'. Late for the Sky was a success, and Browne began recording his next LP while on tour. Running on Empty[?] (1978) was an even bigger success.

Browne achieved less critical acclaim with Hold On[?] (1980), which also began his political protest[?] era; the album was a commercial success, however, as was Lawyers in Love[?], the follow-up. Lives in the Balance[?] (1986) was an overtly political condemnation of Reaganism, and was a huge success with Browne fans, though not with mainstream audiences. World in Motion[?] (1989) was also politically-oriented, but was not very successful. After four years of silence and a break-up with Daryl Hannah[?], his girlfriend/actress, Browne returned with I'm Alive[?], a critically acclaimed album that had no hits but still sold respectably. Looking East[?] (1996) was released soon after, but was not as successful critically or commercially. The new album The Naked Ride Home[?] picked up on September 24, 2002.